Because the weather over the past few days has been glorious, little has been seen of Blaliko and her clingy daughter. My joke is always that they've headed for the beach or a lake. After they pop in for some food and water (sometimes as early as 4:30 AM
) they make themselves scarce 'til well into the night. Blaliko has been known to change that up now and then - good for her! On occasion she'll make an appearance at some random hour like 10 in the morning or 3:30 in the afternoon. But mostly it's to refuel before rushing back to the great outdoors. Much less often, Seteria will also make an independent food run during the daytime.
As I've posted before, these cats make for an interesting challenge given their backgrounds. From her quickly warming to me and my home after keeping her distance for ten months, the informed consensus is that Blaliko must have been adopted as a kitten. Her humans' relocation or household split-up or other drama, or perhaps pregnancy on her part, relegated her to the feral life at some point. When July of last year rolled around she was already a young adult and would make a dash for safety if I drew within about 2-3 feet. Now we're at a stage where she's signaled complete acceptance by sprawling across the bed or couch on her back with her front paws limp. Purring occurs only sporadically, but she's all about weaving around and between my ankles while rubbing her head on my leg now and then. Her body language lets on that she'd just as soon not be picked up - and lap time is mostly limited - but that could be "just her way" and never change. We shall see on that one.
Meanwhile, Seteria continues to show feral behavior after having been spayed on Friday the 13th. She's given to prolonged looks my way with her "awwwwww" kitten face, head tilted in curiosity, but has a safety zone within which I can't approach without her bolting. The only thing that's different in her actions of the past week is that she hasn't been seen snoozing atop the stack of plastic chairs in the yard. That had been her pedestal for whiling away sunny afternoons. Otherwise she's still within sight of her mother over 95% of the time and being evasive. Head and body not yet grown to match her long legs and "adult-sized" tail, she paradoxically has no qualms about calling the porch her home base and visiting inside at mealtimes and for some play sessions with Mom. YET she skitters away when That Human draws too near.
The reason for this post, however, is to bring a smidgen of glad tidings. Blaliko trained me well earlier in the year when she finally began narrowing her comfort zone. To sit at any level higher than on the porch or in the doorway was not acceptable when I went out there.
And so it came to pass on Friday afternoon that I perched in the doorway while on a short break from work. Instead of fleeing from the edge of the porch at which she was snoozing, Seteria - while maintaining a buffer zone - trotted over to the chair in which I'm now not sitting much. She hopped onto the seat to direct her "awwwwww" gaze my way. I held one of my typical mooshy monologues with her, part of which was to thank her for getting that much closer. In another tiny sign of progress, she proceeded to curl up facing away from me. That lasted so briefly it couldn't even be called a feline power nap. Within seconds she'd jumped onto the porch and reestablished herself farther away. No matter! Cold weather is "only" 3-4 months away, but MAYBE she'll be inclined to fully own me by then.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
