I Lied

It’s the truth.  I lied.  But not intentionally.  This was just ANOTHER example of a cat proving me wrong. 

I wrote about Sallie the dilute calico a couple of weeks ago.  I gave the impression that Sallie was aloof.  That’s because I truly believed she had become aloof over the months she has been here.  She was one of a group that I recently took for spay and neuter surgeries.  I moved the group into my bathroom after the surgeries so that I could watch to see that all was going well during recuperation.  Sallie was the one in the group that wanted nothing to do with me.  For her adoption post, I wrote that she was “not a perfectly adoptable kitty at the moment.” 

When the surgery group moved back to the cathouse, I decided not to send Sallie along.  Once a less-than-attached kitty moves into the cathouse, they certainly don’t become MORE people-seeking.  I moved her into the cage in my office that was vacated when Sunshine and Juice moved out.  Remember - Isis is still in the office and she doesn’t like other cats.  (She liked Sunshine and Juice, so that worked out well.  She hides and hisses when other cats are present.)  I was hoping that she might like Sallie because Sallie is so young and really small.  But Isis has done nothing but hiss at Sallie since Sallie has been living in the office. 

However . . .   there is good news.  Sallie has made a complete turnaround.  When I step into the office now, she jumps down from wherever she’s been and comes trotting over.  She looks WAY UP (I love it when they do that!) and meows at me.  I sit down on the floor and pet her.  She purrs when I pet her and she comes to me.  What a change.

Playing toys with me.

 

It was hard to pet Sallie with one hand and take pictures with the other.

Little Sallie is QUITE happy to have my attention. She IS ready for a home of her own!

Isis is really unhappy to have Sallie in the office.  And Sallie has learned to steer clear of Isis.  So this is certainly not an ideal setup.  I will move Sallie back to the cathouse soon and hope for the best.   But now I know that Sallie just needed some individual attention.  I'm hoping she'll get PLENTY of that in a new forever home!  As always, friends, help me spread the word.

This experience with Sallie has reminded me of something I have known for a while but have not recognized in the right way.  Normally, I bring a cathouse kitty to my kennel office when they have to be fed a certain diet or given medicine for a while.  I have now (finally) realized that this is a beautiful and consistent tool for taming.  Juice became my friend when I moved him into my office. (Yes, he still went crazy when we tried to load him into a carrier, but the taming part before that had gone marvelously well.)  Isis has also become my friend and companion since moving into the office.  Now it’s working with Sallie.  It would be nice to use this technique on ALL of the “less-adoptables” in the cathouse.  It becomes much more difficult when my kennel business picks up.  It’s the slow season right now, but starting in March, that will change.  We’ll see.  Recently, Tibby Bean and Spritz have each, on separate occasions, done something in the cathouse to make me think they are more adoptable than previously thought.  Maybe a turn in the office would do each of them some good.  For sure, I’ve been feeling sad for Spritz.  I had an inquiry about her through Petfinder, but when I described her personality, the family declined. 

Spritz

I would love for Spritz to still someday get her perfect home.

Tibby Bean is Circe's biological sister. Maybe she could be adopted like Circe was.

Tibs is the resident (somewhat grouchy) matriarch of the cathouse.

Maybe even Tibby would want a home someday.

I want to say something about yesterday’s post (about Victor).  I could tell that some of you felt my pain.  To be completely honest, it really bothered me to make the decision I did about Victor.  Older Daughter reports that he is still doing great, and that helps me a lot.  But your comments helped, too.  I’m so very grateful to have you reading and caring - like you’ve been doing for a long time now.  Thanks for traveling this road with me.

Before I close, let me share a short series of pictures.  The daffodils on the bluff always show up sometime in February.  But look what Husband found last weekend in January!

Daffodils! The promise of Spring!

The daffodils without the Amelia. (That tiny yellow dot left of the flowers is the moon through the window.)

That prompted me to get a shot of that beautiful full moon.

Have a great weekend!

Comments

[Random Felines]

Those daffodils are in for a surprise when they discover it isn't really spring yet. hahaha

I honestly believe there is a family out there for every cat....some just take longer than others. And some get adopted so fast that we are caught off guard. Keeping our paws crossed!!

[Kat & the Teenage Mutant Ninja Kitty Horde]

Thanks for the daffodils! I miss my late grandmother's patch which had four or five different kinds. I think you're spot on about using the office for taming!

BTW I know you don't have the time to go 'visiting', Rose & Merlin are doing great after their spay & neuter. Audrey spent the night in my room (which has a bathroom for their litter) with Da Orphans and loved having even more of mom's attention! She's also getting better about not wanting to rush out any outside door and letting me take her out on the leash instead!!

[Andrea and the Celestial Kitties]

Yay for Sallie! She's such a pretty little thing, I hope she gets her forever home soon! She's clearly a people kitty, just needs time for it to come out!
I hope that's what Tibby Bean and Spritz need too, just some one on one with a human of their own! Now, wouldn't YOU, dear readers, like to be the person who helps their personality bloom?
I ask this with Leo, who did not do well in the cathouse at first, curled up between my feet purring his little heart out with love. Who wouldn't want that??? Furry love is the best love! Get yours from the cathouse (or Chrystal's office) today! Speak for a kitty! Take one or two home!

If you can't get one for yourself, please tell everyone you know so they can come over, see the kitties and choose their own special furry friend!

Adopt, donate, buy a book, get a toy set, adopt! spread the word far and wide!

[ginny& the Fur Family]

Sallie is a shy little lady waiting for the perfect mom and dad to seek her out for their very own loving furrie..So beautiful is she. Tibby bean and Spritz are as beautiful- each with their own little quirks. But don't we all have quirks - mine is,I, like Chrystal love too deeply. True love for a furrie can sometimes hurt. like that song..Love hurts..la la la... But the love is so worth the hurt of making friends with a shy, lonely, afraid furrie. Right now, I have a faded Calico named Lattie' who never lets me pet her. Her mother was killed when she was a wee kitt. She has a very short neck and practially no scruff.... so it is hard to pick her up, but she will come to me when I am sitting down and rub against my legs and lay under my chair.. I do love her so, but she is still afraid. Her mother was a wild stray. I have had her 11 years, and took her to Arizona in the back of a pick up truck in a cage several times. I never never gave up on her and she in her way loves me dearly..... go for it! Adopt one of these sweet little cats and have love forever. Remember to adopt - spay and neuter and donate to the cause - also buy the great book.. Ginny & The Fur Family -remember Andrea makes supper neat toys for a present for your furrie.

[Lee County Clowder]

If the weather around there is like the weather around here, those flowers are trying to burrow back into the ground about now.

Sallie is a cutie. Purrrrrring that she finds a furrever home soon.

[J]

#EmptyTheCatHouse for the month of February Campaign. Suggesting adopting or donation to Winnie's Wish.

[meowmeowmans]

Wow, what a turnaround for Sallie! How great is it when some individual attention and love help change a cat's view about people? :)

Those daffodils sure are pretty. It felt like spring for three days here, but now we're back in the 20s. I hope you're warmer there, otherwise those flowers are in for a rude awakening.

Purrs and prayers that Sallie, Spritz, and Tibby all find their forever homes soon. They are out there, somewhere! I just know it. And Victor will find his forever home, too. THANK YOU for caring so much, Chrystal. We love you!

[Timmy Tomcat]

Our Fitz was a bit Aloof. In time she started to rub on Pops. He even tried Youtube movies to show that, no, she was not simply a meatloaf kitty. In the end he adopted her. Now she is aloof with the rest of the cats. go figure

[Milo and Alfie's mom]

Thank you for being you! xx