I think most of you, by now, have heard enough about Ninja to know he's very shy and skittish. Well, a while ago (about a week, I think, but I've been ill and unable to sleep so I could be very wrong!) he came streaking through the kitchen just as I turned away from the sink and I walked into him
Nobody got hurt, but feet are his all-time greatest fear. So he's been sitting in his safe place in the conservatory, near his exit from the house and his foodbowl, and not coming in (except for last night when I left the lounge to find him by the stairs - he did bolt, but it's still progress).
Dinahsmum suggested I try treats, so when I was in town on Tuesday I got him 3 different kinds (he seems to be allergic to the Whiskas ones - they make him vomit
) and I've been giving them to him in small increments once or twice a day, in his safe place in the conservatory. He wouldn't take them off my hand, so I'd put them next to him on his pillow, scritch his forehead and wander off to let him associate my coming with yummy nummy treats (chicken, seafood and catnip flavoured -
I don't get that much variety!).
Just now I was in the conservatory to get milk, and he was in his safe place, so I reached over and spent about ten minutes scritching him all over. He loved it - kept turning new spots towards me to get scritched.
So when my hand got tired (I have to lean on a counter with my left while scritching him with my right - he's good at picking hard-to-reach boltholes) I went into the kitchen and got him some seafood treats. Only when I got back to the conservatory he'd moved onto a bunch of shelves and we were much closer to each other than I (or he!) expected, so he hissed at me when I walked in... Quite understandable really. I reached out the hand with treats in (he hisses when he's scared, but he's shown tremendous care about not hurting me, which just makes me go
) and he ate them right from my hand and then licked my hand clean
I'm so proud of him right now
He's slowly overcoming his fear of humans. Now to get him into his carrying case for a vet checkup and his shots... Does anyone have a hockeymask I could borrow...?
Is it like a larder or pantry? Not really relevant to this thread, but am just curious...hang in there, poor little Ninja.
