We do our best here, but we’re no heroes when it comes to feisty cats. Lack of time, a nervous disposition and paper thin skin from years of eczema leave me wary of taking in cats who show challenging behaviour. So it’s only by accident that we end up with these felines. Some people call this “cherry picking” …. I call it “knowing my limits”. Why am I talking about this now? Well, today was very special because we took our first cat to an outdoor home – but more of that later.
Our first “mistakes” were Jak & Jenny a couple of years ago. We responded to an urgent request from another rescue to offer a space to two cats they’d taken in as emergencies but didn’t have room to hold on to. I knew it was bad news when they needed to use a catch pole to get them into the carriers.
They settled a bit when they got here, though we seriously considered whether Jak might need an outdoor home. That’s him in the photo above … absolutely terrified. A lovely couple with nerves of steel and hearts of gold took a chance on them.
Somehow I don’t think the outdoor home is going to be needed 🙂
Our next ‘mistake’ was Maya. We thought if the person who needed her to come into rescue was able to get hold of her in the shed she was living in, and put her in a carrier, she must be tame. We didn’t reckon on the courage and determination of the woman we were dealing with who knew she just had to be got to safety! Maya arrived very pregnant and very poorly …. and pretty much untouchable. We thought she’d need to eventually find an outdoor home.
There’s a long long story around this that you’ll find in our archives. The punchline is that my lovely friend Jenny fell in love with her and offered to foster her. Maya never looked back … and of course ‘foster’ has become furever.
Maya appears to have decided she’s not feral after all.
And then there’s Wilma. She came to us with her 3 kittens a couple of months ago. She’s very hissy and untouchable … and for the first time in the 8 Lives story, we’ve followed through on the thought that she needs an outdoor home, and taken her there today.
Here she is with one of her kits. She’s hidden herself away for weeks, and rarely come out even to eat when we’ve been in her room. We’re not used to having to find outdoor homes so were a bit stumped. Quite by chance … you can read the story in our Happy 2016 post so I’ll not repeat it here …. she landed an offer of a home. Several people got involved in creating the most amazing 5* outdoor accommodation for her: a pen with insulated house and cosy bed … plus garden bench inside.
Wilma is one very lucky kitty. She has a safe and cosy outdoor home, with options to become just as ‘tame’ as she choses to be.
We feel very blessed to have known such lovely cats, and to have met the wonderful people who have thrown them such precious lifelines.
8 Lives: Sheffield 8 Cat Rescue 