Rescued this sweet but incredibly skittish boy 3 years ago. Today he finally sat on the bed with me for the first time. 😍 Heart melting.
The shelter said he’d been a feral kitten rescued from the streets, but at an age that he was still young enough to be adopted for home life. He’s incredibly sweet and has always clearly wanted petting, but he also freaks out and runs away at anything, even too much eye contact. I’ve had many kitties but never one that was even close to this nervous and skittish. I think something really traumatic must have happened while he was on the streets. So for three years, I’ve been patient and quiet whenever he ventures near. He’ll appear out of nowhere and come closer veeery slowly, giving a little meow as if asking for attention. He lets me pet him, and eventually I was even able to start picking him up for short times. The first time he started purring while I was holding him, I almost cried because I was so happy for him to finally feel safe enough to do that. He will sleep on the bed during the day sometimes, but never at night when I’m there. He’ll never sit on the sofa with me. I’ve tried before to sit down on the sofa or bed if he’s already there, but he gets uncertain and nervous, and dashes away. Well, today, he was on the bed again. I petted him, and he seemed calmer than usual. I started to sit down slowly, and he didn’t get up and run away. He actually lay back down and started purring just a little. It felt like such a breakthrough moment, and all the patience has been worth it. I know that all of you who’ve had a nervous kitty will understand how special it was that he finally felt safe enough to stay and get some love. ❤️
The shelter said he’d been a feral kitten rescued from the streets, but at an age that he was still young enough to be adopted for home life. He’s incredibly sweet and has always clearly wanted petting, but he also freaks out and runs away at anything, even too much eye contact. I’ve had many kitties but never one that was even close to this nervous and skittish. I think something really traumatic must have happened while he was on the streets. So for three years, I’ve been patient and quiet whenever he ventures near. He’ll appear out of nowhere and come closer veeery slowly, giving a little meow as if asking for attention. He lets me pet him, and eventually I was even able to start picking him up for short times. The first time he started purring while I was holding him, I almost cried because I was so happy for him to finally feel safe enough to do that. He will sleep on the bed during the day sometimes, but never at night when I’m there. He’ll never sit on the sofa with me. I’ve tried before to sit down on the sofa or bed if he’s already there, but he gets uncertain and nervous, and dashes away. Well, today, he was on the bed again. I petted him, and he seemed calmer than usual. I started to sit down slowly, and he didn’t get up and run away. He actually lay back down and started purring just a little. It felt like such a breakthrough moment, and all the patience has been worth it. I know that all of you who’ve had a nervous kitty will understand how special it was that he finally felt safe enough to stay and get some love. ❤️