Foster Cat Journal: Day 4.95-Breakthrough!

Imagine trying to take a photo with your iPhone, it's dark in the room, so you have to hold still. You're trying not to squeal;“OH MY GOD!” and you need to be mindful that one false move could get you bitten or scratched.

Late tonight, I brought Candy some food. She picked at it a bit and hissed. I decided to try the toothbrush on her again. This time I just kept brushing her as much as I could. Within a few moments, she stopped protesting and started to come up to the front of the crate, where I was sitting with my legs crossed (and falling asleep).

She could not get enough. She sat in her litter pan, then suddenly rolled on her back, exposing her tummy. I brushed her tummy. She LOVED it. She got up, faced me and it was clear she wanted me to brush her face, so I did. She was clearly in dire need of being touched-and though this is not a big surprise, that she would change in a heartbeat really put a knot in my throat. I did not expect this so soon.

I got greedy. When Candy had her back turned to me, I ran one finger down her back. She didn't hiss. I kept brushing. She turned again. She had left the crate and was next to me. I petted her briefly with my entire hand. She was fine with it. No hissing!!! I didn't want to push my luck, since I was bare handed, so I went back to focusing on brushing her, while I gently coaxed her back into the crate. I can't risk having her get loose in the foster room right now.

You can see the blue-green handle of the toothbrush. Candy has her head on my knee. She is SMILING!

I felt pretty choked up and that would have been a big enough breakthrough for me for one day, but Candy wasn't done.

She purred. Not for long and not very loudly, but she PURRED!

I didn't want to overdue it, so I slowly stopped brushing Candy. She hissed and went back to the rear of the crate. I showed her the brush and she came all the way to the front and clearly wanted more. I brushed her a bit, but soon left her for the night. I wanted to end our visit on a good note. It would be too easy to have her regress. Today we had some very big changes in a small amount of time. She did great and I'm very proud of her!

It was as if she finally got what she really wanted from me and now that she knows she can get it, perhaps the rest of this journey will feature fewer hisses and more purrs?