Andy still needs a dose of medicine in the morning. He may be in much better shape than last February, blood pressure down, but he still needs that medicine!

That’s the problem. Each time I catch him to give him the medicine, the little fellow learns a bit more about, well, escaping or avoiding capture. He is a smart little cat!

But there still is one thing he can’t avoid: curiosity. Open the front door, and both cats have to go see what’s out there. If I place myself on the dining room side, Andy’s as good as trapped! If I’m on the kitchen side, he has a good chance of avoiding me for a bit longer.

ROUND ONE: Well, I’m on the dining room side of a curious cat trying to see what’s outside the front door. Better stop for the moment. Andy may be seconds away from his medicine!

Andy won this round…!

Dang! He was on the window ledge instead of at the door. He slipped past me, and the game goes into Round 2.

ROUND TWO: OK. I’m in no mood for BS this morning, so I brought out the big guns for Round 2: Greenies treats! Shake the bag and Andy came running. Of course, so did Dougy, who got between Andy and me.

I got up, moved over to the spot where I usually give the boys treats. I shook the bag again to remind the little darlings what was in store for them. Dougy plowed right into the treats; Andy held back because I was too close to the treats. He’s worked out the distance from him to my extended arm, and absolutely wasn’t about to get any closer than that extended arm plus a foot for reaction time!

ROUND THREE: I scootched the treats away from me, closer to a corner where Andy’d be a bit more blocked. I sweetened the treat area with a few more treats to make sure Dougy (eating from the first pile and, of course, right in my way, blocking Andy from me) wasn’t a factor in the game. I let Andy nom away on the new pile of treats, then reached out to pet Dougy. That put my hand closer to Andy than the one foot safety zone. I grabbed and caught him!

Andy gave me “The Look”, the one he gives me that tells me he is properly terrorized by my power and size, that he’s given up…until he senses an opening. Don’t let “The Look” fool you! It is his route to freedom every time I fall for it.

Andy is a good kitty.

Yeah, sure! Good for a chase! So I caught the rascal, wrapped him in the towel, I got most of the medicine in his mouth, but he jerked his head a little and had medicine on his chin, too. Most of it got in. Yesterday…not so much. You do what you can, but don’t try to make up doses if some doesn’t get in. Tomorrow — there will be a tomorrow, Andy — I will try to hold his head a bit more securely.

Andy will get his medicine! Let’s see. Giving Andy medicine took from 3 AM till a bit after 5 yesterday. Today it took from 3 AM till…6:05. I’m not sure, but the cat seems to be winning.