Alex finally comes out of the closet

The first weekend of November my sister visited me and we went to see Bugs Bunny on Broadway at the Bass Hall. Here's a review and photo at http://www.theage.com.au/news/Reviews/Bugs-Bunny-on-Broadway/2005/01/30/1107020256549.html

Usually when guests arrive at my house, Alex spends the time hiding in the closet. He's so fearful of strangers. Considering how much stress and trama he probably went through when I found him two years ago, abused and abandoned in a parking lot, I can well understand why he shys away from strangers. He trusts only my husband and me. Even that trust has to be built slowly.

From what I can tell from the extent of his injuries, someone picked him up by his tail and slung him many times up into the air. He didn't have any injuries that seemed to result from a car hitting him or from his falling out of a tree. The injuries were chaotic and all over his body, front left leg broken in two places, left and right legs broken, broken ribs, tail broken in several places with nerves showing. So it was the only situation that could have been happened. He was thoughtlessly abused.

What didn't surprised all of us last weekend was Alex immediately flew to the closet the minute he heard the doorbell. He flew out of the chair in the living room and vanished. What did surprise us was a few minutes later, he returned to the living room to say hi. He seemed curious to meet my sister like "Don't I know you?" He stayed nearby while she unpacked and later that evening he walked near her to get familiar with her. We were all surprised, very surprised!

Alex has met Cathy each time she's visited this year. We'd sneak in the walk-in closet to see him and sit down and talk with him. He'd stay still on his bed and would watch our every move. He would venture out a time or two during those early visits but would return to the closet the minute he saw her.

Last weekend Alex ended up accepting Cathy. He gave her a rub on her hand, a sure sign he likes her and more importantly wanted to leave his mark. My sister commented she felt honored that he was trusting of her. He stayed out most of the weekend, hanging out on the couch or looking out the window, activities he normally does when no visitors are around. It was a major break through for all of us, knowing Alex had finally came out of the closet. :)