• during daylight hours, or if I am in the living areas: she hides under the couch. Occasionally sits in a corner that lets her see more of the living area. Only occasionally comes out during the day to nibble on food, immediately returns to hide.
• in the night when I am asleep: she does regular cat things! Eats all her wet food, uses her litter box, scratches cardboard pads, prowls around, 'hunts' the tiny toy mice, bats her toy balls around, grooms herself thoroughly, flops around on the couch, naps on the welcome mat, crawls into her toy caves. 
• she is a very good girl: has not scratched anything but her scratchers, uses the litter box very neatly and covers her business and doesn't kick up litter, doesn't climb or get into things, leaves my plant alone. And when she ate too much dry food too fast, she even was sweet enough to not barf onto my nice rug, but onto the hardwood. 
• She almost plays with a wand toys; as in, she watches it closely as I waved it around, but perhaps hasn't figured out it's fun to bat at it, and only pounces rarely, and surprises herself.
• She has not yet eaten a treat I've tried to give her willingly; the closest I've gotten is wiping Churu on her mouth that she licks up. She'll eat treats I drop by her once I leave the room.
• Mimi still looks alarmed if I or anything I'm holding get too close to her. She has allowed gentle rubbing of her head, and I can tell she's much less tense around me vs. when strangers are in the house.
• She sometimes returns my slow "i love u" blinks. She naps on shirts I leave for her, and on top of the puzzles I'm working on.

THE MIMI DIARIES, SUMMER 2024: 

• July 30th, 2024: attached a ruler to a wand toy and put lots of tuna Churu on the end, tried holding it out to Mimi under the couch. She avoided it and ate none. Tried leaving it, moving it closer and farther, she still seems too spooped by me. 
• July 31st, 2024: M\When I got home from work, my extendable back scratcher had arrived--I tried gently 'petting' Mimi with it. She recoiled a bit from it but did tolerate some of it--did she like it? Was she tolerating it in patience or freezing in fear? Unclear. I also dropped a chicken treat and I think she ate it when I walked away? It was unclear. For those in the guessing pool: I consider "letting me touch/pet her" = with my hand , and "taking a treat" = taking it from my hand and eating it. So we're warming up slowly! Still may acknowledge the closest guessers to these initial pre-milestones.
• August 5th, 2024: Mimi's maintained her same pattern this weekend. I covered up a troublesome 'under' she seemed to be liking, but hopefully she likes the new hidey spots I've made for her from various boxes, paper bags, and tee shirts. Confirmed: she knows how the treat ball works, and she IS eating treats I drop in front of her loudly and obviously, but just when I'm out of sight! Progress!!!! She trusts me enough to eat the treats, but not yet enough to let me watch her eat them, hahaha. I also think she, for the first time, tried to play with the little piñata llama at the end of a wand toy I got her. She seems to be getting a little bored at night, and I am betting she'll enjoy one of those self-propelled ball toys, if they don't scare her too much. Also: I moved the pet camera, so get ready for new angles!
• August 6th, 2024: CAUGHT ON CAMERA overnight: Mimi did try to play with piñata overnight! And I found evidence she's been caring for her own nails, which is great since I can't trim her talons until she lets me touch her. 
• August 8th, 2024: I accidentally left my coat closet door cracked overnight, and come morning, I realized Mimi was hiding in there! She wedged herself under my dining room table's middle section, and given some of the cleaning supplies and crowdedness, I couldn't let her stay. I stayed to the side and slowly removed items, careful not to jostle her, until she finally stopped trying to hide in there and SPRINTED back to the under-couch area, hahaha. I'll have to be more careful to make sure she doesn't hide in problem spots! She didn't seem too mad at me later and the next day.
• August 12th, 2024: Mimi felt more relaxed to me this weekend--I moved the cat tree she's barely used to be next to the couch, and the extra 'cover' seems to make her happy to sit in her visible little corner. Her body language has been less tense. MINI MIMI MILESTONE: while I was at work, she left the under-couch to eat a little lunch in the middle of the day! Not just when it's dark out and I'm not in the room!!!
• August 13th, 2024: Mimi popped out THREE!!! times during the day for a little nibble! And only dashed back under the couch in panic once, I think!
• August 16th, 2024: MIMI MILESTONE ALERT: she semi-pounced on piñata when I was waving it under the couch near her!!! She watches it closely! The 16th falls between guesses, so we'll split the difference: congrats to Shy, Sebastian, and Brent for guessing the closest to when Mimi would play with a toy I'm controlling! (Has she repeated this since? Only once, lol.)
• August 21st, 2024: I've been working from home, and Mimi seems more relaxed to me. She'll come sit in the corner where she can see me often, and her body language reads more easygoing. She's tolerating (maybe liking?) the scratches with the long backscratcher on her neck and cheek. I can't quite reach her with my hands given the configuration of my furniture, so I'm going to try shifting it a bit to try and make some progress on touching and petting Mimi. EDIT: got just enough room to reach her back, but she hissed when I stroked her there. That's ok--it's a very sensitive part on lots of cats, and I should probably work to pet her side or cheek first. She's still liking the backscratcher, especially if she'll loudly hiss at what she doesn't like!
• August 27th, 2024: I returned from a trip to DC to see a concert, and I think Mimi could smell the other cats on me, she was a little on edge. But... MIMI MILESTONE ALERT: I was able to reach her head with the edge of my fingers, and Mimi let me pet her head and ear for a little bit!!!!!!!! She has officially let me touch her! Congrats to Lieke for the closest guess!
• August 30th 2024: MIMI MILESTONE ALERT: Mimi let me repeat the ear pets again, and this time with a pause in between, so we can officially say she's letting me pet her!!!! Congrats to Sebastian for guessing right on!
• September 7/8th 2024: MIMI MILESTONE ALERT: I've been dropping treats in front of Mimi (still behind the couch) after giving her little head pets, and she's started eating them in front of me!!! That's officially taking a treat! Congrats to Ulli for the closest guess!
• September 11/12th 2024: MIMI MILESTONE ALERT: she's begun pouncing properly on the piñata toy and biting it! And trying to pull it away to eat it! But then she acts all embarrassed and like she needs to be serious again, very cute.

