Raising a Stray (Pt. 2)

The hardest thing for me as a cat mom is to not be able to cuddle my babies when they really need the attention. Arno has always been cautious around people. I spoke a little bit in the first Raising a Stray piece about his origin story and what I thought might be the cause of why he's so shy. But I didn't cover what it's like in the day to day life with Arno.

Most days, Arno hides out under our bed, sleeping for the most part. Occasionally he'll come out during daylight hours, but rarely. He likes to be off by himself during the day, hiding out from us, and from his little sister, Mouse. The only time he comes out is if he wants food, needs to potty, or if Mom plays the sound of a kitten crying. He's got a very strong parental/caretaker instinct. This will be important later on.

At night, he will plant himself firmly ON our bed, between either my feet or my husband's feet. One might think, 'If he's shy, he wouldn't come to cuddle at all,' which is untrue. Just because he's shy doesn't mean he won't ever cuddle. It just means that he's less likely to cuddle. Before we moved, he would come out and lay on my chest or my back, and sing me the song of his people. But since we moved (traumatic experience for a shy kitty), he doesn't do that as often, if ever. My poor shy boy got even more shy.

The truth behind my shy boy is simple. He will come out and cuddle at night when it's dark, and only near our feet/legs. The second you move, or make any kind of sound, he's back under the bed so fast you can't comfort him. It's been a struggle for his entire life, but he's more likely to run away now, since we moved. It makes me sad that I can't cuddle my boy because he runs away if I so much as move in his direction. Despite the shyness, he's a total Momma's boy. He's a basket of contradictions. He's a Momma's boy, but doesn't like to cuddle on my chest anymore. He used to lay next to my leg all day if I sat still and just sleep. It was the sweetest thing, but won't do it anymore. I knew there was a chance he would be a shy guy, but I get sad when I think about it because there really isn't much you can do for a shy kitty, except love him.

The best thing for Arno so far has been his little sister. Since bringing little Mouse home, he's been a little more outgoing. He loves to give her baths and play with her, when she's not being an annoying little sister. I can tell that Arno loves his little sister, because he's always had a strong parental instinct. When he was a baby, I recorded him crying because he was in his crate for some crate training, and was NOT happy. When I played back the footage for my husband a few days later, Arno came running and looked for the baby. He wasn't overly distressed that he couldn't find the baby, and just stalked off like I had played a sick joke on him. But every time he hears a kitten crying now, he comes running, sure that there's a baby that needs his help.

When we brought Mouse home, we did some crate training with her too, to make vet visits easier. When she would cry, Arno would come out, no matter what time it was and sit next to her crate, chirping at her and making sure she was ok. My husband and I saw this and knew that surely the thing that could bring Arno out of his shell would be his baby sister. The jury is still out on that one, but I see small improvements every day.

With Mouse and Arno out together 24/7, I know that I don't have to worry about the baby getting into too much trouble with big brother around to keep an eye on her.

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Thanks for reading! Arno and Mouse appreciate the reads as much as their Momma does. :)