On a rare occasion, I called Nikita over and pet her for 10 min straight until she was satisfied and done. Then she went off to eat because a good petting makes her hungry. She came back for more after eating.

I feel so bad because the more anxious I get the more frequently she scratches her ears. She went from blissfully happy and relaxed to on edge, less active, and scratching. I’ll get back to no stress once I readjust. She was a very happy cat until all that stuff happened.