New member, hello!

[Snoof]

Hi, I'm Snoof. I'm 23 and I live in Lancashire with my boyfriend and my son Random, who is 3. I have 3 rats and a big black rescue cat called Ninja Stealth Cat (but of course we call him Ninja or Ninj).

This is Ninja:

http://www.snoof.co.uk/pets/ninja/pics/ninjaboxsmall.jpg

We're also fostering 2 kittens from the same rescue in January, and will hopefully adopt them. Ninja is very antisocial because he's frightened of humans, and will only allow petting if there's little to no way you could hurt him (and if you move slowly and calmly and don't suddenly come at him). He's getting no social interaction at the moment, and we're hoping the kittens will provide that for him (as he will be able to beat them into submission with his mighty paw of doom! [thunder crash]).

Additionally, we're cautiously hoping that he may learn from them that we, despite our undeniable people-ness, are nothing to be afraid of. He doesn't have to become a lapcat, but it seems so sad that he lives with beings he's always running away from :(

However, lately he's slowed his running-away speed down to a brisk but comfortable trot, so hopefully that's a sign that he might be accepting us to be... Well, not quite evil.

Edited to add: Unless the kittens worsen his behaviour (disregarding the initial pounce-and-bat period, I've introduced cats to one another before, including a kitten to a grown male neuter), we will adopt them. If he absolutely hates them, however, we'll have to hand them back to the rescue - but at least the rescue will have had reduced bills for food and litter for a couple of months.

[Elfin]

Welcome to the cat pages from another newbie :smt039 . Your Ninja is a beautiful cat.

[Fran]

Warm welcome to CP!! Nija is a gorgeous boy!!!

[Moli]

Hi warm welcome to catpages, beautiful boy!!

[borderdawn]

Welcome to CP, what a beautiful Cat Ninja is, name really suits him. Hope it works out with the kittens.
Dawn.

[Tom]

Hi and welcome!!!! Ninja is great!!!

[Donna]

Hello and welcome. A lovely black cat you have :)

[Mags]

Hi Snoof, http://www.cosgan.de/images/more/flowers/043.gif to Catpages!
Ninja is a beautiful boy....hope to hear more from you about Ninja and the new kittens when they arrive!

[Snoof]

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone :)

Ninja is gorgeous, we love him to bits :)

[Kazz]

Hi and welcome.
Lovely introduction and a brilliant pictureof Nija. I would not be overly concerned he is a little antisocial - reducing the speed of his escape says you are winning. :-D My old boy Oscar spent all his 23 years avoiding people other than the close family - he had been ill treated as a kitten and still only allowed a few (2) selected people to pick him up. :roll: But he is well worth the effort.

Take cre

[EmmaG]

Hi and welcome!!!

Nija is totally gorgeous!! I am sure he will come around in time. :)

[Kay]

Welcome to Catpages, Snoof. Ninja is such a stunner. I love truly black cats they have a definite air about them. Hopefully the kittens will teach to be more accepting of people. Good Luck.

[yola]

Hello and welcome. It's lovely to have you here and Ninja too. He sounds like a wonderful, if challenging, member of your household. I hope it works out with the kittens - it's be good for all concerned if it did!!

BTW - I love your little boy's name. It's SO evocative (and cool):-D .

[dinahsmum]

:smt039 Hi Snoof and a warm welcome to CatPages - hope you will like it here.
Ninja is beautiful - it sounds as though he is coming round, so good luck on his continued socialisation.
http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/8/8_2_105.gif

[Snoof]

Thanks everyone :)

[LMC]

Hi snoof - I'm quite new here myself but have already found this forum really useful (for the cats' Christmas prezzie :-D )

Your Ninja looks and sounds SO like my Snowy (yep, she's black) - she was a semi-feral kitten. Even now she's 11.5, she's never going to be a lap cat. And sometimes it's so frustrating that I just get to the point when she'll trust me and then I have to go and spoil it all by taking her to the vet or worming her, dammit.

But cats are independent creatures - if Snowy wasn't happy, she'd refuse to come into the house at all, or take herself off quickly enough and I'm sure Ninja would be the same - so even though it feels like an uphill struggle, don't be too hard on yourself - the life you are giving him is almost certainly so much better than the one he had before: focus on the moments when he looks comfortable and happy, even if he's not interacting with you! He looks like a beautiful healthy cat, keep us posted as to how he gets on with the kits.

