••

Didn't get a weight for him, but he's not large. My perceptions are somewhat skewed, since Florence was REALLY small, but those are normal sized ballpoint pens on the counter by him in the picture at the top of this thread.

   Cats are fun, but I've found that I have a serious asthma allergy around them, especially with the longhair breeds.  I can tolerate a little bit of petting for a few moments or so, but I can't spend the whole day with them.  I hope Poe gives you plenty of companionship, Chief.

   (About dogs, I'd like to have a sporting breed to play and work with, but the house is currently a "No Pets Allowed" house.  Perhaps later, when I move again.  At least with a dog, you can take it places and it'll stick by you wherever you go; the cat isn't going anywhere it doesn't want to.)

Last night I went into the guest room to check on him, and found he was not there. I looked around, and heard a small "meow" as I passed the stairs leading down to the Studio. He was on the fourth step, peering up over the lip at me. I took a picture with my iPhone, but it came out very dark, and I didn't want to risk startling him by turning up the hall lights.

I lay on the floor and dangled my fingers over the rim of the top step, and lo and behold, eventually he came up for a scratch or two. He even walked past me into the living room, directly behind me. I cross to the other set of steps (the living room is sunken) and sat trying to coax him over to me again. He circled the room several times, staying carefully on the other side of furniture. Eventually, tho, he came over and not only let me scratch his ears and rump, but actually allowed me to pick him up. I set him on my lap and he remained for a moment, then took off.

As I was heading for bed I did another quick circuit and found him once again on the stairs to the Studio. This time he took off all the way down as soon as I approached.

But this is more progress in less than two days than I got from Gwynn in two months. Onward!