In January of 2005, five adult cats that were abandon by their owner on a farm were turned into Animal Control. Apparently, the lady who owned the farm sold it to two guys. When these people moved in, they found that the previous owner had left all her animals (cats, dogs, etc) in one of the barns to fend for themselves. The new owners adopted the dogs but could not do anything with the 5 cats that were left behind. These cats were clearly housecats and could not survive outside for long especially in the winter. All cats were between 8-12 years of age and declawed. One of them, I believe, was either killed by a wild animal or just disappeared soon after the new owners moved in. The remaining four cats (Harriet, Ginger, Kelly, and Guinevere; these are the original names) were brought to the shelter. As there were no cage space at the shelter, arrangment was made with Pets-4-Pets rescue to accept custody of these cats. They were given a bath at the shelter, dewormed, ear mites treated, and the fleas and ticks removed that were covering these poor cats. Then I took them home as my foster cats. I can not tell you how terrified these cats were. They had lost a lot of weight and their coats were all matted and tangled up. Kelly, the oldest of the group, also had difficulty putting down her paws without cringing, possibly due to frost bites. The first week that these cats were in my house, I could hardly touch them without causing them great distress. They would just bunch up in the corner and tremble. Little by little, they learned to trust me enough so that I could groom them and socialize with them without causing them (and myself) pain. I am still working on Guinevere's coat (she has long hair like Harriet). They are eating Wellness dry food (a limited ingredient food that has the following main ingredients: deboned chicken, cranberries, flax seeds, apples ,and blueberries). I also gave them a spoonful of tuna (in water) everyday to help with their coats.
A couple of months ago, we decided to put up these cats for adoption. I took them to the vet where they were tested for FLV/FIV (all negative), given distemper and rabies vaccinations. I soon realized that they knew that they were left behind. Originally, they were very fearful of everything and everybody. That is the main reason I did not stres them out by taking them to the clinic sooner. Everyday, I spend some time in their room (they were isolated since I have other cats in the house). At first, I would just sit there and talk to them or read to them. Then I started to groom and pet them. Each cat has a different character.
Ginger is a calico cat. She is playful but shy at first. She is a lap cat but needs to know your first.