Schrodinger At Christmas
Schrodinger and St Nicholas
More than eighteen months have passed since Schrodinger swapped his life as Shoreditch Church Cat for a more domestic existence with me in Spitalfields. I sometimes wonder if he misses his former residence, yet I have observed that he has learnt to appreciate the home comforts of fires, carpets and soft upholstery even if my dwelling is modest in size compared to a church.
In his public life, Schrodinger learnt to be wary of people and it has taken all this time for him to realise that, in his new home, he has no longer any need to be circumspect. He has learnt to relax.
At first, Schrodinger slept on the sofa outside my bedroom door but then he started leaping onto my bed to say goodnight before retreating again to the sofa when I put out the light. Then he began jumping onto my bed when I woke in the morning as well. Now I am aware that Schrodinger makes nocturnal visits and sometimes I wake to discover him curled up against my feet, like those dogs on marble tombs.
Yet he is no pushover. Schrodinger has proven a valiant defender of the territory and, one night last week, I woke to a screaming match. What sounded like two hysterical children was in fact Schrodinger and another cat fighting through the cat flap.
Startled when I appeared to interrupt the conflict, Schrodinger threw out a strong right hook at his unseen adversary and broke the flap from its hinges to send it flying six feet down the garden path. I opened the door in time see a fugitive ginger cat disappearing through the gate.
If Schrodinger has become domesticated, he has certainly not been tamed. It is rather a question of accommodation. Schrodinger is working out how to place himself within the household, while resisting subservience and guarding his independence of spirit.
My old house was built without a bathroom and I have been having a proper one installed this year, which has been a source of disturbance for Schrodinger. When the plumbers come clumping in to do their work in their great big boots, he makes himself scarce for a couple of hours until peace resumes.
A few days ago, I saw Schrodinger come running into the stairwell on his way out of the house to escape the clamour in the bathroom, as he has done each time the plumbers have been here. Yet on this day he became aware that my gaze was upon him and, looking up the stairs to where I was writing at my desk, Schrodinger made an instant decision. Instead of seeking refuge outside, as is his custom, he came running upstairs to me.
Leaping onto my lap, Schrodinger and I came eye-to-eye as his troubled gaze sought mine. So I put my arms round him in reassurance. At that moment, I realised that Schrodinger is truly here with me now. Schrodinger has given me his trust and I have to prove myself worthy of it. Yesterday I fitted a new cat flap for him.
Schrodinger likes to play football with holly berries
You may also like to read about
The Consolation of Schrodinger
Schrodinger’s First Year in Spitalfields
His expression tells me that he’ll take none of the proverbial from anyone!
A very Merry Christmas to you both. Me and mine (a dead ringer for Mr Pussy, named Yoda) will be contemplating our favourite (old) seasonal films from the sofa this afternoon, our paws warmed by a log fire.
A very merry and peaceful Christmas to you and Schrodinger, free from plumbers! I love the pictures of him looking very much at home
Beautiful! The cat with the pearl ear-ring!
Peace and Good Health to you both in the New Year x
Happy Christmas Schrodinger. You are a beautiful beast and your readers hope that you have a wonderful New Year with lots of treats.
I want Him for Christmas!!!?????????⛄???
Thank you for posting news of Schrodinger. He looks wonderful, splendid and very pleased. Merry Christmas to both.
Merry Christmas GA.
Sky has just been out for her morning constitutional but Cloud is still firmly ensconced on my daughter’s bed.
Probably the best thing I’ve read, or will read, this Christmas. Go Schrodinger! Happy Christmas and all the best for the New Year, GA
Merry Christmas to you and Schrodinger! Those night-time routines with a companion puss are quite special. Our lovely Frank tells us in no uncertain terms when it’s time for bed. He stays next to me until I’m sleep and then goes… who knows where, before waking us first thing in the morning to remind us that it’s his breakfast time. This will probably be Frank’s last Christmas with us – he’s an elderly old boy and not in the best of health – so we treasure every day.
Wishing you and Schrodinger a very Happy and peaceful Christmas and a healthy New Year…avoiding climbing mulberry trees!
Thank you for the joy you bring to your readers every day with the wonderful posts.
I’ve asked Santa if he can deliver your present early next year……..news that the beloved Whitechapel Bell Foundry can be saved.
Merry Christmas GA.
Dear GA & Schrodinger, I wish you both a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year.
Happy Christmas to you both – enjoy your day!
Merry Christmas to you and Schrodinger!
Acceptance indeed. I hope you both have a cosy and peaceful Christmas without too much flying dust. My rescue cat, Susan, sends respectful wishes as well.
Lovely update on the lovely Schrodinger, and great to know that he has learnt to trust you so much – a tribute to the love and care you have given him.
Have a very happy Christmas and a Bellissimo new year! xx
I’m glad that Schrodinger is settling in. Cats give their out their affection slowly but assuredly.
Merry Christmas to both the Gentle Author and Schrodinger the cat!
Christmas greetings TGA and a prosperous New Year. I’ve spent many a Christmas on earlies, lates and nights in and around Spitalfields – in a way I miss it. Well perhaps not nights!
