He keeps making progress by leaps and bounds. I was watching a tv episode, and heard him mewing outside in the hallway. So I called him, "you can come in if you want, Apricot" because saying "come on in" is taking on the force of a command, and I didn't want him to feel like he had to brave the tv making noises.
But he came in, and I paused the show, because I didn't want to scare him off before we even started. I've gotten him to come up on the couch with me while the tv was off, and I invited him up now, with the tv paused. He first went to investigate the movement he saw in the bookshelf doors (his own reflection) and then dismissed that and jumped up on the couch with me. I petted him for a bit, and then he left and walked out the door, seemingly of his own accord. It didn't look like he'd left because he was scared.
So I started the show up again. I have hopes that eventually he'll learn to ignore the tv and its noises, and just be on the couch beside me. He certainly seems to enjoy being with me, which is most flattering!
We also did front claw clipping this afternoon, which didn't go quite so well as last time. He kept pulling away the entire time, but not quite hard enough to pull his paw out of my hand. I got all front claws clipped except the dew claws. He was pulling so hard I couldn't get the leverage.
On the good side, he didn't run when I let go, and didn't seem scared or upset by the process, and he didn't offer violence or aggression on the other hand either.
I also tried picking him up again later. I tried something different this time.
Pippin always wanted to hide in my hair from the scary world, and I usually had him over my shoulder with his paws gripping my back. So I'd been picking up Apricot with his face towards me, although I didn't put him over my shoulder. Mostly because that would just be a little too much for me to handle, having an orange tabby kitty right there again.
But I remembered that at Br'er Coon, Mrs. McFadden had told me that Tank liked to be held so he was looking out at the world. So I thought perhaps Apricot wants to keep an eye on the world around him, to make sure nothing could jump out and scare him or attack him when he was in my arms and unable to run away.
So today I tried picking him up where he faced out. And he purred the entire time. I didn't move from where I was standing, and I put him down when I thought I heard him make the little lick-lick noise that means he's frightened. He was still purring though. And he didn't run away or jerk away when I put him on the floor, although he did kind of fall over and not take his weight back on his own four feet soon enough. Oddly enough, Max has this problem too, or had it when I had him. I think it's a consequence of not being picked up enough as a kitten, so they don't instinctively compensate.
Luckily for Apricot, Max had alerted me to the possibility of this happening, so I didn't actually let go until he had his feet under him and under control.
Before I congratulate myself, I must remember that purring does not necessarily mean the cat is happy; it can mean that the cat is trying to reassure themselves. But his body wasn't stiff and pushing away from me (and if you don't think a mere spine can push, you haven't held an uncooperative cat), and he didn't seem at all daunted by the hold.
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| In my pink room, getting petted. |
He even tossed one and then pounced on it, getting completely airborne in the process. With his chasing and pouncing on Da Bird, and the toy mice play, I am completely baffled that he doesn't get the whole "I toss the mouse and he chases it" concept. I've tried it multiple times with different toys, and he just doesn't get it. He falls over and looks at me with that look that says, "forget the toy. You're here. Pet me." It's like he's making up for a lifetime of not getting loved on, poor fellow. Or not allowing himself to be loved on because he was too scared.
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