THE MIMI DIARIES, FALL 2024:

• September 24th 2024: Mimi had her very first vet appointment! (To get her a full checkup and get her insured.) Getting her into the carrier was a little bit of a misadventure, lol. I blocked off a lot of the under couch and put the carrier as the only "out" to try and nudge her into it. She was not very nudgeable and I was avoiding grabbing her as much as I could. But when I went to put on gloves to purrito her, she'd gone to hide in the carrier! All my treats I'd left worked! But then I laughed and praised her and she ran out again, hahaha. When I tried to repeat this, she dashed away towards her next-favorite hidey spot, which was a box with a tee shirt I'd left her. Then I could tip her into the carrier easily. Poor girl! The vet lobby was stressful with some rowdy dogs, but she was so well behaved at the vet, no biting or scratching or fighting! I finally got to pet her head to tail as the vet tech held her down, and she's SO soft! (And hairy, hahaha.) She got a clear bill of health and trimmed nails, and we were back home within the hour. It took her a few days to forgive me, but she seems back to normal by the 27th.
• early October, 2024: I went away for my first conference while having Mimi, for a whole week! She seemed anxious the first few days, jumping at every sound as if waiting for me to come home. She warmed up to her catsitter eventually, even finding a new spot under the couch to watch her come in, and giving her a rare 'blep'. When I came back, it took her a few days to get back to her regular bathroom and eating rhythm and relax again.
• October 20th, 2024: Mimi's gotten good at playing, and something new has happened--she's started sitting up and looking at me with big curious eyes! Big shift in body language. She looks like a whole new cat, and it's so heartwarming to see her a little more confident. And also to see her lil white belly!!!
• October 23rd, 2024: Mimi popped out most of her body TWICE from under the couch to look for and eat treats! While I was sitting on it with all the lights on and after playing!!! I count this as the first stage of "Mimi comes out from under the couch willingly", and congrats to Jahmour for the closest guess!
• November 2nd, 2024: Mimi's begun rubbing her face earnestly on the couch, the wires, and even her toys when I'm playing with her. She'll often start off our playing by pouncing on a toy, holding it tight, and rubbing her face allll over it and marking it as hers. It's very cute, and a sign she's comfortable and feeling ownership of the space, and even happy to see me! Still occasionally pops out to grab a toy for a second, and lifts up to smell me. She's getting comfortable with the end of the toys I'm holding getting close to her, too.
• November 12th-ish, 2024: When going to bed, I often will put out Mimi's food, play with her, turn out all the living area lights, and tell her good night. I see Mimi on the camera immediately coming out to eat and use the litterbox once I'm in the bathroom or my bedroom getting ready, and she seems to be running away way less if she hears me. So, I tried popping out my head through the doorway while the ate, looked right at her and told her she was a good girl, and she DIDN'T RUN UNDER THE COUCH!!! Just stared back, and then went back to eating when I went away. Progress!

THE MIMI DIARIES, WINTER 2024-25:

• December 3rd, 2024: I'm trying to get Mimi to more closely associate me with food--she's pretty regularly eating treats I drop in front of her, even coming out halfway from under the couch, so I've tried to do it with her full dinner. Today, she ate most of it while mostly out of under the couch! Though only for ~15 seconds, and then she went back under the couch when she realized I was filming. Being perceived is stressful, I suppose. I haven't been able to repeat this often through the rest of December.
• Early December, 2024: Mimi is a big goofy play machine! She often does a big eager pounce as soon as I whip out piñata at our routine times (sometimes even emerging halfway from under the couch to grab it). And then, she flops over to her side and swats at it happily and sometimes goes into mega-bunny-murder-kicks. Sometimes she'll stop playing, but stay on her side looking relaxed, and maybe peeking up at me from her back. She's also very often doing the cute sitting-up-and-gazing-with-curiosity thing, and tries to pounce up to the edge of the back of the couch, I think to play with me. It has startled me once or twice, so she may stop doing since my startling scares her. Mimi is also developing a naughty habit that is VERY hard for me to not reward inadvertently--when she wants to keep playing or get my attention, she'll scratch at the back of the couch! I've put some double-sided tape to discourage it, and am thinking of getting her a little bell she can hit. Cats that grew into adults not around humans very rarely meow, so it may take Mimi several years to learn to meow for attention. Better to teach her a little bell gets my attention that scratching my lovely couch! The velvet is holding up very well by design, but Mimi is very sharp!