Good evening, Shinjuku. In a few days, you will reach your 3-month mark in this household, and so I would like to take this time to deliver your formal 90-day performance evaluation. As a cat, you may not be aware of the passage of time in terms of calendar days. You also don't know how to read, so I will provide this review to you verbally, and at the end of the session I will print a copy and crumple it into a ball so you can enjoy it later. Neither reading nor using a calendar are expected skills for your role, and I mention these things only by way of introduction and to set your expectations for the process that will follow.
The Senior Cat on a typical day at work.
Introduction #
- Employee name: Shinjuku
- Role: Senior Cat
- Review period: July 7, 2024 to October 7, 2024
Performance summary #
You may have heard me say things such as "Who's a good cat? Who is the best cat? Who is the cutest, most beautiful kitty?" at various points while you were lounging in the sun and wondered, indeed, who might that be? It is you. In your first 90 days as Senior Cat, you've been absolutely amazing. I don't know how we ever lived without you.
I know the transition to a new house isn't easy for a Senior Cat, but even in those early difficult days you were putting in your best effort. Within a few days, you were sitting on my and Paul's laps, purring and accepting pets. Your love of snuggles and willingness to try snuggling with new people are your most outstanding qualities.
What went well #
Cuteness #
You deliver outstanding cuteness every day. Whether it's lounging in the sunny spot during the afternoon, or curling up in a tight circle on the bed, or yawning hugely between naps, you always exhibit outstanding elegance with a playful touch. Keep going. You're doing great.
An example of outstanding cuteness by the Senior Cat
Good judgement #
As one might expect of a Senior Cat, you exhibit good judgment and behave appropriately in challenging environments. A few concrete examples:
- You immediately located and understood the function of the litter box and used it appropriately.
- You knew not to jump on the oven or kitchen counters.
- You only scratch the couch we don't like.
- You only eat food from the cat bowl and never try to eat human food that might be bad for you.
- When my study was a big mess with folders all over the floor, you only looked in and meowed at me, and after I cleaned it, you came in and hung out.
The wisdom you bring to the admittedly messy and no doubt occasionally confusing environment of this house does you credit.
Openness to experience #
You've been willing to try new kinds of cat food, and are happy to rotate through a variety of wet foods. You've tried out every new box that comes into the house. Most notably, you got along very well with the cat sitter when we were on vacation. She said you were the snuggliest cat she ever met.
What could have gone better #
There are some things that could have gone better. I note that these problems were most pronounced in the earlier parts of your tenure as Senior Cat with us, and I truly believe you're on the right path. That said there are a few things that could have gone better and I would like to see you work on.
Kneading with the claws out while sitting on laps #
You've eased up enough that we no longer need a doubled up thick blanket, and I hope as you relax with us more, you'll be able to transition to using "gentle paw" in all but the most exciting of situations.
The Senior Cat displays the safe "claws out air kneading" technique, an alternative she is encouraged to explore if she must have her claws out on laps.
Communicating your needs #
In the beginning, it was difficult to determine if you wanted food, company, or play. You've recently started to communicate more clearly when you need food or want to play by coming to your humans and meowing at us meaningfully. Keep doing that. We will feed you all the wet food you want to eat, but we don't want to leave it out on the dish smelling gross all afternoon. Likewise, if you want to play, it's much better for everyone if you ask for it while we are awake instead of hunting your toy mouse at 3 a.m. and yowling through the house because you didn't get enough play. Some of this is on us as we might have misunderstood your meows early on.
Goals for the next six months #
As you settle into your role as Senior Cat here, I'd like to set some goals for you to work on:
- Start clicker training by overcoming your fear of the clicker noise
- Stop running away from treats
- Learn to be picked up
- Go into the cat carrier
Stretch goal:
- Learn to bring back the toy mice when we play throw and catch the mice
Conclusion #
You're the best, cutest, most perfect little kitty. Yes, you are. It's true. Yes.