Give Me Some Of That Fine Petting!!!

Well, I've had Larry and Lena now for a little over 7 weeks. Lena's a marshmallow. She even lets me pick her up for a few seconds and give her kisses, never stopping with the purrs.

Larry has obviously been observing. He mostly scatters if he sees me coming. He sits under the table and watches (from a safe distance) as I pet Lena and stroke her and talk to her.

The other day, I said, "You want some of this?" He walked right over to me and arched his neck, offering the top of his head for a pet. He hung around for almost a full minute as I petted him on his head and along his back. I was shocked!!!

And then he bolted.

But, now, if I'm petting Lena, I say that to him and hold out my hand, and he just walks right under it for a little pet.

I'm very happy.......this is a huge step for this whacky kitty.

That's great!!! I have the opposite problem, my girl Aphrodite is the one who still runs, but the boy Apollo loves to be petted

Beauty only lets me pet her on her terms!

No one else can pet her without her trying to run off.

I find that if I go to pet Arwen sometimes, she will 'hollow' her back out as if to say 'don't touch me!'....then run off! It's like she only wants to be petted when she curls up on my lap, or comes to me for them in her own time. She can be a bit snobby!

Shark doesn't mind when I pet her, she will lap it up like no tomorrow, and Brandy..well, that's a different story altogether!
If you go to pet him on the head he 'ducks'. He isn't too keen on the whole petting and stroking thing..only when it suits him!

Originally Posted by DeeDeeMay

..... He isn't too keen on the whole petting and stroking thing..only when it suits him!

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Yup, that sounds like Larry. That's why I was so shocked when he did this!

Of course, most of the time he's running away from me.

That sounds awesome!

Are they rescues? Sorry I am new here. I am trying to figure things out.

Originally Posted by Mom_To_Four

That sounds awesome!

Are they rescues? Sorry I am new here. I am trying to figure things out.

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Yup. My hairdresser is part of a rescue group - these two (brother and sister) were trapped (after many weeks of feeding them and coaxing them out from under cars) in Brooklyn, neutered, then socialized for a couple of months in a woman's basement - fed, held, but kept in big crates - and I was supposed to foster them to socialize them more before being put up for adoption.

Well.....*sigh*....I immediately fell in love with them and can't see traumatizing them anymore by yet another change, so they're staying with me.

They're definitely getting used to living in an apartment, and Lena, the girl, is the bolder of the two. Her brother, Larry, is very skittish, so this step of him actually coming up and wanting to be petted is huge!

I'm basically new here, too, but TCS has become my new favorite place. It's really interesting and helpful reading other people's experiences with their kitties!