Shelby Update

I have received several requests for a Shelby update.  I wish I could tell you that she is totally integrated into our family and that she seeks us out for attention.  Unfortunately, this is not the case.  Shelby is still extremely skittish and does her best to avoid us.  When I can find her and nab her before she runs off, she likes the attention she gets.  She purrs loudly while I brush and/or pet her.  She will even snuggle into me and stay with me willingly (if only for a few minutes).

This is where I can find Shelby most often.  She’s sleeping behind the pillows on the couch in the living room.  It’s a warm little spot away from the commotion of the rest of the house.  When she’s here, Shelby will actually let me walk up to her and pet her.  When we encounter her elsewhere in the house, she’ll run away before we can even get close to her.

There is plenty of evidence, though, that Shelby is becoming more comfortable in our home and that she’ll eventually come around to us.  She is a voracious eater.  Nearly every morning her food bowl is licked clean.  Her first couple of weeks here, Shelby hardly ate at all so I take the empty food dish as proof that she is becoming more relaxed. 

More importantly, though, is the evidence of play.  The past couple of mornings, I have found her cat toys in various rooms of the house, though she appear to favor the guest powder room.  This morning I found a toy in the bathroom that had been at the bottom of her toy basket.  I would have loved to see her rummaging through the basket trying to pick out a toy.

I have to remember that my cat expectations are skewed.  My last cat, Corky (who died 1 year ago today), was quite possibly the most friendly cat ever and very laid back.  According to my father, “Stick your finger in his eye, he doesn’t mind.”

So perhaps Shelby is just being a “regular” cat and expecting her to greet us at the door after work is unreasonable.

Nah, I’m still holding out hope.