Meet the newest foster!

My newest foster, Shadow, was rescued about 2 years ago and until joining the home for wayward cats, was living with an Italian couple. His rescuer writes "They are wonderful cat lovers and have several in their home. But Shadow basically lived in a back room in the rafters for quite a long time. In the last 6 months he has ventured into the living area with the other cats. He has no confidence and is simply scared of people, except for his foster family."





Shadow could be Jasper's twin if not for the difference in their coat lengths. They're both beautiful grey cats with silver tipped fur, and gorgeous green/yellow eyes. They even have the same little pointed faces. Shadow's fur is a bit darker than Jasper's, but it's subtle enough that you'd probably have to know both cats or see them side by side to notice.


I brought him home, got him settled into his temp sanctuary and settled down on the floor with him to see if he would be willing to come say hello. To my surprise, he came out right away, and immediately asked for loving. He let me pet him, pick him up, touch his toes and belly, and give him a really good brushing. He also enjoyed headbutting my face and my camera. ;) I couldn't help but laugh to myself as he spent the next hour or so rubbing up against me - I repeatedly found myself thinking "pff. This cat isn't shy at all." This video was taken less than 5 minutes after he arrived.

Today, I decided to let him out of the sanctuary to explore a bit while everyone was napping since he seemed quite keen to see what was on the other side of the door. I had already done a few sock exchanges by this point, and everyone had responded well. Within minutes, he discovered the bed, and promptly parked himself under it. To my knowledge, he has not budged since. ;) On the bright side, Jasper was already under the bed when Shadow darted under there, and was not at all perturbed by Shadow's sudden arrival. I had hoped to make his introduction more gradual, but true to form, the brood and my fosters are being very gentle and are quite content to leave him be. I have tucked his food and water dish under the bed with him for the short term until he gains a bit more courage and feels comfortable coming out. He let me give him some love while I was under there with him, so I know it's not me he's nervous about, it's the other cats. But once he has the chance to see that they are quite willing to leave him be and that they mean him no harm, I know he'll come around. 


Update: As predicted, Shadow has come out from under the bed already. He's still hissing at anyone that comes to close for comfort, but that's completely normal at this stage. I have closed off the haven space (aka my bedroom & office) for the time being as Kitty was getting a little wound up by all of the hissing. The good news in all of this is that he feels secure enough with me to come to me for reassurance, which he is doing frequently at the moment. Now that I've been able to separate him again (in a manner that did not stress him out), I can go back to slow introductions - starting with the calmer ones, and gradually progressing up to Capt. Crankypnts.