In 2008, my father was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He was given a couple of months, at the most, to live. He lived alone in the mountains and was dead set against going back to the hospital. We made the decision to keep him home with the help of hospice. My brothers and I would take turns staying with him and caring for him to the end of his life. It was a sad, but wonderful and amazing experience. As soon as we realized that we would be losing him, I knew I had to make arrangements for his cat Lollipop. Lolli was born in my dad's garage from a stray cat. Her sister was placed into a home and her mom had passed away, so my dad only had her. She was extremely fearful of people, dogs and would stay hidden when we came to visit. Only my dad could handle her, she slept with him at night and he could comb her and do pretty much anything with her. I told my dad that I would take her home and it was good to see he was relieved, but I knew I had a lot of work to do because I couldn't even get near her at that point.
I decided to start working with her and using desensitization and counter conditioning to help her feel more comfortable. She was always hiding when we were there, so at first, there was no way I could work with her directly. I got some cans of tuna and canned cat food. I began to leave a paper plate with food on it in the garage on my dad's car. I don't remember why I started there, but I did. It has been a few years now, so I don't remember all the details, but I remember that being the first piece. As I kept leaving the food and just being around more, I began to see Lollipop some of the time, but still could get no where near her.
My dad had created a cat door so that Lolli could get in and out of his bedroom at night. I realized that at night, after it was all quiet and my dad was alone in there, she would go sleep with him. I started waiting in there for her, with the tuna and canned food. At first, I would just put it on the paper plate and stay there, nearby. This helped her realize that whenever I was around, tuna or canned food seemed to be around also. I began to place myself closer to the plate as she came in and ate it. I don't remember how long this went on, but it was probably a week. Also, I would have days where I would go home and my brothers would be there with my dad, so there was no training during those periods.
Eventually, I tried to pet her and she let me! This was a big step for her. From there I began to offer food from my hand and pet her while she was eating. It was all about trying to teach her that 1) I am associated with good things, 2) I will respect her terms and move at her pace, 3) she is safe with me and free from pressure or force.
A month after starting hospice, my dad died. We were all there with him. Lolli came in to see him that night and he was gone. I was able to close the cat door and the bedroom door so she couldn't leave the room as I was worried what she would do with him gone. She cried for him and after they took him I went and slept with her in there that night and it actually did seem to relax her and she stopped crying for him.
The next day I took Lollipop home and she has lived with us since. She is 10 years old now. She likes to sit on our laps and be petted. She has a companion cat that she loves and a next door neighbor cat or is over often who she is also very close to. The doesn't run away from us and the neighbors can get pretty close to her. I am amazed at the progress she made and how much it stuck. She has a 100% reliable recall and when I say "dinner!" she comes immediately.
Here is Lolli shortly after coming here:
Here is Lolli today:
