Oh, I can handle Froggy okay, usually without blood involved! But that’s only because I have learned over the years that the best way to approach her is assertively and confidently - she respects that! So, I don’t hesitate when I pet her, I go up to her, grab her by the tail or the head (gently!) and stroke her firmly. She is more reassured by a confident approach than a diffident one. If she is approached with confidence, she is usually okay, although a bit nervous - she’s always a little bit nervous! It’s only when someone approaches her hesitantly or fearfully, that she becomes aggressive and is liable to strike out - and her claws are very, very sharp!
When I adopted her from the humane society (and they didn’t tell me she was deaf - I don’t think they knew…), her name was ‘Rosalie’. It did not take me long to realize that she was totally NOT a ‘Rosalie’! Cute name, but it was not her, lol. She became ‘Froggy’ because, on account of being deaf, she startles easily - and can go from sound asleep to jumping three feet in the air in a split second! She’s jumpy! So, that - plus the fact that to me, her eyes always seem a bit wide and buggy, like a frog - the name just suited her! She was one or two when I adopted her, she’s about 13 now, I think.
Anyway…I have been reluctant to update this thread only because…well, I guess I didn’t want to seem ‘pushy’? I just figured, if people are still interested, they will ask.
I’m glad you all asked! 
Banshee and I have developed a love/hate relationship. In the early days, when I did not expect her to live, I felt a certain degree of resentment in caring for her. I really thought that I was investing a lot of energy, a certain amount of expense and losing a lot of sleep for what amounted to a ‘lost cause’. The vet did not do me any favors by telling me of the grim outlook for orphaned kittens - it just made me despair of a positive outcome. Yet, I persisted. And so did she.
In the early weeks, she resisted the bottle feedings. I had to insist, I had to ‘woo’ her, I had to keep bringing her back to it. And there were times that I was so tired, that I would feel anger simmering deep within me. I swore at her, I swore at the damn bottle that kept getting clogged, I swore at the cotton balls, the paper towels, the butt wiping, the milk mixing, the face cleaning, the burping, the constant, unrelenting attention that she demanded. And yet I kept doing it. And she kept squalling, squirming, resisting and complaining - and I swore at that too. I swore…but I was never less than gentle with her. I was reminded in many ways of my daughter who was born five weeks early, weighed only five pounds and was so, so, unhappy. She, too, complained all the time - she could not be pleased. If she was awake, she was crying, and she never seemed to sleep for long. My experience with Banshee was giving me flashbacks to being a young mother, futilely trying to please an unhappy infant.
But, like then, I persisted. And so did Banshee.
She is almost 4 and a half weeks old now - and I have come to believe that she is going to survive her unfortunate beginning. And she is so much bigger and stronger now. She ‘plays’ now! She does the little kitten pounce, the little kitten sideways hop, she wrestles with this little stuffed lion toy that my brother gave her, as though it were a litter mate. She is cute and full of kitten charm! Sometimes I let her out with my dog in the room, (watching them so carefully!) and she tries to climb up his leg, she grabs his face, she strolls under his belly and follows him around. My dog looks at her helplessly and looks at me as if to say ‘what should I do? is this okay?’ He is trying so hard to be nice, but I have to correct him anytime he tries to nibble/nip at her in protest. But he is also fascinated by her and when she is in her crate, he will lay alongside it, and he always tries to discourage her if she decides to climb up the rails - he doesn’t think that’s safe, I think!
Its time to start to wean her - time to get her off that cursed bottle! Oh, I know this will be a process and will probably take weeks - but already I’m getting frustrated. And cursing again, lol. She has no interest in getting her milk from a bowl, or kitten food from a bowl, or water from a bowl - she is still interested only in what comes from a bottle. Its frustrating - but I know its early days, it will take some time for her to adjust to such a change. I am eager for the change, but she is not! But she does like the kitten food - I mix her milk with canned food into a gruel and feed it to her through a bottle with the tip of the nipple cut off. She sucks that gruel down quite greedily - but put it in a bowl? No way. She may sniff at it, she may even walk in it, but she is not yet ready to eat from it.
I know. I know its early yet. It will come in time. Still, I curse. Gently…
And yet when I pick her up and she nuzzles into my neck and starts purring up a storm - suddenly its all worth it…
I wish I had better pictures, but I am not a good photographer and she is an uncooperative subject! These will have to do for now…
(In the future, I will try to get a side shot of her - she has a white marking on her back leg that looks like a lightning bolt - it goes from butt to knee to ankle to foot - sometimes I call her ‘flash’, lol!)
http://img802.imageshack.us/img802/4999/009vtn.jpg
http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/8832/012iex.jpg
Banshee and I thank you for your interest!
Hopefully your stress levels will be on their way back down after it’s all said and done.
