I write a lot about Barry, my former feral. I spent a lot of time with him getting him comfortable with humans and not being scared of all of us. Part of this is learning as much about his behaviour as possible. He is not quite cuddly with me but is pretty affectionate. He likes my wife, but she can't pet him like I can.
So yesterday at cat-dinner time, I called Barry over to lick off the lid and the wife comes by. I tell her to call him over for a pet. (Barry is more receptive to attention at feeding time and in the dark.) Barry does a drive by for her and I'm like - why didn't you pet him - didn't you see it? As Barry walked by, he tipped his cheek up maybe 1/2 an inch, didn't change course, didn't slow down. Drive by #2 happens, he tips his cheek again and she pets the top of his head - he keeps going because you gotta pet the spot he wants. Drive by #3 and she nails it - Barry slows way down and turns a bit to keep the petting going.
Cats can be so subtle and cryptic sometimes - it takes a while to decipher them. Odd little clues about how to pet them, where to play with them - they can drive you nuts.
So yesterday at cat-dinner time, I called Barry over to lick off the lid and the wife comes by. I tell her to call him over for a pet. (Barry is more receptive to attention at feeding time and in the dark.) Barry does a drive by for her and I'm like - why didn't you pet him - didn't you see it? As Barry walked by, he tipped his cheek up maybe 1/2 an inch, didn't change course, didn't slow down. Drive by #2 happens, he tips his cheek again and she pets the top of his head - he keeps going because you gotta pet the spot he wants. Drive by #3 and she nails it - Barry slows way down and turns a bit to keep the petting going.
Cats can be so subtle and cryptic sometimes - it takes a while to decipher them. Odd little clues about how to pet them, where to play with them - they can drive you nuts.