it shouldn’t surprise people that respecting a cat’s boundaries (i.e. ceasing to pet them after they paw at you) helps them trust you more
Bathbomb was dropped off at my apartment very abused and scared he hid in the bathtub for an entire 24hrs. he barely/if ever ate for about a week and didnt begin exploring the apartment until 3 weeks in
it was a month before he came up to me and it was hard but i sat kinda near him every day i would treat him like he was a new cat and let him smell me before trying to pet him and if he even looked uncomfortable id gently stop and just sing or talk to him
now he climbs on my back and jumps on my shoulder if i dont pay attention to him so it takes work and time
cats are like ppl and have triggers and quirks and trauma and we have to be respectful and gentle its not that hard of a concept
this is an Important Post but my favorite part is that your cat’s name is Bathbomb