After the previous fiasco I experienced with Ashley when it came to simply grooming her and trying to remove mats. I was apprehensive this morning. She again has accumulated a fairly large amount of small mats on her beautiful fur. Recalling the last time that I was trying to groom her and the poop-fest that followed I was not anxious to have that repeated.

Moving the cat condo into the dining room turned out to be the best thing I could’ve done to get her adjusted to me. To let her experience me in the same room, yet not paying one bit of attention to her when I’m in there. It became frustrating at times, because she’s so beautiful. She is so friendly once she allows you to get your hands on her (It’s on her terms) she will tolerate petting. If you cross her trust barrier, she will swat at your hand. I did notice this morning that prior to moving her cat post when she swatted she had her claws out. This morning, she kept them sheathed

It was just so tempting to reach out and pick her up and cuddle her and love on her and let her know that she’s safe. But she’s not that type of cat that you can get away with that behavior so I just ignored her.

This morning it just felt like the right time. She was between my office and the bedroom with the entrance of the kitchen. I was able to shut the bedroom door without her noticing. When I came back to the dining room she was still sitting in the exact spot so I went ahead and I shut the kitchen door. Now she is trapped between my office and my bedroom

Years ago, I removed the frame  from my bed. This means that my mattress and box springs  sit directly on the floor. Repeated incidents over the years of kitties and cats hiding out underneath my bed with no way of getting to them other than scaring them half to death prompted this move. Now, they no longer have that safe cave. However, I have created other caves in my bedroom and in my office where they can go and feel safe but can still be captured.

I am typing this last part of my post with a smile on my face because this morning I was able to capture her safely. She immediately went rigid in my arms, but she didn’t bite me, she didn’t scratch me, and she didn’t growl. I carefully carried her into the bathroom and shut the door. Previously, I prepared a place on the counter to work with her. She was deposited on top of a very soft towel. All of my grooming tools were laid out nearby in the sink. I was able to remove all but two mats on her body. She did scratch me once, I let her jump down and decompress, before I again picked her up for a final comb!

All that has led to this moment melted away,  all that frustration, wondering if she will ever feel or respond as a normal cat?  Resisting the temptation constantly to reach out to her and pick her up. It just all left because it was all worth it.

She was not relaxed by any measure. She went immediately tense, her paws were wrapped around the top of the bathroom counter in a death grip. I had to block her with my body, all the while trying to keep her within my reach so that I could brush her. It was quite the dance. But we got it done. No poop flying everywhere. No butt bath to a traumatized scared-to-death kitty wondering what in the world her human just did to her . I put  Ash on the floor. I opened the bathroom door and before she left I was able to actually pet her back!

This experience left me with something I have been missing for about three years now. The joy I feel in rescuing. The joy in accepting a life that others have given up on. These two Burn Survivors  are amazing cats in their own right.The fact that once we erase our own human needs out of the picture, and look at life from their point-of-view, it all just starts to come together  If you know the previous history, and unfortunately with Ashley and Magoo we do, you have to put that into the equation, most of the time, this is the true leader of this dance between the two of you

The  leader of this dance  carries a label: PTSD  Hopefully, this is the beginning of a lot more steps to come  It’s such a joy when it all works out  in the end. When it all starts to go right. When the dance starts to finally come together