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Ellie update
Dec. 5th, 2012 01:27 pmIt's been a while since I posted about her, but she's still making progress and is so near to being a "normal" cat. It's wonderful when she makes big steps; last night she (re)discovered that she can walk on my desk.
When I first got her, she was fine with coming onto my desk, but then I had to give her medicine and I held her on my desk to do so, and so suddenly the desk became SCARY PLACE WON'T GO. That was maybe eight months back and she's just getting over it. (This is typical, it took her six+ months to be willing to jump up onto the bathroom counter again, after I had to hold here there by force to wash her paw after she stepped in a mess in her litterbox.)
So now that she's come to accept the desk as an okay place, she can come to me for head bumps and pats whenever she wants... which is basically all the time. For two hours yesterday evening she kept coming onto my desk to get a pat or a head bump, then she'd jump down... only to circle around and come right back up. (She still does an odd thing. My direct attention is still too much for her, so if I look at her while patting her, she leaves for a bit. This is an issue when she wants to head bump, since that puts my head down close to hers and suddenly things are too direct/close/whatever.)
It's so interesting to watch her growing and changing. She still startles or has a quick fear reaction now and then, but even when that happens she just backs off a couple steps instead of running away. She's come such a long way though, which makes me happy because it must make her happier.
When I first got her, she was fine with coming onto my desk, but then I had to give her medicine and I held her on my desk to do so, and so suddenly the desk became SCARY PLACE WON'T GO. That was maybe eight months back and she's just getting over it. (This is typical, it took her six+ months to be willing to jump up onto the bathroom counter again, after I had to hold here there by force to wash her paw after she stepped in a mess in her litterbox.)
So now that she's come to accept the desk as an okay place, she can come to me for head bumps and pats whenever she wants... which is basically all the time. For two hours yesterday evening she kept coming onto my desk to get a pat or a head bump, then she'd jump down... only to circle around and come right back up. (She still does an odd thing. My direct attention is still too much for her, so if I look at her while patting her, she leaves for a bit. This is an issue when she wants to head bump, since that puts my head down close to hers and suddenly things are too direct/close/whatever.)
It's so interesting to watch her growing and changing. She still startles or has a quick fear reaction now and then, but even when that happens she just backs off a couple steps instead of running away. She's come such a long way though, which makes me happy because it must make her happier.