Happy Christmas to you both.
Merry Christmas Gentle Author and Schrodinger and a very happy, cosy and comfortable New Year to you both.
I had to smile at your story of the cat flap and the cat fight. Our Sampson was pursued through the cat flap by a feral cat, and I was awoken by a screaming cat fight taking place on my bad !! Happy days.
Wishing you both a Merry Christmas and a healthy, happy and prosperous New Year.
Thank you for all the interesting and informative newsletters.
Satchmo the Cat sends his holiday wishes, from the Hudson River Valley. I note that he and
Mr. Schrodinger have the very same luminous eyes, with an outer ring of black. I never tire of
looking into these deep orbs, trying to discern the secret messages there.
In gratitude to you, GA and your magnificent furry companion.
Cheers!
(and speaking of cats, two days ago I happened to look outside and see a beautiful lynx investigating our property. I love observing animals when they have NO idea they are being watched. Relaxed and curious, he walked around and almost came up on our deck; reconsidered and walked down the steps and across the driveway. His amazing tufted ears (black!) had two bright white spots on the back. What an amazing gift to observe this beautiful animal.
Yuletide Greetings GA
Your perfect consideration & patient understanding of Schrödinger adapting has created a very special bond.
He feels safe + content with you, or else he would have hoofed it back to Shoreditch.
Yes Madeline R
– The Cat with the Pearl Earring
and the Dali moustache.
He is a magnificat.
A very merry Christmas and happy and healthy New Year to you and Schrodinger.
Reading your blog every day is like opening a beautifully wrapped Christmas gift to find an exquisite jewel inside. Thank you GA!
I am sure there are many folk across the world who are thinking of you today.
Merry Christmas to TGA. Thanks for all your hard work and brightening up my day with you daily posts. Best wishes.
A most splendid cat! (and I would like to have his needlepoint rug in my Christmas stocking!)
Merry Christmas to you both–and thank you once again for giving us a gift every day.
Holiday greetings from Boston,
GA, sounds as if you and Schrodinger have created a lovely domestic life together.
The best to you both for the holiday season and beyond… and to all your readers too!
Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy and Peaceful New Year to you both !!!
Judy
Lovely story. Feeling comfortable where you live is very desirable. Did you get an electronic cat flap that only he can access?
Gentle Author, If Schrodinger could only know that, not only is he loved at home, people all over the world love him!
Merry Everything and Happy Always, Gentle Author and Gentle Readers!
Sincerely, Grateful Reader
Thank-you, Gentle Author, for another charming Shrodinger tale. A very merry Christmas to you both!
We have a portly tabby who lives a few doors down who tries to enter our cat flap. Would Schrodinger be available for boxing lessons?
I have a dog who was cruelly abused. Slowly she too comes slowly out of her shell. I’m happy Schrodinger is too.
I still often think at Christmas time of your epic all-night walk through London on Christmas Eve. Dickens did all night walks through the city too, as I’m sure you are aware.
So I think of the two of you, and the shade of Mr. Pussy, stretching yourselves under what little is yet visible of the stars. Merry Christmas, for a better world.
You and Schrodinger are fortunate to have found one another. May you each be a blessing to the other, every day.
Merry Christmas.
Happy Christmas to both of you, GA and Shrodinger
I always love these stories. There is no doubt that animals think and feel more than we give them credit for. Seasons greetings and thanks for your interesting and entertaining blog.
A delight to welcome in Christmas Day with the GA and news of Shrodinger…..what a fine fella! Belated I know but hope your festivities will be warm and comforting and that 2020 will be kind to us all.
Happy Christmas and thank you?
What a wonderful story! So happy that you and Shrodinger have found each other! A happy Christmas to you both, and how lovely that the two of you live in such a remarkable area. Blessings!
Thank you for this lovely and festive Schrodinger update.
I’m intrigued by the magnificent St Nicholas portrait (gingerbread?) with which Schrodinger poses so handsomely.
An effigy to be found in Shoreditch Church perhaps?
❤️
Happy Christmas!
Whart a wonderful Cat and what a wonderful Christmas-Story!
*** FROHE WEIHNACHTEN! ***
*** MERRY CHRISTMAS! ***
*** JOYEUX NOËL! ***
Love & Peace
ACHIM
Amazingly, you have handicrafts from the Erzgebirge on your shelf — Where did you get it from? Very fine!
Love & Peace
ACHIM
Another wonderful blog about Schrodinger that made me howl with laughter about his cat flap and shed a tear at the end. I do hope your arm is fully recovered and wish you a wonderful 2020.
Holiday greetings to Schrodinger from BlueBelle and Lily who run my home in the high country of Colorado.
I had the great pleasure of meeting Schrodinger once in his former life at Shoreditch Church, where I’d taken students for a tour. What a lovely soul.
Thank you for your writings, which whisk me–mentally at least–to my beloved East End from my home in Virginia. I treasure the daily vignettes…
And as someone still recovering from the loss of a beloved black cat & working out a tentative relationship with a new one, the Mr. Pussy/Schrodinger stories are wonderful to read.
Happy New Year from Virginia…