I apologize in advance for this being so long.
We found Spooky Bear in our barn last October. There were two kittens huddled in the corner of the barn when John's dad went out to feed horses. The first kitten (who has since passed away) was pretty easy to catch. Spooky Bear was not as easy... it took us an hour because he kept running away and hiding under things. We finally did catch him though and took him inside. It was very cold out and we never did see a momma cat.
Spooky was around 5 weeks old or so. He was really skittish and hissy but it didn't take very long for him to come around. We could pet him and play with him and he loved attention. When he got a little bigger, he figured out that he could escape from our bedroom and go climbing around in the ceiling and get down on the steps and explore the rest of the basement. We would try to block his exit routes but he just found new ones. He would come and "visit" for awhile for play and petting and would snuggle for a little while and then would go back to exploring.
Then he just gradually stopped asking for petting and started to run away when we approached him. Now he's approximately 14 months old, and we cannot touch him. He's just recently decided to start sleeping on us again. I had a cold and a fever a couple months ago and he layed on me the night I had a fever and I woke up and was better. We figured he must have known I was sick and that's why he layed on me.
Now, he wants to sleep on one of us all the time. Since Spooky layed on me while I was sick, John now thinks that the person he chooses to lay on must be sick.
But here's the part I don't understand... Spooky has to be sleeping on us, but we still cannot touch him. If we lay our hand on him, he gives us a very offended look and runs away... but comes back a minute later to go back to sleep.
Why does he want to be with us but won't let us touch him? He has NEVER been abused in any way, and it couldn't just be the movement of our hands toward him because even if we touch him while he's sound asleep or looking in another direction he still runs away at the slightest touch.
Any ideas what may be going through his head? I miss being able to pet him!
We found Spooky Bear in our barn last October. There were two kittens huddled in the corner of the barn when John's dad went out to feed horses. The first kitten (who has since passed away) was pretty easy to catch. Spooky Bear was not as easy... it took us an hour because he kept running away and hiding under things. We finally did catch him though and took him inside. It was very cold out and we never did see a momma cat.
Spooky was around 5 weeks old or so. He was really skittish and hissy but it didn't take very long for him to come around. We could pet him and play with him and he loved attention. When he got a little bigger, he figured out that he could escape from our bedroom and go climbing around in the ceiling and get down on the steps and explore the rest of the basement. We would try to block his exit routes but he just found new ones. He would come and "visit" for awhile for play and petting and would snuggle for a little while and then would go back to exploring.
Then he just gradually stopped asking for petting and started to run away when we approached him. Now he's approximately 14 months old, and we cannot touch him. He's just recently decided to start sleeping on us again. I had a cold and a fever a couple months ago and he layed on me the night I had a fever and I woke up and was better. We figured he must have known I was sick and that's why he layed on me.
Now, he wants to sleep on one of us all the time. Since Spooky layed on me while I was sick, John now thinks that the person he chooses to lay on must be sick.
But here's the part I don't understand... Spooky has to be sleeping on us, but we still cannot touch him. If we lay our hand on him, he gives us a very offended look and runs away... but comes back a minute later to go back to sleep.
Why does he want to be with us but won't let us touch him? He has NEVER been abused in any way, and it couldn't just be the movement of our hands toward him because even if we touch him while he's sound asleep or looking in another direction he still runs away at the slightest touch.
Any ideas what may be going through his head? I miss being able to pet him!
