Serena is one of the Mayor's Alliance rescue cats who I am working with through Tavi & Friends' TTouch-in-Rescue program. She is still quite shy but is getting gradually more comfortable with contact. Today, I again worked with her using a long-handled flat paintbrush. You can see how I worked with her using gentle circles and strokes with the brush in the clip above. Please keep in mind that the strokes and circles are quite light. The circles do not push heavily into the body, they simply move the skin around in a circle, as you would if you were doing TTouches directly with your hands. Serena still often hisses or makes sounds when you first open the cage, but speaking to her quietly and doing this gentle work soon reassures her and you can see her pushing her body and head into the brush for more contact. I probably could have started to touch her directly with my hand but I felt I shouldn't push the issue, as she seemed so comfortable with the brush. As you can see, she comes right to the front of the cage, which is very different for her. She also became so comfortable that she began purring and even drooling.
I look forward to working with her further and to seeing what can happen.
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