4 years we adopted a very timid feral kitten. At time of adoption he was 5 months- he was found trembling in a shed when he was 12 weeks old, and there were concerns he might not ever fully trust people. After 3 years he was fine around us and would tolerate the odd pat on the head and I accepted that he was as settled as he was ever going to be.
Scaredy cat has now decided he likes cuddles and sitting on knees! Over the last few days he has been sneaking up to me when I was sat on the couch gave an experimental pat on the head- no smack- so progressed to rubbing behind the ear which he sometimes tolerates if I'm going to feed him after and he started to purr really loudly and flop all over the couch begging for more.
He purred though- actual purrs purrs from a cat couldn't eat if I was in the same room and who has never ever purred in the 4 years I've known him so we are all quite exicted here- esp when he climbed on my knee I was quite bowled over. Hubby is very jealous because he is still getting the odd smack but it's me that does the feeding so clearly that was a point in my favour.
Strange thing to get exicted about and its probaly wierd to post on a forum talking about how happy we are to finally have him happy and purring but I just wanted to share with someone.
Luckily cats can't type so you won't have to read the follow up post from a disgruntled 9 year old cat entitled "How to deal with upsurpers" or AIBU to tell this cat to piss off because that knee belongs to me- even when not currently in use.