When an Aloof Cat Turns into a Lap Cat: Olga’s Rocky Transition

Hello, I’m Christopher! Learn my introduction to be taught extra about me and my foolish Russian Blue cat, Olga.

Earlier than I adopted Olga, I lived with a pleasant Siamese cat who not often left my facet. I rapidly discovered that Olga wasn’t a lap cat, and it took her some time to heat as much as me. She used to greet me on the door once I got here dwelling from work, and he or she has at all times loved enjoying with low cost toys, like paper balls, however she wasn’t keen on petting or any type of grooming.

She’s a lot friendlier and extra vocal now, however it was a gradual transition. For a number of years, she slept in a chair in my bed room earlier than wandering over to the foot of the mattress. When she was younger, she was at all times pleasant to guests however wouldn’t allow them to choose her up; she most well-liked laying on their toes.

Olga’s Early Years

Though she was normally gentler to strangers, she wasn’t afraid to strike them in the event that they petted her again or tried to rub her stomach. Dwelling with an aloof feline isn’t for everybody, however some choose it. It requires much less effort because you don’t have to offer them as a lot consideration.

It took me a very long time to persuade Olga that human contact was useful. One other proprietor could have determined to surrender on her and permit her to cover below the mattress for many of her life. I irritated her into liking me. She attacked me each time I picked her up, however once I began selecting her up and carrying her into the kitchen for dinner, she discovered to calm down.

These days, once I flip off my pc within the night, she jumps in my lap and anxiously awaits her journey to the dinner bowl. Bribing her with meals was an efficient approach to make her much less immune to being picked up, however I didn’t do something to persuade her to sleep in my lap. She doesn’t search lap naps as typically as my different cat and can’t tolerate human contact for lengthy.

Lap Nap Anxiousness

Olga not often sleeps on anybody’s lap for greater than ten minutes, and generally, when she wakes up, she appears confused and rapidly runs away. I don’t know whether or not it’s as a result of she’s embarrassed she was too pleasant or involved that her bonding time was interfering along with her alone time.

She had a violent response as soon as when she was a number of years previous. She fell asleep on my legs along with her head and entrance paws hanging off the chair, and when she awoke, she almost fell. As an alternative of sliding off, she hopped up and attacked my toes along with her claws and fangs. She doesn’t assault me anymore, however she nonetheless has a terrified look on her face when she awakens in my lap.

Some impartial felines could by no means be taught to like interacting with people, and it may possibly take years for an aloof cat to rework right into a lap cat. It requires endurance and helps when you’ve got a excessive threshold for ache. Olga spends a number of hours meditating below the sofa each day, however she spends many of the day beside her favourite, annoying human.