The Cuddly Mellow Yellow

When we chose Gideon, I'd heard about the male orange tabbies, affectionately described as "mellow yellows." I'd hoped he would embody some of this as he grew older, but thought it'd be a while before this trait might show up in him. Recently, I've been pleasantly surprised by Gideon and how calm he's been lately. While he's cute in all his kitten mischievousness, I selfishly hope it's not just a phase!

Gideon and his best friend, Ahri.

I think we've concretely established his sleeping routine and trained him to sleep during the day while we are at work. But in addition to this, lately he's not seemed nearly as rambunctious in the mornings. I used to be sure I woke up an extra 20-30 minutes earlier so I'd have that time to dedicate to playing with him. This is after already being up and going an hour and a half before I need to leave for work to get ready and walk the dogs for 45 minutes; needless to say, this just added to my exhaustion. These days, however, I've found his playfulness to be turned down quite a bit. He'll play and trot after a toy seemingly to appease me, but it's not with the same splendor he once offered (and continues to offer before bed at night). He's content with around 10 minutes now, which has been saving me a lot of time (and sleep!).

Furthermore, when we get home from work he no longer seems to expect a play session at all. He's content to mosey around, and, if you sit or lay down, is on your lap in an instant. This I've especially appreciated after a long hard day at the office when nothing sounds better than crashing and snuggling on the couch with my purr monster.

For the most part, Gideon's need for more intense, directed exercise and outlet for "killing things" has been mostly at night.  Before bed, I still spend 20-30 minutes with wand toys, getting him running around, up and down the cat tree, and all over our upstairs loft. After this, I give him his bed-time meal, and retreat up the stairs to our room; he still doesn't sleep with us at night, because I suspect he's not quite there yet. We've yet to have any complaints though; he enjoys spending his time with his canine companions on the lower level, and on the couch ;).

I'm impressed that his energy level has already dwindled so much.  He's only 5 months old!