When we got her I wanted a "lap cat", one that would love to lay in my lap and get attention. It quickly became apparent that she was not that kind of cat. She did not mind being nearby (several feet away) but not touching. At first she would get on the sofa but after Martha put a towel on it for her to lay on, she decided that the sofa was off limits and she refused to get on it again. Her attitude was "feed me but don't touch me". We wanted her to drink more water and everyone said that cats love to drink from a fountain. So we made a fountain with running water and she just looks at it and wonders what it is, she has never, as far as we know, taken even a sip from it.
Shortly after we got her, we took her camping in the pop up trailer. She warmed a little on that trip but when we came back home she reverted to her old ways. She still would not get on the furniture or accept attention.
In July we took her to the creek house. She travels wonderfully (six plus hours each way) with no complaints and only got frightened once at a gas station. Once there she explored the house and made herself at home. All the familiar things were there such as the litter box and food and water dishes. Before long she decided that the place to be was in one of the recliners. We can't find any reason for the change in behavior but suddenly it was OK to get in a chair. The next morning as Martha was having her bible time, Maui climbed in the chair with her and stretched out in her lap. That was a total surprise. The grandchildren came that week and she hid a lot in the bedroom but when she could she was in that chair and would get in our laps if we were also in the chair. It seemed that her attitude completely changed. When we returned home however, she reverted to her old self. Very puzzling.
There was little change in her behavior over the next month or so but then we got a 5th wheel travel trailer and went camping again. We took her with us again and once she had scouted out the trailer and knew where her stuff was she was comfortable. The trailer has 2 recliners and once again she adopted one and was there in the chair quite a bit of the time. It was like this house is different and it is OK to get on the furniture but not in that other house where we are most of the time. She really seemed to like it there, but when we came home it seemed that she was back to her old self.
A day or so went by and one day I was sitting on the sofa watching TV when suddenly there she was beside me. She pumped my leg a few times as if testing it and then climbed on it and laid down. It was her idea and there wasn't much coaxing from me. Since then she is almost like a different cat. She is still stand-offish and only wants attention when it is her idea but she has changed and is far more friendly than ever before. This cat may turn out to be OK after all. She is getting better every day but she still won"t drink from the fountain.
I'll report again later.
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