You've heard me describe Selena as timid. She doesn't like to be handled. She'll tolerate petting occasionally but is definitely not a cat that wants or needs human contact. She quite often runs when we get near her as if she's afraid of us and some days will spend all day in a room away from us. I've wished she would calm down and be willing to sit near us and maybe even cuddle.

Saturday afternoon I was taking a break from cleaning house and had sat down on the reclining loveseat with my feet up. I was watching something on Animal Planet and not paying much attention to what was going on around me. Suddenly I felt a shift in the foot of my recliner and looked over to find that Selena had jumped up and was silently watching me. I held my breath and tried not to move. I didn't make direct eye contact but softly said, "Well, hello sweetheart." She moved forward a little and then up against my leg before she settled down. For about 10 minutes you could tell she was very tense, her eyes always on me and her ears rotating to catch any noise around her. Finally she sighed deeply and reached out a paw and touched me then fell asleep. She stayed there for about 1-1/2 hours before Hobbes woke up and started moving around which caused her to decide she needed a bath so she jumped down on the floor to groom. It was a good thing since I was beginning to get cramped from not moving.

Then Saturday night she came back. I was watching TV again and she did the same thing except this time she curled up against my leg without the 10 minutes of watching. She fell asleep and stayed there for several hours. Long enough that eventually I had to go to bed and was forced to disturb her. I was thrilled that she's decided to sleep with me on the couch and hope that this is just the beginning of her opening up and trusting us a little more. It was definitely a nice gift from my little girl.

Copyright © Julie Cook
December 19, 2000