It was May of 2019 when The Grumpiest Old Men came to Apifera after they had lived a semi ferel life before being turned over tot he shelter after the person caring for them had to move. My contact at the shelter, along with other volunteers, had worked to try to tender them up so they could be adopted, but she knew that these two were problematic and she asked if I might take them on. We both knew that I was pretty much the end of the line for them.
On arrival, they were so tense their pupils were like flying saucers, they stuck together in a pile, they hissed even if I was 20 feet away...I wasn't sure I had done the right thing, but they did not bother the other elders and I knew if they became a threat to anyone, my contact would take them back. For those first weeks, maybe months, if I entered the room they would fly off whereever they were sitting and hide. I was very careful how I moved around them. One of them was much more ferel than the other, and at the shelter they found this to be true too. They had touched the other one, briefly.
I named them The Grumpiest Old Men, but then also named them Walter and Lemon. For almost a year I've been documenting my progress with Walter [on Instagram]. I also began singing to him. At some point, I took a back scratcher and began using that to try to desensitize him. Over the weeks that followed, even though he always hissed in the beginning, he became calmer with me. People watched over the months as his glare became softer, the hisses became less angry and scared, and one day, I touched him-by keeping the backscratcher at his face, and using my other hand to gently and quickly touch him.
About two weeks ago, I made huge steps with Walter. I was able to pet him without using the aide of the back scratcher. It was marvelous feeling, and his eyes were softer. Days later, [see video above] I came to him, and he was sitting upright, and allowed me to pet him at length, he even looked at me and -well, he was a different cat. He also became more confidant and began sleeping in more open spots n the room.
When I come in now, I pet him, and there is no hissing. I am still very careful to not make sudden movements. But I really see his eyes tell me he is liking this thing called touch.
My dream would be to pick him up, but I'm just so happy for him, that he released the fear. What a long road and challenge for him, and me, but I had all the time in the world for him and was in no rush. One must never be in a rush when working with animals or they will sense it and not listen or trust. I never work with treats either, ever, with any animal-I want them to be present with me when they are open to that, not because they smell a treat. Using treats with goats, dogs, llamas or horses-in my expereince-creates a pushy animal, and a pushy animal creates a dangerous situation.
I have not pushed Lemon. He has made some advances-like he stays out in the room when I arrive rather than retreating to a hidden corner. He will tolerate my moving about the room, sometimes even if I'm five feet away. His eyes are not as ferel and he sleeps with the other cats well. My goal is not to push him. I'm not even sure touch is the goal, I just want him to feel more relaxed if I am closer to him.
I'm very proud of Walter...and I think he actually likes me.
This video below was a month ago when I still got a hiss, and I still used the backscratcher for protection.
