Poor Kitty

With the weather getting colder here in...er, Argentina...and with it being too early in the season for the landlords to be obligated to turn on the heat, blankets have become the order of the night. Normally I don't bother, even in the winter, since the heat works a bit too well in my place when its on. However during this part of the year I usually grab a throw or something to cover up with in the recliner when I go to bed for the night. The problem is Kitty has taken a shine to this throw so usually I leave it in the middle of the couch and she sleeps there at night. The last few nights I've had to shoo her off it so I can use it.

Well, this does not set well with Kitty. At all. I can't pick her up off of it because she digs her claws in and forces her body weight down, it just becomes too much of a battle. So what I have had to resort to is annoying her off the blanket. I first try to coax her off the blanket (this normally works when she's on the computer chair) but that almost never works with the blanket. She barely opens her eyes to acknowledge me. So what I do is gently start to tug and pull at the edge of the blanket, slowly pulling it out from under her. Now if she would just take the hint and get up then it wouldn't be an issue. But no, Kitty must resist. She stares me down in a "are you fucking kidding me?" kind of way and eventually, as the blanket is being pulled and she's being dumped off of it, gets up and walks away, shooting me a dirty look in parting. But now Kitty is taking a stand.

At first she started vocalizing her displeasure with this before getting up. Now she will stand up, yell at me. and then sit back down. Last night the violence escalated as Kitty walked to the edge of the couch the recliner is next to and, as I sat down on the recliner, went all feral on me and jumped my ass. Kitty still has claws and is not afraid to use them, and she went right after my arm with both claws and teeth. She was also letting loose some mews (which I assumed to be Kitty curse words) as I tried to pull my arm away. Eventually she got pissed enough to walk away. She was fine this morning, but this nightly routine of Kitty shenanigans has to end. So in the interest of world peace, I have decided to leave the throw on the couch and pull out the comforter from the closet. You win, Kitty. Well played.

Kitty and her blanket in happier times

The bruising on my leg has already begun to migrate downwards. The pool didn't get any bigger so the bleeding obviously stopped which is good. As much as I would like to have gone to the doctor, I can't afford it. Its not just the initial visit. Last time this happened they ordered an MRI (or was it a different scan? it was something) and I just can't afford that if it comes up. But like I said this has happened before, oddly enough, so at least I have an idea what I'm dealing with. The area of the injury is still very sore to the touch but I've been icing it. I talked over some ideas with my son yesterday and with one of the trainers at the gym this morning and have a plan to combat this while it heals.

First of all, daily cardio will be reduced in intensity. Today for example I never moved the incline beyond 1.0%. I may go as high as 2.0 eventually but I'm not going to press it if I don't need to. Second of all, leg workouts will be reduced in intensity. Now that I can fit in the leg press machine I've added some extra sets of presses with my feet at different angles. This may actually be what caused this. So I'm eliminating the extra angles for the time being (and maybe completely) and just going back to my normal, simplified leg workout. Third, for the next few weeks weekend cardio sessions are out. No more 7 days a week in the gym until this is fully healed, from now on its just the straight 5 of lifting/cardio. Once the heals up I will most likely go in on Saturdays but will take a day to rest. I'm not in my 20s anymore, I'm in my 40s. I need to remember this.