Baby Girl, the first time I saw her, and when we knew we had to rescue her and her kittens.
Baby Girl now, Sept. 2009
More Baby Girl now, Sept. 2009Baby Girl (known as Gemma in her adoption ads) was rescued by PFA almost exactly a year ago. She had been confined in a small windowless bathroom for close to 4 months with her four kittens by a well meaning but misguided elderly lady. We rescued the entire little family, and I took them into my home as foster cats. Baby Girl was about 9 or 10 months old at the time. My guess is that she had gotten pregnant on her first heat, and was then rescued from the street by the old lady. Baby Girl was thin, slight, and exhausted from caring for her kittens. As you can see from the above photo, she was scared, poorly socialized, and depressed, and not sure what to think of humans.
We quickly found homes for two of her kittens (the orange ones, of course!) and over the course of this past year we also found a wonderful home for her two black female kittens once they were adults. However, Baby Girl needed more time. We rescued her last October, and I wasn't even able to touch her until about December. At first, she would simply race around the large room I had settled the family into, panicked at the thought of having any contact with me. After a few weeks, I gave the whole family the run of the house, and Baby Girl relished her freedom, but still ran any time I tried to engage with her.
Finally, last January, Baby Girl decided that I wasn't so bad. She began letting me touch her when she was eating, and even started asking for attention from time to time. And then, it was like the floodgates opened, and she became the most loving, affectionate cat! I earned her trust enough that I was able to get her into a carrier and take her to the vet for her spay (finally... after a noisy heat). And, even after that experience, she continued becoming more friendly and loving.
Today, Baby Girl is a happy and healthy, well adjusted tortoiseshell cat. She is large for a female, and has the most lovely, plush fur. She greets strangers at the door, and loves to snuggle with me in bed at night. She wrestles and races with my own cats all over the house.
A year is a long time for a PFA cat to stay in foster care. However, in this case, I think Baby Girl needed all of that time to truly recover from her rough start in life. This is one of those times that I am so glad that we are committed to giving cats every opportunity to have a happy ending, with no timelines. We never give up on a cat.
Baby Girl is ready for her forever home now, of that I am certain. I love her so much, and I truly wish that I wasn't already at my 6 cat limit so that I could keep her. But I simply cannot, especially since I am expecting my own baby in the New Year!
-Sarah
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