I haven’t posted anything about Shy for a while. He’s doing well. For some reason he gets along with dad better than with mom. He probably recognizes the alpha male of the household and gives him some respect, reacting properly to “no”. Shy is one of those personalities who want to socialize but easily get overstimulated and become a bit rough. Plus, of course, his hormone level hasn’t fully stabilized after the surgery - it can take up to four months. After he hit mom severa

It’s impossible to capture every key moment on camera, especially when you’re dealing with a cat who still lives halfway between “sweet house pet” and “street fighter.” Today was one of those moments - a quiet but major milestone from Shy, our yesterday’s stray who keeps surprising us in the most unpredictable ways. Just a couple of days ago, he swung his paw at mom when she reached for his empty bowl. There was distance between them, but the motion was sharp and confident -

He did it today. I haven’t posted about him for a while - I’ll put together the “one step forward, two steps back” part in one of my next posts. But today was a milestone. Mom and Dad were both at the computer in the office. After Mom brought him dinner, Shy sang his little “I’m alone” song, and she said her usual “ksksks,” sitting down and showing him her hand. He had never come to her for that sign before. Today he did - and he didn’t stop there. He rubbed his head and side

Here is a little reel with the gang from earlier this year - before they were adopted. My family took Ryzyk (Tiger), Masseeka, and Shy. Why? Well, obviously no one would want a semi-feral, not-social Shy. He had known me and mom for over a year but always stayed behind, carefully watching and waiting until, in his opinion, it was safe. We knew it would be a long process: helping him get used to us and the home, recovering from necessary surgery, and re-socializing him with ou

A quick look into our cattle members’ culinary philosophies. Bowls are together only for the photo - normally everyone eats in their own micro‑kingdom. Metal bowl - Landlord (Baker): “I’m not finishing this. I’m saving it for later. Or for never. Because if I want more, you’ll bring more. That’s how the economy works.” Ryzyk’s bowl (not on the picture, but looks about the same): “Yes, I also practice the ‘I’ll come back whenever I feel like it’ method. Fresh food appears on d

We started letting him roam in the office some time ago. It connects to the half bath where he picked his bunker under the sink (door visible). He’s free to explore all the old furniture - and he does. Mostly at night, though, when the TVs are off and the humans finally shut up. He doesn’t mind when mom or dad sit at the computer there.

It's a little over a week since Shy had surgery and was brought to our house. And yesterday something genuinely fun happened. Early in the morning he heard us heading to the kitty room to feed Masseeka and check on the kittens. On the way back we suddenly heard: "I'm alone!" Not an angry or dominant-male meow, just a normal voice. If you've ever listened to Kiffness' song, you know exactly what it sounds like: When mom entered the half-bath (his temporary room) with a bowl, h

Ok, that turned more challenging than we ever anticipated. Shy was not as social as Ryzyk or Chico, but he knew us long enough to meow back when we called him by name - or to greet us with a hiss, then allow us to shove the can right under his nose and touch his head once he started eating. One day he even let my mom pet him with long strokes from head to butt. Big win. But everything changed after we trapped Masseeka - and especially after he outsmarted the first trap like a

Professor Shy is home and recovering from surgery and vaccination. That was done yesterday and he refused to leave his pet carrier the vet sent him home in. He didn't hiss but wasn't thrilled about being petted either. We made him a cathouse - a box about 18x18x14, with an old towel inside, but he was not interested. We sprayed towel with catnip and placed a couple of greenies on it. All that was in our half bath, along with a litterbox and a bowl of water for him. Later we b