Dana and Buffy were intitally rescued at the age of about two months by a lady whose dog didn't particularly like them. Alas, rather than find another home or turm then into a shelter, she simply confined the two kittens to a large crate - where the dog sat outside every day snarling at them.
For almost two months they lived like that, until she and I had a chance encounter and I offered to take them and find them homes.
A day later, I had two extremely traumatized and human-shy cats in my house.
Buffy, the shyer of the two, decided that under my bed was a good place and she stayed there. 24/7. Well, okay, she did come out for the litterbox, but I had to put her food and water under the bed and I didn't physically lay eyes on her beyond two scared eyes peeking out at me from behind a box for nearly six weeks.
Dana warmed to human contact pretty well - still stayed away from strangers but was okay with me and would at least dodge past a visitor if she felt they were far enough away. Buck for five long years, Buffy hid from anyone she didn't know. For me it was great - her favorite spot was to climb into my lap and flip belly-up like a baby in my arms. This was my cue to rub her belly for hours. She never tired of it. She was also unique in that cat treats were not simply to be taken from my fingers. Not that she wouldn't, but that was no fun - she needed to hunt them down like prey. Treats must be thrown so she could chase them down and defeat them.
Everything would have been wonderful and I certainly would have never thought again about their adoption status - Buffy was considered 'unadoptable' by most rescuers, as she completely panicked around strangers and as she was severely emotionally attached to her sister, Dana couldn't be adopted away from her. Buck even had to go to the vet when her sister did, even if there was nothing wrong with Buffy. However, Buffy, despite her shyness, is the quintessential Alpha Cat. Unfortunately, not all of my fosters were willing to recognize this. Thus, Buffy regularly had a lot of issues with other cats coming through. There was no question in my mind that Buffy would be happier in her own home with only her sister for company, but how do you adopt out a cat that potential adopters can't see adn who nearly has a heart attack at viewing fairs? Plus, just making things more difficult, Buffy had a problem similar to kidney stones and had to be on a special diet food that can only be gotten from the vet. Not expensive, but inconvenient.
We got lucky. My friend Anne with Francis' Friends works occasionally wiht a woman named Lynda who runs a rescue organization in upstate New York. In talking one day, the subject of Buffy and Dana's unique situation come up and all the difficulties any adopter would need to be read and able to face with helping them adjust. Lynda piped up that she knew just the perfect home - a couple who had just lost their cat to old age who had given homes to many cats over the years and had even served as an emergency shelter once. They knew exactly how to deal with this kind of cat and were looking to adopt!
After five long years of fostering, Buffy and Dana now live happily ever after in Upstate New York. |
