Riley the Romantic

Tuesday, January 25, 2011 Hi Nancy, We started Riley in a bonding room, so he would not be overwhelmed, and get used to us, his food dishes, litter box, new toys, and the sites and sounds of his new home. Every day we see progress with him...he is coming out more. From all I have read, these things take time, and we are patient and want him to do things in his time....but each day he is out more and he has started to play a bit, and come out of hiding. From the beginning he took treats from our hands, and seems to love to have his belly rubbed. He is the most loving and gentle cat that I have ever had a privilege to know. He truly is a gentle giant. He has an amazing purr with little squeaks in it, but never once has there been a growl, a hiss, or a swipe. Even with my older cats, when they felt in a strange situation, or a new cat was introduced there would be one or two of those, naturally, but not with Riley. He is just an amazing guy. Last night was a huge step....he laid down on his bed, and I petted him asleep and I believe he is learning to sleep on his bed, where I made him a little tent. He was lying on my lap the other day, and he could not fit his whole body....and he kept curling up to make himself smaller and finally just rolled on his back and wanted his tummy rubbed again. Here are some pictures of him, on his new window perch that we introduced to him. I also bought a natural diffuser that helps reduce stress. It introduces pheremone smells in to the room, similar to what a mommy cat gives off to comfort a kitten. We hope this will help support and ease his adjustment, as well as that of our older guy. We simply love the blessing of this special gentle giant. We are excited to be his parents. We are making a vet visit for next week, but just wanted to get him settled in first. Please let us know if there is something we should be doing differently. I hope the pictures will show you the bigger story. Thank you again so very much. We truly love our big boy, and feel that God brought us this precious soul to nurture and love. I truly never have known such an exceptionally gentle cat. We have yet to hear a meow, but just love his purring squeaks. We will send you the Petsmart paper sometime this week, when we get back over there, with an additional donation. Blessings to you Patricia, Dennis Jazzie, Beanie, Linus and Riley