Sometimes the road from semi-feral to affectionate pet can be a long road. It can have long stretches of no progress and then moments of great and fast change, but is usually a collection of little moments. This past week I have spent quite a bit of time in the bathroom sitting on the floor. I bring in a cushion, a beverage and sometimes a snack and spend several hours sitting a few feet away from the cat. With some cats I might even be in the bathtub, but Wilson seems fine with me on the floor. I have yet to see her outside of the scratching post, with the exception of her paw which lashes out if I get to close to the entrance. She has batted a spoon full of cat food resulting in an artistic cat food mosaic up the wall. She has great aim.
I digress.
While sitting on the floor of my bathroom I read aloud, for hours. Getting her accustomed to my voice; learning that my voice can be associated with nothing fearful or threatening. Eventually I will add treats to the mix but not at the moment. For some cats, me reading aloud can stress them, for those I will just sit quietly, listening to music or watching a movie. Wilson, after about 30 min or so, relaxes a little. Not a lot but a little. As time goes on her body language is a little less hostile and wary. She doesn't seem to have a preference to a literary genre as of yet, but I keep trying different ones to see if she cares for one over the other.
