Darcy is still with us. She came to us in October, scared and pregnant.
She was frozen with fear. She was okay to explore the room when I was not around (thank you web cameras for sharing that with me) but when I would visit her she made herself as small as possible and hid in the smallest cracks hoping I wouldn't find her. Little did she know that was my mission in life.. to find her and pull her out of her shell.
She gave birth here and raised three beautiful healthy happy kittens who were anything but fearful.
She never lashed out, not once. Not when I initially touched her, not when I picked her up for the first time, not when I would weigh her kittens or changed out her bedding. Never. She bides her time and waits for her chance to leave and then does so at the first chance. I spent a lot of time reaching into where she was hiding and patting her hoping to help her understand that humans are good. I would get her to purr and several times I got her to roll over so I could massage her belly but each time I left I went back to being very frightening.
I was fostering another cat at the time and she was quite friendly. I was hoping that introducing them would bring Darcy out of her shell. Unfortunately she was very protective of her kittens and the integration of the two families took a very long time. Fortunately Darcy was totally willing to sit in her cage and tend to any kitten who showed up. Over time, Darcy made a friend.
She was willing to come out of hiding when I was around. I was able to pull her out with play as well. She loves to "hunt"
Then her friend found a home and we were alone again. We did a lot of playing and I did my best to show her that people were not bad. My husband would visit her in the mornings and she would come out and give him a sniff. I would pull her out of hiding and pet her and give her scritches behind her ears that she loved so much and I was able to get her to purr.
I then had another friend for her. Darcy wanted to be friends. She was very kind and went very slowly allowing her new roommate to get used to her, but this kitty wasn't interested in being friends. Darcy keeps trying so I know she would integrate well into a cat friendly cat household. She will not be a lap cat immediately, but because she likes to have her neck scratched I am sure in time in a quiet household with other cats to show her life with people is a good thing she would become your friend.
If you know anyone who might have room in their life for a very sweet and kind kitty, who either lives near NH or wouldn't mind traveling to get her, please let me know.