That didn't take long
Molly (aka Peepers) absolutely lurrrrrrrves the new rug (see illustration below). It's been on the floor, maybe an hour. I got it with her in mind. She loves the upstairs room; she usually sleeps in the computer chair in which I now sit. And we have hardwood floors up here and it's sparsely furnished, so I always feel bad when I come up to use the computer because she has nowhere to chill out.

Well she is happy as a clam now, she's all stretched out on the rug, fat belly swooshed out, and rolling 180 degrees with her legs in the air. Frankly, I've never seen anything like it. This is a cat whose idea of letting loose is sitting on top of a catnip-filled mouse as if to smush it. She doesn't play with toys, doesn't get into treats. About the only thing she is known to lurrrve is my husband. She's afraid of her own shadow, keeps a low profile, and would never, ever in a million years, allow herself to be picked up, held or cuddled. We're almost positive that Molly was abused by her prior owner, or at the very least was deprived of human contact.

We've had her for about a year and a half now, and the first six-to-nine months were rough going. She spent the first few months living under the frame of our futon, and then migrated to living underneath our bed. Very rarely would she come out, and would cower if we tried to reach under the furniture to pet her. So the first few months with us, she was lacking in further positive human contact.

Once she felt a little more comfortable, she was able to spend minimal amounts of time out from underneath the futon or bed, letting us pet her. But she had a threshold, and once it was crossed, back she would go.

Baby steps, though.

Along the way, we decided that maybe a second cat would help her come out of her shell, and that's where Dom came along. Of course Dom ended up being completely awesome, but not much of a help with Molly. He quickly assumed the role of alpha male and would chase her back into hiding whenever she came out. Even when he was only 1/3 of her size.

Finally, when she was slightly more sociable, I was able to take her to the vet, where it was discovered that she had some teeth that needed to come out. Once those teeth came out, I swear, that was what finally broke the spell. She would come out of hiding for long periods of time, didn't seem to be too afraid of us, and woud crave our affection. I guess after not being petted for so long, she has an insatiable need for it.

But she is still skittish, and probably always will be. So when I see her enjoying herself like she is now, it really brings a smile to my face.

Molly, you go, girl.