A Kittens Worth of Fur

In my ongoing efforts to reach comradeship with our new feline companion - Nala - I have undertaken to let her know that this is a two-way street. She has to start stepping up to the petting plate and get over the worry-scurrying every time one of us twitches. So we had a chat, she and I, wherein I told her that she needed to meet me half way. I indicated that I would henceforth ignore her efforts to get me to pet her solely on her terms (on the floor) and that she had to start acquiescing to hanging out on the couch with me/us. She appeared unimpressed.



Nevertheless, yesterday I did as I had said, refusing to go to the floor to pet her, instead sitting on the couch and patting it to coax her up. She did not, and therefor got no attention. (Understand, this is hard on me too. I love kitties.) She did hang out on one couch while we watched part of a movie while sitting on the other couch. I considered that a start. At least she hung out in the same room with us! This morning started out with much meowing on her part, clearly seeking attention. An hour or so after I got up - Reena having departed for work - I sat on the couch. Optimistically I had a book at hand. Nala did not jump up, but atypically allowed me to pick her up and set her on the couch next to me whereupon I pet her. She was loving it, and I noticed that the soft rubber brush was within reach so I started in with that. Well, let me tell you, she was totally grooving on that. Our last cats were disinterested (or hostile) to being brushed so this is a new experience for me. I kept it up until I had removed an entire kittens worth of fur, then put the brush down and draped an arm across her and picked up my book. She settled in and fell asleep while I read a chapter. When I got up, she remained on the couch until I grabbed my camera and the brush, and set it next to the mound of fur for a photo. Then she decided that was pretty interesting and came to assist.



Slowly but surely we proceed to bond. It seems she gets it when I clearly state my intentions. Weird, and I know I'm probably projecting, but when I indicate clearly what I want (and visualize it as best I can) she responds in a way that indicates some sort of comprehension. So my job is to be clear and reasonable. Nala's job is to be a cat in the home of two cat-lovers. I think it will work out.