FELINE FRIDAY COMES ON SUNDAY

There’s been a really remarkable event going on here the past few days.

Sixteen years ago, when Charlie first entered our life, he was being followed around outside by a small grey feral kitten. After Charlie came inside, we discovered the kitten had taken up residence in the garage. In September 2007, a program was held locally for neutering feral cats. We managed to trap the kitten, and brought it to the event. We discovered that the small kitten was actually older than indicated by size, and that it was a she.

We named her Robyn, and when we came home, we brought the kitten inside. Not knowing diddly at the time about how to domesticate a feral cat, we opened the cage and put her out in the house among the other cats. She immediately went under the furniture, and that was where she stayed for most of the past sixteen years, venturing out for feeding, and sometimes to interact with the other cats. As we learned more about domesticating ferals, we felt bad that we hadn’t taken care with her, since by all indications she was a little sweetheart, just too scared as a feral to come out and join in with the rest. Once she came out and sat in a planter and watched the others play.

When we moved to this house, I tried to run Robyn through the “domestication program” we had developed, since she was in new surroundings. She became a bit less fearful and appeared in the open more frequently, but she was still our “indoor feral.”

Just before Jurate’s accident, Robyn started jumping on the couch where Jurate was sitting, and would let herself get touched. When the couch was replaced by the hospital bed following the fall, Robyn would occasionally jump on the bed, but she wouldn’t get any closer.

When Jurate went to the residential hospice and the hospital bed was removed, the room was opened up and I got rid of other things, limiting the amount of hiding places for the cats. Jurate had always been a believer that if we gave Robyn enough time, she would “come around.” But after 16 years, it began to seem like it wasn’t goingto happen. But with the bed gone and the room opened up, Robyn started coming out, and then, she took up residence on the “cat couch” and started curling up and sleeping there. After a few weeks, I was able to approach her if I made a noise so I didn’t surprise her, and she started letting me pet her and seemed to really like it. Jurate was really happy to hear about that when I told her what had happened. She would ask each time I came by if there was more news about Robyn, but there was none before she crossed over.

The past few days, while I have been relatively inactive while recovering from covid, Robyn took the quiet and lack of activity as the time to make the final move.

Friday night, I felt better enough to sit out in the living room and watch some TV. I was kind of dozing, when I felt a pair of paws on my leg, I opened my eyes and saw it was Robyn, standing beside the chair with her paws on my leg. I looked at her andsaid her name softly, and suddenly she jumped up in my lap. I didn’t touch her, letting her get used to the idea. After several minutes, I reached out and touched her head between her ears. She let me do that, then I rubbed her behind her ears, which she liked. Suddenly she sat down in my lap. I spent several minutes stroking her, but then one of the other cats discovered petting was going on and jumped up to investigte, at which point Robyn jumped down.

Yesterday afternoon, I watched a movie, and she jumped up again. This time she curled up on my lap and stayed there for about 30 minutes before jumping off. She repeated that several times last night.

This morning, I brough the camera into the living room on the hope she would continue, and she did while I was watching Jonathan Capehart.

It is really wonderful when a wild animal finally decides you are worthy of the level of trust that lets them come close an interact like this. I think by the end of the weekend, Robyn will have crossed over completely to domesticity and joined the crew.

So amidst the doom and gloom, here’s some good news.

There’s additional good news that the vaxxing worked - I’ve defeated the covid and feel pretty much normal. I’ll stay in for a few more days to be sure. GET THE BIVALENT!!!

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