No, not that Spencer Cassadine from General Hospital. His nameesake, the feline Spencer Cassadine.
I’ve been worried about him since I returned. He was one of the cats trapped and removed from my house (stolen really) while I was very ill. A rescue group did that. They hurt me, a lot. But they hurt him. He lost so much ground. It was a cruel, ugly thing to do and for no real reason other than to take a shot at me.
Spencer has always swung between skittish, anxious cat to a sweet little guy who jumped on the bed with his BFF Kinzua and allowed himself to be touched. When I returned in March after being kept out of my home (thanks in part to the rescue group) for 196 days, Spencer came to see me in my new bedroom. He came in a few times with the other cats, but eventually he retreated back to the attic.
But I knew he still had that other side, he was just afraid – who wouldn’t be?
So I began working on my cattic (cat + attic) space – putting out nice furniture, a new tree, interactive toys, a water fountain, etc. I feed him and Maylee a midday snack, but they have to come down to the second floor for supper. I go upstairs each day and do my “lady of leisure” act on the chaise.
I scoop those litter boxes daily. I have Feliway pheromone plugins everywhere. I have the spray version. I have catnip. I installed an automatic air freshener dispenser. Blankets and pee pads everywhere. We’ve cleaned both sides of the attic and washed the walls on one side, then I used a black light to look for traces of whatever.
I noticed that more and more of the cats were in the attic, hanging out, napping, in the trees, having a snack, sniffing, etc. When I pulled out the laser pointer, they swarm me.
Two days ago, I caught sight of something interesting on the nanny cam – another anxious cat, Mamma Mia, had ben spending more time in the attic doing those interactive bits. But two days ago, I saw her leap on to the chaise and snuggle up with another cat. For nearly three hours! She actually rolled onto her side, the relaxey cat. My heart soared.
Last night, I was watching tv in my bedroom when I heard scurrying under the bed. Obviously it was a cat, but to my surprise out popped Spencer! Kinzua was on the bed; it was like old times. They cuddled and wrestled. Spencer allowed me to pet him repeatedly, even his back. I had a Churu nearby so I opened it – Spencer was never brave enough to try it – but last night, he was all about the snack sharing with Kinzua and eventually Stefano DiMera. He even licked it from my hand.
H stayed on the bed for hours, watching Kinzua but also just stretching out.
We’ll see if he comes back soon. It is easy for me to lure Kinzua into the room as bait. LOL.
I’ve had a lot of luck with one of the other anxious cats, Maylee as well.
For all of those 196 days, I worried about these cats in particular. Developing a socialization plan was one thing, but seeing it work is quite another. Spencer was removed from his home caged up and certainly against his will. I was also removed from this home, not in a cage but in handcuffs and put into a cage inside a police cruiser then hauled off against my will to be evaluated.
I feel a strong affinity for Spencer. He’s a sweet baby, but he’s never received the support to make the leap past his anxiety. Some of that is on me. So I’ve spent so many hours trying to create a better living environment for him.
For now I’m going to focus on the good moments.
@pghlesbianblog sweet baby boy Spencer Cassadine #cat #cats #blackcat #catsofinstagram #fostercat #SpencerCassadine #anxiety #anxious #socialization #fyp #catvideo #newpost ♬ I Got You Babe – Sonny & Cher
