When Baby Cat, who was later renamed Prawa, first came to us back in January as a stray, we did not know much about her background. All we knew about her was that she was declawed, and we were unsure when this occurred.
We only had her for a short time, and nothing about her first stay sticks out to me, because it was a fairly short one as she was only at our shelter for about three weeks. Later in the year, she was returned to our shelter due to having some problems which her previous owner described as randomly hissing and growling, unprovoked.
She was a very shy and quiet cat. She enjoyed being by herself, but would be affectionate occasionally. However, it was always on her terms. The previous owners stated that she would scratch them with her back legs on occasion, and nip them. Our team found that with cats that are declawed, biting seems to be a default as they have lost their claws, their first defense mechanism. Many people do not realize that declawing can dramatically change a cat’s behavior.
Prawa was not exposed to any other cats, dogs, or kids while she was in her first two homes. We believe this is also part of the reason that she was such a shy cat; she did not get the exposure that she needed in her first stages of life. This also meant that she had to overcome another barrier; she needed a home where she would be the only pet.
When people came in to adopt, they were always more likely to adopt the friendly outgoing cats. Prawa sat in the shelter for quite some time, due to her shy demeanor. She liked to hide when adopters would come in to visit. Anyone that came to visit would usually have to look at her without being able to interact with her.
Something I recall so vividly about Prawa was that she LOVED cat nip. She loved chasing toys that had cat nip in them and string toys. Once she got to know people she was much more outgoing. Not completely outgoing, but she would not run away as long as the person was calm and quiet. Then along came a man named Rick who had been searching on and off for a year to find a kitty that was the right match for him. He came in to the shelter one day, just to look around and see what cats that we had available. He saw Prawa, and she seemed very laid back and sweet.
Our team was so happy that she was able to open up to someone and show off another side to herself. We realized also that this would be a great home for Prawa as she would get lots of love and be the only pet around.
After over three months of waiting in the shelter, Prawa finally was adopted into her forever home. Prawa seems to be adapting well to home life with Rick. “She comes to join me on the couch to watch TV and sleeps with me in my bed. It is nice to have company and someone to come home to.” – Rick, Prawa’s Adopter.
Our team is so glad to finally see Prawa in a happy home, after being through so many ups and downs. She waited patiently to find the perfect person, and it truly paid off in the end. Pets in our lives can bring us so much joy. And as Rick puts it, “Life is a little less lonely.”
By: Clay Johnson, Carson City Shelter Manager