Spoiler Alert! Franklin did a lot better with our new cat-sitter, JC, thanks to the new introductory tactics I tried out, and it all makes me so happy! :) :) :)
But first, before reading this blog post, if you haven't read Part 1 I highly recommend you click on over for the full Franklin vs Strangers storyline here.
As Kap is always very easy-going with people, becoming besties with someone immediately if they feed him, I knew it was going to take a drastic change to get Franklin to even want to become besties with someone. He may be food-driven at times, but he is nowhere near as obsessed as Kap is. Which means if Franklin doesn't trust the person feeding him, he won't eat.
My coworker, JC, is a huge cat-lover. He has cat-sat for many of my coworkers, who are all always so impressed with his abilities to make their cats quickly fall in love with him, so I knew if anyone could get Franklin to like them, it would be JC.
Learning from our previous mistakes, I invited JC over to our apartment a few days before the vacation to hangout, knowing it would take a bit of time - at least an hour - to convince Fran that JC was a friend. Upon JC's arrival, I put Franklin in the cat carrier so he wouldn't be able to run away and hide. My hope was that if Franklin was able to get used to JC being in the room, and watch big brother Kap interact with JC, Franklin would realize JC was not a threat.
Kap immediately came over to JC and rubbed against his leg. I had JC give Kap his dinner, and Kap declared that the two were besties. JC was welcome anytime as long as he provided food. One cat down, one to go!
Franklin was in the cat carrier for about 20 minutes. At first he was uncertain, moving about, clearly uncomfortable at not being able to hide from JC. But my idea that he needed to watch Kap interact with JC worked. Franklin settled down, very curious about JC and very hungry for his dinner. I opened the cat carrier and Franklin immediately wanted to run to the bedroom and hide. I'd closed all the doors so he was only able to move about the living room and kitchen. He paced around a bit, and so JC and I sat on the floor, facing away, calmly talking about whatever crossed our minds, allowing Franklin to continue getting comfortable with JC's presence.
Franklin did not go to JC that night, but he did eat the food I had JC put down for him. It took a little convincing for Franklin to eat all of it with JC there, but it was imperative that he did. I wanted to make sure my baby boy ate while we were gone.
I left for my flight on a Thursday morning (I was meeting John for our vacation) and JC came over on his own for dinner that night. Franklin would not get close to him, but he didn't hide away either. JC fed Kap first, then locked him in the office to give Fran a chance to eat. The picture at the beginning of today's post is of Franklin eating his dinner that first night, refusing to go near JC if JC was more than ten feet away. But Franklin ate! The introductory plan worked!
Over the next few days, Franklin became curious about JC. Still not getting too close, and definitely not allowing JC to pet him, but curiosity was more than any cat-sitter had ever gotten from Franklin.
"Who are you???" -Franklin
JC thought Franklin's stares of "Who are you???" were the funniest thing, and sent me lots of pictures of Franklin staring at him- which also look a little murderous, but what can you do? John and I joke that Franklin has resting serial killer face, haha.
After four days of getting used to JC and watching big brother Kap be pet by JC, Franklin began to trust his new cat-sitter. He still didn't want to be pet, but he would rub against JC's legs when JC was getting their breakfast or dinner ready. A huge step for Fran! He even let his guard down to drink water with his back to JC, fully trusting that JC was not a stranger anymore, nor was he dangerous.
On the last visit, JC made the boys breakfast like usual, and after giving Kap some very good chin scratches, JC decided to experiment. While Franklin drank some water, JC got his camera ready to capture the big moment: petting Franklin! Franklin allowed JC to pet his back twice, then turned around, booped JC's hand with his nose, and promptly ran away.
JC was so excited he texted me immediately, and sent a gif of Judd Nelson at the end of The Breakfast Club raising his fist into the air. Success!
I am so proud of Franklin, and I am so grateful to JC for all of his patience. John and I are very excited to have JC cat-sit again to see the saga continue. Will Franklin allow JC to pet him again? Will JC finally accomplish his goal of getting Franklin to cuddle with him? Stay tuned!
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