Lily is getting better and better!

sarahp

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My shy girl is still making big improvements


Quick background: She got taken to the shelter at 3 months old, after she made a 17 mile (28km) trip in the engine compartment area of a car down a stupidly fast freeway and was found at the destination near our local shelter. Poor baby was freaked out, dehydrated, and definitely not fully socialised.

We adopted her and she was sooooo shy, and she seemed to get even more shy for a few months. We wondered if she just didn't like us for a while, because she was so scared. She adored Stumpy though, and she eventually started to improve.

She still won't let us approach her, she runs in fear, and always has a wide eyed scared look on her face. Any loud noise and she goes running.

She's always been incredibly affectionate once we go to bed - we're quiet, still and at her level which is comforting to her. She mews and purrs and snuggles and nips at our arms if we try to ignore her


She started also letting us snuggle her if we're on the toilet - also still and quiet...
Now, if she's upstairs at all, she'll often let us pat her, and in the last couple of weeks, she's actually let us approach her while DOWNSTAIRS and had big cuddle sessions. We had someone over during the week and she even let HIM pat her! That's the first time she's ever let someone other than us pat her


She always lets us know when she's ready to accept cuddles, she mews at us, and stands side on to us and puts her head out to accept a pat
Then once we pat her, she rolls and purrs and has a lovely time.

We discovered she really likes wet food, and I think that's what has made her more comfortable when downstairs, when I bring dinner out, she comes running, and purrs and mews, and often rubs against my legs when I'm getting it ready.

I have never had a shy cat before, and it's taken a lot of patience and work - we've had her for 9 months now), but gee it's worth it. I now realise we're the perfect home for her. She's scared of outside, and our townhouse is big enough for her to run around in, but small enough for her to not get too overwhelmed by it. She has kitty sisters who she adores, and our place is generally pretty quiet.

It's so incredibly rewarding seeing her improve. Almost every night when I wake up in the night, she's snuggled up against me, and when she realises I'm awake, and gets straight up, and comes up toward my head for some cuddles


Sorry, this is longer than I meant for it to be, but I am sooo proud of how far my shy girl has come. I am so completely in love with her
 

theimp98

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thats ok if its long, its a very good story


she sounds alot like heyu. for almost the first 2 months she would hide under the bed, only come out to eat and drink and use the litter box. If i so much moved she would run back under the bed. I would say it was 5 months from time i got her to she let me pet her. Now of course she follows me from room to room, always stays within in arms reach of me. she is sitll not big on getting in the lap, but like now she is in the chair right next to me. Where i can reach over and pet her and she does not mind.

i wish she was more ok with other people and stuff, maybe that will come in time. She still wont go out on the deck unless she can see me and the door is left open for.

like lily it has taken a long time to get her to this point, with cats trust seems to take a very long time/
 

lillekat

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That's fantastic!! She sounds like she's making a real u-turn. There's one thing I can suggest to see if it helps go a little faster - if she looks directly at you without being close enough to pat, you can blink at her. Look right at her, blink very slowly and deliberately just once and see how she reacts. Then lick your lips (like you've got something sticky on them). It's a freiendly and reassuring gesture used form cat to cat and if she knows it, then she'll accept you as trying to be friendly to her. You've no idea how much shy cats appreciate that gesture even from a person!
I use it all the time in working with my wild cats, and it's saved a few lives.

She's doing great - you're doing a wonderful job, being so patient and loving! Keep it up!
 
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sarahp

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Originally Posted by theimp98

thats ok if its long, its a very good story

like lily it has taken a long time to get her to this point, with cats trust seems to take a very long time/
Doesn't it make those times when they choose to sit with you so special knowing how they used to be?


You can see their different personalities in my sig - Stumpy looking calm, cool and collected, Smudge looking weird with her beady little eyes (but oh so cute!), and Lily with her wide eyed, slightly fearful look.

Originally Posted by Natalie_ca

Awww! It's great that she's learning to trust you guys and that you aren't going to hurt or abandon her
Yes, definitely. I would LOVE to know her background and what happened to her before she got taken to the shelter. It'd probably break my heart though... San Jose where she came from has a very bad cat problem, there's so many strays, and 80% of cats who get taken to the shelter there get euthanised
I'm 90% sure that she wouldn't be alive right now if she hadn't have hitched a ride to a more wealthy city!

Originally Posted by LilleKat

Look right at her, blink very slowly and deliberately just once and see how she reacts.

She's doing great - you're doing a wonderful job, being so patient and loving! Keep it up!
I do that, and she generally does it back to me, it's so sweet, like our little secret communication


Originally Posted by SillyJilly

That is a very cute and very amazing story!!!
I love it!! It's amazing how resilient these little furbabies are!
I know, all of my girls "should have" died - Stumpy in her car accident, Smudge because she was under the official shelter weight to not euthanise, and then because she was so sick, then Lily managing to survive such a dangerous trip at such a young age. But here they are, happy and healthy
 

lillekat

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Both of mine are rescue cats too - Tosca was found abandoned on a farm with small kittens. Unfortunately when they eventually caught her, the kittens were nowhere to be found
She was very underweight and should ahve been euthanised. And Bootie was a little fighter and I refused to give up on her. She is the last of six kittens who were very very sick with an unidentifiable virus that (later identified as atrixia -sp) affected their brain function. We lost five kittens, but Bootie - the smallest and weakest of them all - proved to be such a strong little survivor! She's a little wobbly on her legs still, but she has no pain and she's very very happy.

It takes time to get through to cats with those kinds of backgrounds, but when you do, it's worth everything tenfold!
 

minxie

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This was nice to read
She sounds like a very special cat and i hope she continues to make progress - sounds like she will with the loving way you are caring for her.
 

lillekat

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I think there are a lot of lucky cats here, don't you? If we're all crazy cat people, then I suspect that all our little furballs are spoiled rotten! But thanks
 

renovia

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what a great story. stoli is still very happy lily had him as her valentine!
 

lookingglass

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I know how you feel about Lilly. Scratch was so terrified when we got him all he did was meep. I honestly thought that he had a vocal problem and took him to the vet. When she gave him a shot he meowed a complaint! It made me so happy I almost cried.

She will blossom under your care. I just know it.
 
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