My cat's not afraid of cameras anymore!

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Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 1:46 am

Just wanted to celebrate my lovable bundle of neurosises getting over one of her fears.

Because we haven't had a cat thread in about how long?

My cat Tikva has been on the neurotic side ever since we got her as a kitten. (To be fair, I'm a neurotic human, so we suit each other). She spent 95% her first year or two in my room (mostly hidden in my desk drawer). She's still absolutely terrified of several members of my household. And until recently, she was afraid of cameras.

Not that I didn't try to take pictures anyway. But the pictures mainly consisted of Tikki frantically trying to hide in my desk or under the bed. Or she'd run away to her little hideaway where I keep her stuff. Problem is, said hideaway is basically an old dog crate with the door taken out, and covered with a tatty bedsheet. Take a picture in there, and the viewer thinks that I keep my cat locked in a cage or something. With that, and the Oh-my-God-I'm-about-to-be-attacked-by-mutant-piranhas look on her face, the results were somewhat unappealing.

But, Tikki has been getting better. She's been venturing downstairs (at night, when it's quiet, and there are no scary family members around, and I'm sitting there in the same room). She's spending less time in her drawer, and more time in the open. She's starting to stand up to the other cat. And apparently, she's not afraid of cameras anymore.
I went into my room a few days ago, and took out the camera. She didn't flinch. Flash, click- she was still calm and relaxed. No dilated pupils, no flattened ears. I took another. And another. She didn't seem to enjoy it, mind you, but she put up with my shutterbugging.
I tried again today, and I got my first ever pix of Tikva outside of my room, as well as a nice close-up.
Yes, Tikva's come a long way. Here's to hoping she gets over the rest of her fears.

Baiting Guru Joined: 07 Jan 2007 Posts: 2788

Give her an ear rub from me-mine used to be like that (with humans) except whenever another cat came near then it was WWIII...

Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 6:59 am

Hooray for kitty!

Sometimes all you can do is be patient with them. Very Happy

Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 7:25 am

Cats that have been abused are very timid and afraid of people. Patience, time, walking and talking softly will bring them around. Sometimes it takes two years or more.

Baiting Guru Joined: 04 Jan 2006 Posts: 3193

That's a nice cat.

Our cat did the I-live-upstairs-and-don't-come-down-for-any-reason thing recently when we moved my mother's german shepard in. Thankfully it only took about a month to bring him round.

That last picture is crying out for a caption.

Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 5:10 pm

...Trunkbox full of catnip
...Risk free

Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 6:35 pm

But who's the black Mystery here?

Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 8:24 pm

We've got two and the oldest, who is also a Tabby, is exactly the same way. He's out most of the time when we are home or they're home alone (we've got a web cam so we can keep an eye on them during the day). As soon as the door bell rings or someone else shows up though, he's gone under the bed until things get back to normal.

The second, a Russian Blue discard, is exactly the opposite, she isn't afraid of anything and is in absolutely everything in the house.

Trust me, there's advantage and disadvantage to both temperaments. The Tabby never gets into trouble while it's a continual battle with the other one to keep her out of trouble.

She'll get over her fears (most of them anyway), just give her time...

Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 9:32 pm

Niagara, O roar again! wrote:

But who's the black Mystery here?

Mysty is the other cat. I don't really have that many good pictures of her.

Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2008 9:38 pm

She's so cute. Well, to be totally honest, they both are Very Happy

Baiting Guru Joined: 19 Mar 2007 Posts: 2628

I've inherited a cat!

Beau

so thats the face of beau

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