Chimay seems completely recovered from her spay. If her belly hadn’t been shaved, you’d never know she had major surgery six days ago. Her wound is practically invisible and she has no trouble climbing or jumping. We’ve only spayed a few mom-cats, but hers is by far the smoothest recovery we’ve seen.

The trajectory of her socialization is steady too, just much slower. She now usually chirps or mews in greeting when one of us enters the room, then hops onto the towel on the wicker chest, since that’s where she interacts with us. I’ll usually dangle a string or Cat Dancer toy in front of her with one hand, then hold a flea-comb in the other and try to sneak in a few strokes along the back of her neck before she flips over and tries to swat me.

We were happy to discover that the spay clinic had trimmed her claws, so now she might not be able to nick us even if she wanted to. And she’s definitely fast enough to connect with my hand about half the time, even when I see it coming.

But it seems like she’s keeping her claws withdrawn more often now, and the combing-petting-rolling-swatting-dodging routine is turning from a confrontation (which is how she perceived it at first) into more of a game. Like my hand is the red cape and her paw is the bull.

Confrontation or game, she definitely seems to enjoy our twice-a-day visits to the villa now. More than three weeks after saying goodbye to her kittens, whatever maternal stress Chimay had accumulated must be long gone. She’s had plenty of time to relax and reset.

On Friday, I’m delivering her to another HT foster home, where she’ll have a couple of other cats to hang out with. New scenery and a chance to make new friends. We’re hopeful that she’ll feel good about that.

filed by: TS