I see you, Tails

This weekend has been great.

We went to see some friends, and Tails quietly lay next to me on the couch the whole night.   No mischief at all, she was just very very cuddly.  I could tell she was a little cold when we left there to go spend the night at some other friends' house, but I brought her bed, so once she snuggled into it she was comfortable and slept well.

Something else happened this weekend that was quite exceptional, and while I very much enjoyed our little excursion it was eclipsed by this wonderful experience.

High demands

I've placed high demands on Tails lately.

To make sure she is comfortable with it, I'm only slowly turning up the discipline.  She knows what she can and can't do, of course, but so far my reactions to her minor infractions have been very mild.
That is slowly changing.

Not for sale

I bought a small gift for Tails today. It's a small leather strap that fits nicely around one of her front paws, and it has a little shiny ball on it.

She was a little puzzled at first.  I don't think she expected it at all, but once she realized what it was she seemed to think it was nice.  She even showed it off a little to a friend when we went to a cafe to meet a whole group of them.

The whole thing with Tails is starting to become truly wonderful.  I want to give her the world now, but I'm a little afraid her current owner will think that I'm trying to buy her affection.
It's not like that at all.

Another small excursion

I brought both my red panda and my dog to a movie night last night.

Jewell, the dog, was a little fidgety, but Tails, the red panda, was mostly well behaved.  Jewell isn't allowed any snacks at all due to a liver condition, but Tails can (and will!) eat pretty much anything.
She was sitting in my lap, snuggling, and I was giving her some Cheez Doodles, and I had a bit of fun with her, stuffing them in a little quicker than she could chew and swallow.  In hindsight, that was maybe not the most cuddly thing to do, but it was intended in good fun.  She reacted a little strongly to that and took out her frustration on me.

Stockholm Syndrome

The trip went great!

There was a last-minute jumbling of seat reservations on the train.  We were in the animal compartment, so it all worked out for us, but a couple of guys had to sit there with us unexpectedly.
They were amused by us, I'm sure, but they didn't really get what it's like having such an exotic pet.

That really made me think about how different this is from what people are used to see.  I'm sort of in an echo chamber where most of my friends are aware of my exotic pet and how it all works, so I don't really think much about how it looks to outsiders.

Weekend trip

I'm planning a trip to Stockholm this coming weekend, and I'm taking Tails with me.

Her current owner consented to me being her de facto owner for the weekend, with all the responsibilities it involves.  Tails loves to travel, so I'm sure she'll enjoy both the trip and our time in Stockholm.

I do have one worry, though...

Red Panda ... barf!

Tails is not feeling well.

She hadn't eaten much all day, and when she finally did eat something it didn't agree with her.  As she was clearly feeling a little off when I put her to bed, I worried about her.
It was justified.  She doesn't usually leave her bed much at night, but tonight she got up to drink a little water and wanted to sit with me for a bit.  As she was clearly not feeling well, I didn't put her back to bed right away, and I'm glad I didn't.  She went to have some more water, and she threw up in the kitchen.

A tiny giant leap

I took Tails on a small excursion.

There was a movie night arranged on a night when Tails was going to be staying with me, and socializing animals is very important, so I decided to bring her.  Everyone are just charmed by her anyway, so I'm confident nobody would ever mind her coming along.
I was invited over to a friends house before the movie night, and then to spend the night as his house after, so I was coordinating with him a little.  As it happened, the whole movie night was canceled while I was making arrangements, so I just spent the night at my friend's house in stead.

Mind the teeth...

Tails growled at her current owner today.

It's not that she doesn't trust her current owner, or that they're no longer friends or anything, but it seems like Tails is bonding with me now.  I don't know a lot about red pandas yet, but it seems to me that she wants to be my pet very much, and right now it's the current owner holding things back to make sure it will be all right.

Thinking about all this, something has changed in me.  It's a strange sort of protective possessiveness, I think.  I want to own Tails as much as I want to care for her.  I want to take responsibility for her well-being.

I've had this sort of feeling before, in different contexts.  It's the feeling I get when entering the wilderness, like I'm about to go into the unknown, but I feel prepared and ready.  It's the feeling I get when I take the ski-lift up to the top of a steep hell of a mountain and prepare to go down the wrong side of it.  I like this feeling.

Also, I want to go skydiving, but I don't think that is an appropriate activity for little furry creatures.

Maybe I can take her previous current owner skydiving?

Splish Splash

Giving a wild animal a bath is no game.

Sure, it's lots of fun, but I assure you it was not trivial.
Firstly, I'm not sure Tails or I got the most wet.  I'm still soaking wet, and there are large splashes of water in my bathroom ceiling.
Secondly, this little fuzzball can have some pretty strong opinions on stuff.

Submissive behavior

Tails is almost asleep in her bed, and the dog has climbed in with her.
I've been playing with Tails for a few hours, so I'm a little too worked up to go to sleep just yet.

Sitting here, looking at her drifting off to sleep in her bed, it feels great that I've made up my mind.  I absolutely want her for a pet, with all the responsibilities and cuddles it involves.
She seems closer than ever to accepting me as well, showing a lot of submissive behavior.

Empty bed

This is an odd feeling!

I'm sitting at my computer, poking around in a program I'm debugging, and out of the corner of my eye I see a large, empty dog red panda bed.  I'm petting my dog, who is asleep in my lap, and I'm thinking of the dog and Tails making a cuddle-pile in that big bed yesterday.
I can't wait for Tails to come visit again, just to be in the room with her.  It's a sort of magical feeling that is so calming to me.

First stages of pet ownership

Red pandas are unusual.

I've never owned a pet even remotely like this.  I've had a dog for a few years now, and I've had cats for over a decade, but this is nothing like that.  Not even close.

Why a red panda?

Well, to be honest, I wasn't looking for one.  I was moving to a new place when the current owner approached me to welcome me to the area.  We met a few times and talked about a lot of things, and as it turns out she has a red panda that she is not opposed to finding a new owner for.
The more I read on the subject, the more I realized that yes, I'd very much like a new fuzzball to play with.
Don't get me wrong, I'm taking all this very seriously, but when it comes down to it it's all about the fuzzball cuddling, isn't it?