[Snoof]

I will do :) And thanks for the words of encouragement. It's harder to be sure of myself that I'm doing right by him when he's so obviously still frightened, and rarely expresses any form of appreciation - but then when I think about the time I got to pet him through the banister (me on the stairs, him on the landing, very uncomfortable and I had to pee!), and he nudged my hand with his face five times in a row when I stopped giving forehead scritchings - to get me to give him some more of them. Or about the time he let me close the bedroom door with him and me in it together, and I didn't find out for about an hour (when I heard a kitty yawn and saw two big yellow eyes staring at me from a pile of black clothes - my boyfriend thinks bedroom floors are extra-large laundry hampers :lol:), and the way he stayed where he was for about half an hour before going to the bedroom door to get me to open it for him... And every tiny bit of progress really is a way to show his appreciation.

I even suspect I appreciate them more because I know how hard it is for him to trust me enough to allow those things to happen, whereas a more trusting cat may be more affectionate, but doesn't have to work through fright to do it... It makes me very proud of him :)

[LMC]

If Ninja is happy to be in the same room as you and will sleep when you're around, then sounds like he'll be fine given time, although he probably won't ever be a cuddlebug. You're right, the little things are so much more meaningful when you know they are getting over a fear of you - I'm sorry to say that I push Jenny away occasionally, because she's ALWAYS affectionate (but I wish she wouldn't sleep on the pillow and sometimes I want to give one of the others a bit of attention!) - but I always make time for Snowy's 'moments'.

Oh, and I reckon they must have some sixth sense, they always pick bad times to decide they *do* want some affection after all - Snowy went through a phase of actually :gasp: jumping on my lap - but only ever in the mornings about five minutes before I had to leave for work. At the moment, she's sleeping on the bed with me. She waits until I'm in bed before jumping up and always peeps over the edge of the duvet to see if I'm awake to scratch her ears before we settle - but if I reach to cuddle her - she's off.

[Snoof]

Cats can be such teases :lol:

My old cat, Dishrag (whom I got because he was thrown out of a car as a kitten :mad:) was so incredibly cuddly, sometimes I <i>had</i> to push him away! I miss him though :( He's with my ex in America, because it wasn't feasible to take him with me when I moved back to Europe.

[Naomi]

Welcome to Catpages!

Ninja is such a great name for a gorgeous cat.

[Jac]

Hello and welcome. Hope you enjoy it here. Were all a mad lot but you'll find that out! :lol:

[dandysmom]

Hi and welcome.
Lovely introduction and a brilliant pictureof Nija. I would not be overly concerned he is a little antisocial - reducing the speed of his escape says you are winning. :-D My old boy Oscar spent all his 23 years avoiding people other than the close family - he had been ill treated as a kitten and still only allowed a few (2) selected people to pick him up. :roll: But he is well worth the effort.

Take cre
Hi! I'm another brand new member' enjoyed the beautiful ,picture of Ninja...hopefully he will finally overcome his past and finally learn to trust. I hope the kittens will help. Some cats are just not sociable...I had a little Singapura male who just adored people & made for laps at once; my blue-patched tabby, Leia who never had a finger raised in anger to her in her life(I re-homed her at 4 months) is spooky with everyone...dashes up the stairs whenever someone knocks on the door...??? Why?

[Snoof]

Hi! I'm another brand new member' enjoyed the beautiful ,picture of Ninja...hopefully he will finally overcome his past and finally learn to trust. I hope the kittens will help. Some cats are just not sociable...I had a little Singapura male who just adored people & made for laps at once; my blue-patched tabby, Leia who never had a finger raised in anger to her in her life(I re-homed her at 4 months) is spooky with everyone...dashes up the stairs whenever someone knocks on the door...??? Why?
Aye. I'm not particularly bothered if he never becomes a lapcat, but cats are social animals and I hope the kittens will at least provide him with a way to get rid of some loneliness.

That said, can't wait till we get them :lol:

[Kay]

I shouldn't worry it looks like you are making progress. Take each day as it comes and time will heal Ninja's fears.