Cammie continues to do well, and she has added a new element to her progress. She has been jumping up on my lap for pets for a long time now. Recently, though, she has taken advantage of me sitting on the couch to join me there. It’s not the same for her as when I sit on a chair. She has come up on my lap while I’m on the couch only a few times. Once, she did it when there were other cats lounging near, which surprised me; she didn’t hiss or growl, nor did she remain long, but it was a step - or rather, leap - in the right direction.
She hasn’t purred yet while she is with me on the couch, and she stays only a minute or so. Then she will drop to the floor again or move over to the other corner of the couch to lie there. But each innovation means greater integration, greater comfort with her situation, and with the other cats. There are always set-backs. The introduction of a new cat, Kola, has put her on edge a bit. Kola, astonishingly, is not deterred by Cammie’s hisses and growls, but the Siamese Princess doesn’t care for him. She was particularly grumpy yesterday, for no discernible reason. And there is her continued antipathy toward Josie.
But if her trip to Regina, now fading into the middle distance of memory, didn’t make her regress much, then I am not too worried about the odd step back that she takes in my house; there is usually a couple of steps forward to compensate. And it’s rather interesting that a cat can move ahead while lying down.
She's doing so well! It's terrific she's coming up onto the couch beside you, even if only a few times. You seem to have a lot of patience, seem to be well-suited to fostering. :-)
ReplyDeleteIf there's one thing I've learned about cats - and some days, I think there is no more than one - it's that if you try to make them do what they don't want, you'll make things worse. So I speak to them, play with them, pet them if they let me, and otherwise let them go their own way. I always liked the tortoise rather than the hare, anyway.
DeleteThat beautiful meezer face! Siamese are very sensitive little beings. I might have told you but when I adopted my meezer from Pets -mart, he wasn't eating. I thought when I got him home I could win him over. He hated me, he was so angry! He didn't know why he was away from his owner of 14 years ( she passed away). A knowledgeable Siamese owner said they tend to be easily emotionally injured and grieve losses of any type very hard. She told me they were hard to rehome because they didn't adapt readily. Thank God you have the love and patience to help her through her trying times. Siamese love with their whole hearts and their hearts break when they loose the person they love,.
ReplyDeleteThe hardest thing about taking in a rescued cat (and it applies to all animals) is that I can't explain why things are happening as they are. Did your Siamese ever come around?
DeleteHe came around, John, but he could have never adapted to yet another family change. During his angry period, he peed on everything and I mean everything and he did not have a UTI. He growled at me, attacked other cats and would not tolerate me even looking at him. Spring ahead about 8 months and I couldn't sit down without him on my lap or preferably resting on my chest with his nose a few inches from mine , purring loudly and drooling. He developed a close friendship with another kitty and they would groom each other as Siamese do and cuddle together for sleep. When my dad died and I needed to fly home, he totally decompensated in the week I was gone. I think your sweet girl mourned the loss of the person she loved (you). It would take someone who was committed to and totally understood Siamese to make a successful adoption.
DeleteYou certainly had the patience to wait out his anger, and he obviously benefitted from that. I concur with your last statement; many cats would do well living with a variety of human personalities - as long as they were loving - but Cammie will need someone particular.
Deletesmall steps and any progress works.....sounds like she is adjusting at her own feline pace :)
ReplyDeleteMy Abby was very hard to adapt to her life with me in the beginning, she too was angry at not being "Home" with her young girl. It took many many months before she accepted me as the one who would never leave, and I kept my promise. I always will.
ReplyDeleteShe seems to be taking some pretty big steps for her :) Looking pretty comfy napping on the couch too!
ReplyDeleteI so agree with Kari, that Cammie probably missed you and is just really glad to be back home. Maybe that is a problem with fostering. It must be so hard on animals to change homes. I saw a cat that lived next door to me and the people left him there and a female too. He never did get all right. The female was undone for a long time but she is all right now.
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