The Ignoring of Han and Luke

We continue to have problems with the twins, as their nervousness and fearfulness continues. It got a little better after we got back from winter break (we were away for two weeks), but progress since we got them (a year and a half now; they're almost two years old) has been very slow. We got a recommendation to talk to Sue, a woman who runs a cat sanctuary in the area and specializes in rehabilitating cats who are feral, semi-feral, and fearful, and after some phone tag-like situations, finally met her and had her come over to meet Luke and Han. She was surprised by how fearful they really are, since male cats are generally more adaptable than females, and we got them when they were four months old, so they weren't really that old yet, and she would have expected them to relax a little more than they have.

Han (curled up) with little brother Nibbler:


I did post an ad for them on Petfinder, figuring if we can get them a nice, quiet home where they might be more comfortable, it would be better for them than here, since it's not the most peaceful place (much as I try, it's hard to keep up with clutter and such), but they're not going anywhere unless I'm relatively sure that they'll be in a better place. In the meantime, we're willing to try Sue's suggestion- ignore them unless they approach us, to basically just let them do what they feel comfortable with and not force anything on them. It's been a few days now, and they already seem a little calmer. Hopefully they'll realize (and I've been saying this since we got them) that we're not going to hurt them, and that this home is a safe place. Anyway, it won't hurt them, since they can still come to us for affection (and they've been snuggling with me in bed in the morning and sometimes come to me for pets when I'm at the computer or in the bathroom), and we can still enjoy Nibbler and Leia. Next week, I'm away for a few days (spring break) while Elijah stays home with the cats, so we'll see what that brings.