I have been looking after a friend's three cats while she's busy with an unexpected thing. For obvious reasons, I'm not going to say who or give too many details. I go feed them once a day -- it's not a long drive -- change their litter as necessary, keep the water dish fresh and so on.
They're shy. At first, I only saw one and her rarely, perched atop a big entertainment center where she can hide behind a trim section and look down at me, goggle-eyed with fear. After a few days, I discovered another cat had taken up residence in the basement, behind the washer and dryer. He feels safe there, and doesn't trust me a bit. He's apparently coming out for food and water when I'm not around. But the third cat was a a mystery.
Every so often, I'd hear a collar bell jingle, Eventually, I followed the sound to an open closet and found a cat who was happy to sniff my hand and came out to smooth against my ankles before returning to his spot. A day or two later, I heard the jingle from under a wing chair in a rec room mostly given over to the cats and their toys. The third cat emerged from hiding when I said hello, wanted to be petted, and brought toys over while I did the litter. He's lonely. I spent as much time with him as I could and continue to do so whenever he decides to make himself visible. He's as well-behaved and friendly a cat as I have met in a long time.
They're good cats. I don't know if the other two will ever decide to trust me but I hope they will.
I don't know why, but few cats like me. My daughter's Maine Coon keeps his distance and hisses at me. Her other cats just hide.
ReplyDeleteOn the other side, my SIL's old Siamese loved taking naps in my lap and being scratched and petted.