For the first time in so long..

[Luke]

....for the first time in so long, tonight Elsa let me play with her. Now shes a very sweet cat but due to all her vet problems when very young she seems to be very mistrusting of people in general, which is quite sad but i love her regardless!! Now once youve got her and holding her etc or youve got her on your lap shes ok...but going near her to pick her up jeesh thats a big no no in Elsa land.
Well needless to say i've been a tad disheartened about her being as nervy as she is..but about a fortnight ago she seemed to be making little steps of progress...by actually coming over to you when your stationary and giving you the lick or a nuzzle. The today i had 2 of my very young cousinsaround..they are 4 and 5 and they had insisted on making something...so my mum and them made sock puppets:shock:anyway i was the one who tidied away and as i was i dropped this box and it spilled out a load of coloured feathers:roll: well Elsa ran past and took a few in her mouth and ran upstairs to put them in her stash. Well about an hour ago she was pelting around upstairs like a lunatic and when i came up she didn't shy away..she came over with a blue feather in her mouth and actually let me play!!!!!!! (Pictures to follow)
So have any of you got any tips/information/advice on how to further Elsa's people skills?
It will be VERY much appreciated:D
Best wishes

[Donna]

Chloe is the same Luke. Very much a scaredy cat. She herself has improved a fair bit over the last few weeks and I put this down to my daughter Emma making a promise not to pick her up. She hates it. She is slowly gaining confidence with people and knows that if we go near her she is not going to be lifted up EVERY time. Now she has been known to come and sit on my lap on the sofa, and lays on my bed at night. She is getting more vocal and likes to chat too.

[CJK]

I hope elsa carries on improving luke, she is a lovely cat. I am sure as she gets more and more used to she will come out of her shell a little bit more.

[Elaine]

This is just a thought but I have read many times that you can boost a cats confidence by playtime and so i was thinking, since she liked the feathers, why not get her one of those long feathery toys on a pole and play with her using that. The idea is that every now and again when she catches it and grabs it, let her have it for a short time to play with like prey and maybe reward her with a little treat or something.
I think there are also clicker training techniches for helping boost confidence in cat. I'll dig out my clicker training book and have a look for you.

Must have been such a nice feeling for you to get the chance to play with her.:D