Step 8 - Operation Daddy etc...

Now that you are getting sufficient room in bed and for that matter called to bed every night by your Daddy for fussing and treats, I must say you are doing pretty well - as am I! :) The only things left to teach your Daddy are subtle refinements and improvements in the way he treats you. My first goal and therefore my Step 8, has been to teach Daddy to fuss me gently in his sleep...

Therefore Step 8 is quite difficult as you're trying to train your Daddy's unconscious brain, so his fussing of you becomes as natural a reflex to him as does rolling over in his sleep to make more room in bed for you! You must therefore go about this with the most gentle of touches so as not to wake the slumbering Daddy... Oh yes just a feather soft touch with a velvet paw will work, though if he remains stubborn you are free to use a little more force, such as the violent headbutt or the claw of death - however this will result in your Dad waking up in a very bad mood, so use them sparingly. The real trick to training your Daddy's subconscious mind is to work on him as he drifts off to sleep and to wake up early to start work on him again the second the radio alarm goes off. If a Dad can fall to sleep fussing you softly and in a pleasing way to you and wake up doing the same, it takes very little for the sleeping brain to work out what it is supposed to be doing when prompted by the touch of your paw... This sort of training is really worthwhile, especially for those Dad's who seem to spend a lot of the day hunting for the family food. It gives you all the time you could want for your fussing with Daddy, while letting him get some vital sleep - I mean you don't want him too weak and tired to hunt you down some yummy treats! Oh no that would be a very bad thing... :( However a Daddy who can fuss you in his sleep will relax deeply and feel more refreshed in the morning, ready to go and tackle the world to get you your rightful treats and dinners! :)

Once you have your Daddy trained in this way you really will have a Daddy to be proud of, though remember to settle for nothing less than purrfection! ;)

On another note I'm having to spend a lot of time cuddling My Mummy right now as she found out yesterday on Grandpurrs 82nd Birthday that Grammy is in hospital (in fact the same one that My Marie's Mommy visits all the time) for a bloodclot in her leg and a suspected tumour in her abdomen, which they haven't been able to biopsy as yet due to the need to bust the clot first. Since Grandpurr is not well domesticated My Mummy's pretty concerned about his ability to look after himself properly, as well as for what is happening to Grammy - especially since she's only just started to recover from having 3 of her 4 parathyroids removed in December. With Isis pregnant too, Mummy's very much bound to be here for the birth and the first few weeks of the kittens lives as she doesn't take her responsibility to us lightly... So if you suddenly notice we're missing for a week or so, you know we're ok and that Mummy's making a mad dash to Calgary. In the meantime, please purr that Grammy is ok and that My Mummy doesn't have to go, cause we just hate it when she's away - even if Daddy is far better trained then he used to be, he's just not My Mummy!