kybearfuzz | Milo the Cat Comes Out ... of the Storage Space

It's been nearly two weeks of my constantly trying to coax him out of the storage space, but last night he finally clamored out of hiding in search of food. Yesterday, I figured that one of the issues was that he didn't leave the room was that everything he needed was in there -- litter box, food, and water. So I removed the food and water to where they should be -- the kitchen. I figured if he got hungry, he'd explore more.

I was right. He started meowing in the late evening, like he was bellowing for his dinner. I talked to him (like he could understand me), explaining that this was not a restaurant but a home. I shook his bowl of food to let him know where it is, but I went to bed.

About 2 AM, I awoke to his loud yelling. I went to the bathroom, then to the edge of the stairs to find at the very bottom, just peeking around the corner. I called for him and crouched down at the end. Slowly, he carefully crawled up the steps to where I could pet him. Any sudden move on my part would send him back down the stairs, but then I managed to convince him to come back.

I went to bed, thinking we'd see how it went in the morning, but in the dark, he kept meowing. I called for him and he came into my room. I patted the edge and he jumped up on the bed with me, rubbing his face against my beard and collapsing when I scratched his ears. I was amazed, but also really sleepy. Eventually, I just decided to roll over and he went back downstairs.

I saw him again this morning with his continuing to be vocal. I could pet him if I carefully approached him. I got dressed and went to softball practice. When I got home, he'd returned to the storage space for the bulk of the day while I cleaned house and vacuumed.

This evening, he came back out again, meowing and wondering where his dinner was. I led him to the kitchen with a trail of cat treats. He was still cautious, but he'd roll around on the floor. Milo jumped up on the couch while I was watching TV. He kept kneading me with those claws, but it was nice.

Look How Cute I Am!

Milo the Cat Kneading
He's still skittish, but I definitely consider this great strides. When he stops hiding in the storage space, I'll consider him truly at home.