Looking back, years from now, we’re going to remember last week. This was the week when, finally, things changed in a big way — leaving us more hopeful than we’ve been in a very long time. I’m referring, of course, to what happened here Friday afternoon, when Ginseng demonstrated “elevator butt” for the very first time.

(To understand why Ginseng’s “elevator butt” is a big deal she was part of the group of “challenging” cats who came to Best Friends at the end of The Great Kitty Rescue. These were the cats who were so frightened, traumatized, shy or just plain under-socialized and unlike the rest of the 800+ cats, these had not been adopted. Anywhere else, she would have been deemed “feral” and her best hope would have been taking her chances in a feral colony or worst, being euthanized in a shelter as “unadoptable.” But Ginseng was instead enrolled in Miss Sherry’s Finishing School for Felines and then was able to be homeschooled by Peter. See Dream Small for more background.)

First I need to back up a little bit. Ginseng moved into her new digs, an “exercise pen” suggested by Bob and Corinne (who have been having such great success with Sylvester). At first it was a little dicey, as Ginseng took to “charging” me when I tried to tidy up her space.

Flash forward to Friday afternoon… I was petting Ginseng as she lay atop her safe place (as she now does all the time). I don’t think either of us knew what she was doing when all of a sudden her butt rose into the air. Ginseng had been especially relaxed this session — allowing herself to spread out more than usual — so I thought maybe she was simply standing to stretch (which would have been enough of a surprise, really).

The big milestone started when Ginseng made some small "biscuits" on her blanket (inspired by Sebastian’s entry from the atrium) and began to purr. And then, just like that, she’s doing elevator butt. I half-expected her to change her mind, but she continued each time I gave her full-length pets — about 10 or 12 times in all before she seemed to get a little nervous. After giving me one of her looks, she settled back down.

Saturday, I captured a similar session on video My favorite part comes more than three-quarters of the way through it, when she catches herself having a good time and gives me a stern look. After the good work we’ve done the past few days, though, she’s done fooling me...



Square one,
my slate is clear
Rest your head on me, my dear
It took a world of trouble,
took a world of tears
Took a long time
to get back here

And we can’t wait to see Ginseng rest her head on Peter.

© Story, photos and video by Peter Wolf

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