Onyx - little bit of progress

[dandysmom]

As some of you know she's a very wary frightened stray that's been in the neighborhood since Summer of '05; my friend Carolyn had been feeding her, and after she moved away I took it on. She's let me get close enough to pet her twice, and smelled my fingers (Carolyn was astounded to hear that!); and today when I went out for her second meal, she was waiting on the sidewalk beside my wall...let me get within about 4 feet of her and then,,,,spoke! A very small rusty "mew"! I was so astonished that I said "What did you say?", and she mewed again!! Just then, my neighbor came around the corner with his Jack Russell, so Onyx hightailed it across the street to hide under a parked car...Chris left, and she came back, jumped on the wall and started eating! I am chuffed...she's never spoken before...ad I think this is a good sign...????

[Moli]

Thats brilliant DM, she is begining to trust you now, hopfully she will let you pet her in time, well done with your patience....

[Mags]

How exciting Eileen, she is beginning to trust you at last :D How nice that she 'spoke' to you too!

I hope that by the warmer weather she will have gained your trust completely......

[Kazz]

Ahhhh now you're on speaking terms, sounds brilliant news, and the fact she came back to you when the "danger" of the dog had gone speaks volumes too. You are obviously not perceived as a danger but a source of "niceness" in her world.

Big leap forward Eileen so pleased.

[dandysmom]

Being sort of a pragmatist, Karen, think I'm really more of a source of "food" more than "niceness", but then maybe in her mind, that's the same thing...it was such as rusty little mew, as if she hadn't used her voice in a while......and she did come in all the snow yesterday for her tea" I expected to find the food still in the plate covered with snow this morning, but it had been eaten...just new-fallen snow in it......

[Kazz]

See I was going to saya source of food but she must have had a source of food of somesort before (to still be alive) so the fact she now associates YOU with the food is a big step forward don't you think?maybe she does not use her voice very much I imagine being a stray/feral its better to be quiet than noisy - what surprises me is she has not got kittens? or hasn't had any you are aware of maybe she was someone's pet and spayed at some point.

[dandysmom]

That had occurred to me also; if she'd been feral there would have probably been kittens by now, although there aren't many free-roaming toms in the area...I suspect she was an abandoned house cat thrown out into an unfamiliar and scary world...may have been spayed, but unable to feel comfortable where she's found herself,,,oh, if they could only talk to us...! We have a large student population here: near to Georgetown and American Universities, and wonder if someone just left her to fend for herself when they went back home....

[Fran]

Big step forward Eileen. I am so very pleased for you and her! You have been so very patient with her and this is now starting to pay off :cool:

[dinahsmum]

That's an incredibly positive step Eileen. Well done.

[Sweet]

Great news :) x

[yola]

Your kindness is paying off - Onyx is beginning to trust you . . . that's lovely :D When we were feeding our stray, Ferdy (then called Blackcat) it took several years before he had the confidence to venture into the house - we fed him outside, originally by the back gate and eventually right outside the back door.

I would come down to find him hunched in the snow awaiting his feed by the back door.

Once in and neutered he gradually found his voice and regained his trust in humans but he too for a long time, was a silent cat.

[Snoof]

Ninja was silent for a long time, too. What a wonderful step forward, Eileen. I agree that her coming back to you after the danger had passed is a brilliant sign, too!

[alexgirl73]

Oh I am sooooo pleased to hear that Eileen! Good on you for all the patience and kindness you have shown this lovely little lady! x

[dandysmom]

Thanks, all! I was really delighted that we're now on speaking terms! She has such a worried little face; I'm going to try gradually moving the plate closer to the front of the house; maybe with luck and a lot of patience I can get her to come in the porch ......

[logoes]

Oh Eileen, I just know what you are feeling, it took me nearly 18 months to "tame" a little black tom that had moved in under one of our wooden sheds.The day he first came to me for food was wonderful, as was the first time I touched him..Finally when he trusted me enough I had the big 3 D done, De-flead, de-wormed and de-sexed. LOL and from then on he was always waiting for the sound of my car and would come running to greet me. I have to be absolutely truthful and say if I could have any cat back it would be my little black Spookey. Kath

[dandysmom]

That's a lovely story, Kath, thanks for sharing. I hope it won't take that long, but one thing I've got as a retiree is lots of time...and patience. And it's good to see her looking better, she's not skinny any more and she has a lovely thick glossy coat....