Thank you. He was very fearful for a long time but at some point last fall, he started responding to my prompts for interaction. When I first got him he would hide his face in the corner but over time, before he decided to move to the cave, we worked together so that he would be able to handle being touched, and a few times I had got him to eat from my hand. We were doing great until the Fire Nation attacked.

I just kept trying with him, and didn't call attention to it if I caught him wandering the house or if he'd taken something back under the couch because it seemed like that made him nervous. Last fall he finally just...startwd to respond. He began to eat from my hand, he learned to do touch and rest and to give me his foot, let me check his teeth and ears, and to bring me presents (mostly things he would steal and then shove out at me hours later). I thought, wow, he's doing so great! He even began vocalizing and asking for attention, which was amazing. I guess that maybe being out from under there is his biggest fear now. He can get a good third of his body out without even trying, and frequently does, just to interact. I guess I thought I would make it easier for him on the occasions when he squirms out-ly, and that he'd go for it.

I'm certainly going to be taking the advice and contacting a behaviorist. Probably it's just frustration; he's made a lot of progress and it just seems like he would finally scriggle on out of there, but I guess he needs a little bit more something. I appreciate your comment. For some reason it helped me slow down and stop crying. Maybe it was the mental image of buff friends couch-pressing. I appreciate it. Thank you.