Close Encounters of the Feline Kind

This evening I made some major progress with one of Mama Cat’s kittens. This is not the one who tried to suckle Hairy a couple of days ago. This is one of his sisters, who is a mix between a gray tiger and a splotchy mess. She has white paws, a white belly, and the rest of her body is striped in gray with patches of tan. She’s the smallest of the litter and extremely cute. About 4 days ago I began playing with her with a string. At first she was very wary of me, but definitely curious. She was intrigued by the string moving along the ground and kept coming a little closer to me. Finally she batted at the string for the first time, and she was hooked. I gradually got her to come closer and closer to me until finally I had her close enough that I could briefly pet her. That always startled her, but gradually she began to get used to the occasional pat. Then she began to bat not only at the string, but also at my fingers, and from there she progressed to biting my fingers a little (though always gently – she clearly understands the concept of play).

By yesterday she was letting me run my hand down the length of her little body a couple of times before she’d jump away, as if she feared that she’d let me get too far. Today when she first saw me she was with one of her other siblings, who promptly ran away when it saw me pull out a string and lay it on the grass (I will get to that kitten someday - I hope soon!) The little tiger kitten and I played for a while in front of one of my neighbors’ door and then I led her back toward our door. We played for a while and since Hairy was there, I played with him at the same time so he wouldn’t get jealous and spoil the fun. So I had a string in each hand and had to keep both of them moving enough to keep a full-grown cat and a kitten occupied and entertained.

Tonight I decided that I needed to be able to pick up the kitten. So as we played I grabbed her a couple of times and her only reaction was to bite me a little, but always gently. I took this as a good sign that she understood this as play and wasn’t feeling threatened. Hairy gave up on our game and jumped onto my car. The kitten grew interested in what he was doing up there, so I gave her a boost onto my car’s hood. There we played a little with the string and then I thought I might as well try to pick her up. It went incredibly well, and she let me hold her. I had thought that at least the first time she would try to bite or scratch. Instead she seemed to be rather enjoying it. I put her back down on the hood and tried again. Like before, she didn’t complain. Afterwards, on the ground, she rubbed against my leg for the first time. And then she came up to me for more cuddling. So I picked her up a few more times and very soon she was purring very loudly. A tiny striped purring machine. The trouble was that then she didn’t want to leave me – she was clearly enjoying the company and the attention. We played a little longer, but then I decided it was time to go back inside and tend to my own cat, my little Lena who was waiting inside for some love. And she’s been getting it. In fact, as I type this, she’s sitting on my lap, purring.