Signs of your cat bonding with you

I want to hear the stories and stages of your cats (some or all) as they grew to love you and bond with you. How did you know they finally trusted you and enjoyed living with you? I also want to hear vice versa.... how it happened that you bonded with your cat, if it wasnt immediate.

I will start

With Morgan, it has taken him a long time for him to let me put my face up to his face. Up till about 2 or 3 weeks ago, he wouldnt let me kiss his face. He would pull his face away. From the start though, he has let me rub his belly and pick him up all I want.

With Abby, we are going much slower with each other. She finally started kneading me. Shes done it twice total She still will not let me touch her chest, lower legs or stomach. I think as she has started trusting me more and not acting aggressive, I have felt closer with her. She is ALWAYS rubbing against my legs though. Shes started to seek me out, especially in the bathroom and wants me to rub her head. She also now sleeps by my head in my bed at night That really makes me feel fond of her.

Jayce has been pretty easy. I think hes the sweetest, easiest cat. Ive bonded with him more because of his minor health issues and because hes like a wet noodle. For him with me, I think it was almost immediate because I havent really had any issues with him.

With Simba, I basically had to back off and let him make all the moves. He was really scared when we took him in - we have 2 big dogs, and he was terrified of them. It took him a couple of days to figure out that they couldn't get upstairs. He was a stray, and I really think that he lived a quiet life before - he doesn't like a lot of activity, even now.

So we were patient and let him come to us. I think he bonded most with me because I would go into our bedroom (he was under our bed for a couple of days), shut the door, and just sit there quietly with him. He started sleeping at the foot of our bed - very pointedly ignoring us the whole time. But one night, about 2 months after he moved in, he came marching up to me and burrowed in tightly against my chest purring loudly, and that is where he has slept ever since. So I think that means we have officially bonded!

When Ivo first came into my life, she was living as a stray outside my building. The first night we (my neighbor and I) took her in, she fell asleep in my lap, her head in my hands. For those first few nights, she'd lay in my lap and on my chest while I was sleeping. It was like she was making up for all the loving she had missed.

Once she realized that she was in my life for good, Ivo became more reserved. But over time, she's become more loving and we've bonded more and more. She now greets me at the door when I come home at night, chirping and purring and demanding pets. When I sit on the couch to watch TV or to read, she'll sit at (or often on) my feet where I can pet and talk to her. And she loves to talk! I think the biggest sign that we've bonded is that she now sleeps with me, on and off through the night. And in the morning, she'll lay with me to get her pets, including letting me pet her stomach and massage her feet. I don't think Ivo will ever become a lap cat, or will ever let me pick her up and cuddle her (she still HATES that). But to see her stretch out to let me stroke her stomach, or to have her let me play with her feet-that's the best sign I've had to let me know we've bonded.

Peaches had been declawed before I got her and was a biter. She wasn't very affectionate and was pretty much a loner when I first got her. I knew she had bonded with me when I gave her second bath and she just sat there and tolerated it. Also, she lets me clean her eyes and ears without fighting me.

Carmella I'm still working on. But she is much better. She was always hissing and growling before. And she wouldn't even let me pet her. So when she started letting me pet her and she started sleeping on my bed, I knew we had bonded!

Henrietta and Jake are instant bonders pretty much! Little Hallie does very well but I think we will be better friends when I don't have to stick medicine in her eyes twice a day!

I can only talk about Joji since the other two (Skinny and QT) are basically people friendly so I had an easy time bonding with them
Joji was truly feral. She did not like to be touched and would always hide from people. She tolerated me maybe because I was feeding her. When at last she allowed me to pet her, I learned about the Tellington t-touch. Maybe some of you heard about it. Well, it worked on Joji! With strangers,she's still aloof, doesn't like to be carried and sometimes will suddenly slash and scratch depending on her mood. It's a different story with me. She's totally loving and trusting.

Patches was very loving and affectionate from day one
Alley on the other hand took a few days before she
warmed up to us.now as soon as you pick her up and
pet her she meows

Toes chose me before I was even thinking of getting a cat. I used to visit the house where he was born because I thought the woman living there was a friend. Toes would come up to me from the time he started exploring. Eventually I found out the house was a meth house and I took off with Toes and found homes for 2 of the kittens, but was unable to rescue the mother cat and 3 other kittens.

Tailer did not chose me. Tailer did not want to go with me. Tailer did not like any human. She hid for a while after I got her, but Toes brought her out. At first he hissed, but within a couple of hours he was in playing with her but she'd hide if I came in the room so I let her be. Within a week she realized that I was a nice Mommy and that she was in a good place. She's still very distant, but she likes to be near the people she loves now, just not on them or to be touched much. She used to HATE men totally, but she bonded with my Dad and the two of them are pretty much always seen together now. My Mom sent me a photo of my Dad working on the garden with Tailer sitting right next to him.

With out first cat BK, he is only loving in the morning . You have to be in the bathroom, sit on the commode (lid can be down) he then will stand sideways in front of you, the sign for you to pick him up and give him ear and neck rubs. After that he wants everyone to leave him alone.
Scampers only likes to be touched when she wants to, which is not very often. If you are alone in a room she will jump on the chair you are sitting in and head bonks you. It is so sweet when she does this because you know she really likes you since she is so selective as to when and who gets the head bonks.
Nemo is the most loving cat we have. He loves everyone, will sleep with you, walk on your head when you are trying to sleep, head bonks you all the time and loves to be held. He is the only one out of three inside cats that is vocal and loving.
As for the 2 outside feral cats, Scrappy (mother of Scampers and Nemo) loves to rub against you but does not want to be touched. and Lefty O'Brien (father of Scampers and Nemo) has become so loving for a feral. We have had him since April and he will now let you pick him up and he wants to be held and rubbed all the time. You can tell he is Nemo's father.
We love all 5 cat personality's
Clara

We had an easier time with all of ours because we got them as kittens, and they were all very loving. But this particular incident sticks out in my mind with all the stories of bonding.

Mozart was always a sweetie, but we didn't 'click' right away. Think he didn't see us other than those 'huge weird beings', and didn't know what to make of us. So about 1 mth into our relationship, I noticed gunk on his nostrils (breathing that horrible litter that I changed immediately), and got his face, and cleaned off the gunk. I was staring intently at his nose, but then I looked into his eyes, and I swear something 'clicked' in his head where he suddenly realized I was his caretaker, and he would always be safe with me. He stopped struggling and patiently let me finish cleaning his nostrils. It was a very special moment for us.