Wee!  Mom is letting me write a blog again!  Mom keeps telling me that I’m a good little kitten, and I guess this is my reward.  I have been very good, if I do say so myself.

I’m continuing to learn stuff about my new home, and I still discover new things every day.  Some are fun – like when I discovered that I can climb on top of the dining room cabinet.  Wee!  That was so cool!  It’s the highest spot in the house (short of the curtain rods – I haven’t figured out how to get up there yet, but I’m not giving up….psst, don’t tell Mom!), and I can see everything from up there.  And the most fun part is that if I lie down and make myself really flat, Mom can’t see me!  One time when I was up there, I heard her calling my name all throughout the  house, but I wasn’t going to move or let her know where I was.  But then her voice got kind of panicky, and I realized that she was worried because she couldn’t find me, and that’s when the game stopped being fun, so I popped my head up to show her where I was.

Some things about my new home are not so fun.  I really don’t like loud noises, and every morning, these big, noisy things go by the house.  Mom says they’re called “trash trucks” and “school buses” – all I know is that they scare me and I run and hide under the sofa when they come.  Sometimes, I’m really brave and just watch them from the top of the stairs through the window – but I’m always ready to run, just in case.  Every other week, there’s an even scarier loud noise.  It sneaks up on me, because at first, all I hear is some rattling in front of our house, and some men talking, and then, all of a sudden, this deafening noise starts!  Mom says it’s called “lawn service” and that it will come every other week all through the summer and fall, and that she hopes I’ll get used to it.  Maybe I will in time, but for now, I’m under the sofa when they come!  Thankfully, they don’t stay very long, but I still won’t come out unless Mom tells me it’s safe.

And then the other night, there was the scariest loud noise of all.  It woke me from a deep sleep on Mom’s bed (I know she loves it when I sleep on the bed with her, and most nights, I try to spend at least part of the night with her.  I know she wished I stayed all night, but there are things a kitten must do in the middle of the night that she couldn’t possibly understand!).  Anyway, that night, these horrible loud noises kept coming, one after the other.  There were also really weird flashing lights along with the noise, and sometimes it felt like the whole house shook.  I was so scared!  Mom tried to calm me down, but even though she talked to me in a quiet, soothing voice, it didn’t help.  I hid under the bed, but it wasn’t any less scary down there, so I decided to run from the noise.  I dashed all over the house trying to find a place where the awful noise wouldn’t follow me, but it was everywhere!  Finally, I ran back under the bed, and that’s where I stayed until after what seemed like forever, it finally stopped.  It took me a while to trust that it was safe to come out from under the bed, though, despite Mom reassuring me that it was over.  Mom said the loud noise was what’s called a “thunderstorm,” and that we’ll have them all summer long.  She said she’ll give me Rescue Remedy from now on whenever they’re in the forecast, and she said it would help calm me down.   She also said to tell you to read her article Thunderstorm Anxiety in Your Pets for more on how you can help your pets during those scary loud things.

Other than that, I’m just loving life.  I know Mom wishes I’d mellow out a little bit more and sit in her lap or let her hold me, but I can’t help being who I am – I’ve got to be me!  I’m not just a kitten, I’m a tortie kitten!  It’s a good thing that Mom understands about “tortitude,” because she says I have it in spades!

9 Comments on Allegra’s World: Loud Noises

  1. Debbie, your kitties are lucky not to have to worry about loud noises, and you’re being a good Mom by not letting them outside.

    Tamar, I’m glad you enjoyed Allegra’s post!

  2. Allegra,

    Thanks for reminding me again how lucky we are to live in the country and have a rural lifestyle! Most loud noises (except for those obnoxious dogs) stay pretty far away and don’t interfere with our naps. Now if Mom would just let us out to explore…

  3. Mason, torties are unique, aren’t they? I think most cats are bothered by loud noises.

    Thanks for stopping by, Gertrude. Allegra doesn’t understand why I can’t just make all the loud noises go away 🙂

    Lulu, it sounds like you are very smart, not just about how to get off a bookcase, but about humans.

    Kelly, Allegra definitely doesn’t have a problem with people – in fact, she’s insulted if a visitor doesn’t greet her before they greet me…

  4. Allegra, I’m so glad to see another tortie with imagination! Everybody tells you that you’ll slow down a little as you get older, but I’m sixteen and I’m still hurrying from door to window to second floor to basement because I need to see everything that’s happening, and I let my mom know what’s up all over the house by talking about it as I go! I like to tuck myself into neat little spaces too, but I don’t like that worried sound in mom’s voice, either, so I come right out when she calls, but I still can’t figure out why she needs to know where I am every moment of the day. I used to be very afraid of people, and now I’m not sure why because when I walk over to guests and talk to them, they pet me, and then I purr and they pet me more. I wish I’d known this when I was younger instead of disappearing! Enjoy your day! Every moment is fun! ~Kelly

  5. Hi Allegra,
    I love your idea of hiding at the top of the dining room cabinet! That sounded fun, until of course your Mom got worried. When I first met my dad – and I knew he would be my dad even before my mom did – I would climb up Mom’s bookcase and then cry out like I was helpless and couldn’t get down. My Dad would come over and ask if I needed help, and then he’d gently take me and hold me. And I’d purr like crazy. And that’s how me and Dad developed our super-strong bond. (There were times my Mom would come and “rescue” me from the bookcase, but I’d just jump down before she got there. Tee hee hee!)
    Your friend, Lulu the cat

  6. Allegra, it sure is good to hear from you again. Glad Mom let you in the blog today. My name is Gertrude and I know exactly what you mean about loud noises. I am scared to death of bad noises. Whenever Mom does the laundry, I have to leave the house. Now our dogs go beserk too with thunderstorms. So we all understand very well your fear of the noises. As you get older it should get better.
    You sure are looking good. You are really good looking. Take good care of your Mom.

  7. Oh Allegra, it must be the ‘tortiude’ because several of the things you describe sound like things Little One does from time to time. A good example is the hiding in plain sight thing. Now with the thunderstorms you’re more like Gum Drop. She hates loud noises.

    Sounds like you’ve been a great little girl. Keep up the good work and have fun with your Mom.

    Mason
    Thoughts in Progress

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