This morning it went from tentative scritches to head to tail stroking pets, with Mittens the Kitten

[Siwsan]

Scooter is still 'OK' with a scritch or head pet but Mittens has finally figured out physical contact with a human can be pretty nice. And all of this happens BEFORE I set the bowl down.

Skittish is still skittish and Spooky is still VERY nervous, and I have little hope that will change, but that doesn't mean I'll stop trying.

Now to wad up some paper for Madoc. The busier he is chasing that, the safer are my toes.

[niyad]

1. That is such great progress with Mittens. And thank you for not giving up on the

others. Fingers crossed.

Wadded up paper is good. So are balls of aluminum foil for some cats. And, of course, balls of yarn.

[lark]

5. Balled up gum wrappers are ideal.

My old cat & I had game with these. I'd wad them up and throw it down in front of crackly side up me and she'd pass it from paw to paw running as she pushed it to the wall. When it hit the wall shed pick it up in her teeth & bring it back to me to do it over again.

[niyad]

7. Gum wrappers are indeed excellent, but I do not chew gum.

That is indeed one very cool game.

[lark]

8. Actually I quit chewing gum 40 years ago because of a bad jaw.

Hubs chews gum so I used his wrappers. It was a super fun game. She was the smartest cat I've ever known, had many games she played. Boxing was big with her and jumping in flips following the laser pointer were some of her other favorites. When we got dogs later on, torturing them was also big on her list of things to do.

[niyad]

9. She sounds an amazing little being.

[lark]

10. Kitty was an amazingly bright soul.

She was a feral kitten from a feral momma cat at my friends house. She was the only kitten who would play with her, and our other & had died so my friend really cultivated her for me. She had never been in a house, and was 12 weeks old, and terrified when we brought her home. It took 1 day for her to get less scared and let me pet her. By the 2nd day we had her out in the living room & she was playing with us, chasing things, and sat up and when I reached for her, she batted my fingers, no claws extended. I batted back very gently of course to not knock her over, and the boxing game was invented. She'd play like this for a long time. She also decided that she only drank out of the sink, not her water bowl. The sink in the hall bathroom had loose handles & she learned how to bat it & get the water flowing. Before that, she just cried at the sink until we turned it on for her.

We had 17 glorious years with her for which I am grateful.

[niyad]

11. Thank you so much for sharing Kitty with us. Definitely an amazing little being.

Did you know that there are faucet fixtures that are designed so that cats can turn them on by themselves? And, of course, tabletop fountains, since cats prefer running/fresh water. I had to explain to a friend that the reason his fountain was running out of water was because of his cat. He did not believe me until he saw it for himself.

[lark]

13. No, I didn't know about the cat faucets or I would have bought one when we moved.

Instead, I was just her faucet slave.

[niyad]

14. Such wonderful rewards, being their slaves!

[lark]

15. We do it with great joy.

They reward us by hopping in our laps, purring, & giving looks of love back as well as making us laugh with their antics.

[femmedem]

2. Wow, Siwsan! A giant leap forward.

[SheltieLover]

3. This is great!

Mittens is coming along very nicely, thanks to your attention & care.

Perhaps s/he would be a good playmate for Madoc?

I plastic cap from a carton of orange juice or milk makes a great hockey puck, too.

Enjoy!

[lark]

6. My cat loves those little plastic tops.

If they are brightly colored, it's even better.

[Hotler]

4. You're so owned. Suggestion for cat toy since they like paper.

scrunch up a piece of paper and tie it like a bowtie hang it with string in a open doorway about 2-3 inches off the floor so it can swing back and forth or, just drag about 12'-0 of string across the yard an see what you catch. I have found that cats hit string like a Brook Trout, quick and hard. Whenever I can't find the cats I drag the string trough the house. And from out of nowhere I get a strike, what a hoot.

[wnylib]

12. The petting with Mittens before she eats

sounds like Mittens is making a reward association between not being afraid and getting food, which is expanding to affection. First, she was rewarded with food just by showing up. Then, if she was brave enough to stay, she had a better chance of getting her share than if she ran off or hid. Now she's made the connection that not being afraid has 2 rewards, food and a friendly touch. The touch being connected to food has an undertone of affection for her, associated with affection and food from mama when she was nursing and dependent on her mama. Now she is dependent on you for food so the affection gets transferred to you. Being unafraid around you brings her a dual reward.

She is also training you in the process. You get the reward that she senses that you want. Cats are such talented manipulaters and suckups. Good negotiators, too. She is meeting you half way in a win-win negotiation.