Normy finds his Purrrr!

I was so excited about this, I have to share. Norman is the newest member to our Tribe. We saved him from being tossed out last year by our neighbor in CT. Her husband (the cat lover in the family) died 2 years ago and he had talked her into saving 5 cats. They had these cats for almost 5 years, but when he died, she decided she couldn't deal with them anymore. Norm and his housemates lived in a 7x10 porch addition to her house - she barely cared for them and was gone all the time for work anyway. I would cat-sit during the week and came to know the individual cats very well. When she decided she didn't want them anymore, she basically told me that if I didn't find a shelter that would take them, she was going to open the back door and kick them out.
I was able to get 4 of them placed in a shelter (they were all adopted eventually), but Norm was the most unfriendly. But I knew he wasn't feral, so he became our 5th cat. We figured he would just be a scaredy cat, but we weren't about to let her toss him out to fend for himself.
Anyway, within 3-4 weeks, he was no longer hissing at us and letting us pet him (very briefly)and was getting along with the other guys pretty well. The boys all play a little rough with each other, so Norm still isn't sure if it's play or a fight, but he does wrestle with Pippin for fun. Then we moved across the country and he regressed a little, so we started over with the treats and sweet talk and playing feather. FINALLY YESTERDAY, HE PURRED WHILE I WAS PETTING HIM. Its a big leap for Normy and makes us feel like he's on his way to a normal, un-stressed life. Here's some photos of him - I just had to share the breakthrough!

http://home.comcast.net/~jphoenix12/Norm1.jpg http://home.comcast.net/~jphoenix12/Norm2.jpg

What a breakthough :D

Great to hear that he is settled enough to purr :D

What a great story. I'm so glad you were able to save those other cats from being thrown outside. What a horrible woman to even consider doing that.
Your Normy is such a handsome fella and i'm glad to hear he is starting to settle down. He is obviously one happy cat now by giving you purrs to show his appreciation for what you have done for him.
Thanks for sharing his story with us.
Give him headbumpies and kissies for me.:)

What a purrfectly handsome boy you are Normy! (And if you weren't this wouldn't be a reason to kick you out )

I am so glad to hear that you gain confidence in your happy life and show it with purring:)

He is so gorgeous. And I am so happy he has found his purr (and his home)

NORM!!!!!:) :) (sorry, Cheers made me do it :D)

Bless you for saving those kitties and it sounds like Norm is the purrrfect addition to your household. Before you know it, he'll be purrring up a storm on your lap.:)

How could anyone kick out such a handsome boy?!? Norm is too precious!!! I'm glad he is feeling more comfortable with you and has found his purr :)

Well you know it had to happen! You know that Willie had a talk with Norman and let Norman know that you guys are the best! And we all know that Willie is the leader of the household.

Good for you Norman, at last you are in a good home, with a very loving family that loves you and will take good care of you!

Willie

Norman, doesn't it feel wonderful to purr. :)
He is a very handsome boy. I'm glad he found a home with you.

Norman is absolutely gorgeous, and his story reminds me so much of my Boots! Boots was born a feral and grew to be about 4 or 5 months old running loose in a trailer park, before he was brought to me with his brother. His brother tamed up really quickly, but Boots was very slow-going! In fact, it has only been the past few months that Boots has made a total turn around. He now loves and prefers to be in the main living areas of our home and cuddled up with his bud, Tucker as much as possible. It was a long time before he would let us near him, but he now loves to be petted and will purrrrrr! He still is skiddish about being picked up, but hey, that's just fine with us!

CONGRATULATIONS Norman!!!

Here is Boots ..... one of his first pics (you can see the fear in his eyes ) and now with his best bud, Tucker!



http://www.kimscats.com/PrettyTuxKitten.jpg

http://www.kimscats.com/3.1.04_017.jpg

Norman is gorgeous. I'm glad he is coming around.

Thanks for sharing his story. It's wonderful you took him in.

Curses on that horrible lady!

Oh how wonderful for Norman!!! Yea!!! I also have a feral that took forever to relax and didn't find his purr for almost three years!! I also understand your excitement when it happens!! It is just wonderful.
Purr on Norman!!!!:D :D http://petoftheday.com/talk/images/o...es/biggrin.gif

Isn't that just the best feeling to know he is now secure enough to purr? I know when I heard Butter purr for the first time, it was "music to my ears". Hugs to Normy from us, please!!! :)

Way to Go , and all the Found Cats are so Happy that Norman , not only has a Furr Ever Home , but has found his Purr! And a great big Purr from the Found Cats to Norman , his Cat Pals and New Guardians! PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPUUUUUUUUUUUUUU UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

Thanks you guys for all the good thoughts. Yeah, Norm was quite dysfunctional when we brought him into the house. Here we had all these goofy, fun-loving, hard playing guys and Norm just wanted to hide in his cage. It seems like he responded to the younger ones first (playing and wrestling) and now he's figuring things out with the older two. I think he really hated our neighbor (good taste on his part, I say).
I think he has potential to be a snuggle-up-on-the-couch cat. When that happens we'll have a BIG PARTY.

I'm so excited for you and Norman! You must have been thrilled to hear him purr. Thanks for sharing that with us and posting celebratory pictures!

Our Jessica lived the first few years of her life as a feral and we have never heard her purr. She is happy to share the comforts of our home, but doesn't totally trust us. The girls both purr, in fact you can probably hear Daisy from where you are. :D If I ever hear Jessica purr I will let EVERYONE know!