She's no Tinkerbell

If you clicked on the thumbnail even though I purposely left some fur in it, that's not my fault. :-]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sixth anniversary

Excerpts from the diary I started the day this wide-eyed wonder showed up. I kept it because I never planned on keeping her and wanted to keep a record of her progress for the adoptive family.

Wed-24 Nov 2004 Thanksgiving
When I let Casey (that's the now departed doggie) out this morning, she started sniffing the open floor boards on the screened porch frantically. I was sure that the raccoon, who thought he had found the perfect spot for overwintering, had returned. In the beam of the flashlight through the lattice was a small, white cat with splotchy, multi-colored markings, huddled up against the basement wall where it was undoubtedly the warmest.
The temperature was about 25 degrees/- 6, no snow yet. I put wet food and water out immediately. Through the basement window that's under the deck, I was able to watch the cat as it slowly and suspiciously crawled out to the other side of the lattice to eat and drink enthusiastically. It disappeared during the day, but returned at dark, ate and spent the night under the deck.

Thurs, 25 Nov-Sun, 28 Nov
During the next few days, the routine continued and during one of its daily ventures down the alley, I snuck around the garage and took a picture. It's missing half its tail and has a very stocky build with short little legs. I named it Smudge, not knowing whether it's a male or female.

Mon, 29 Nov
Over the weekend, I made 30 huge flyers and spent the morning stapling them all over the neighborhood. There was no way I wanted to keep this kitty: having to put 17 year old Cleo down in 2002 was still too fresh in my memory. By 3:00 pm I received a call from J.O, three blocks over. They saw the flyer on the telephone pole at the end of their street which made me smile, as that was the third one I stapled up, not knowing how far from home the cat had gotten. This was their female calico 'Tinkerbell', who had lived with them for five years after many failed attempts of socialization in various foster homes. J.O is a rescuer for the Humane Society and this kitty was found, along with two litter mates, in the rubble of a construction site north of downtown. They were only two weeks old and starving, their mother had been killed by a bulldozer and the neighborhood boys had been throwing bricks at the nest which is why part of her tail was missing. The many rescued animals in the house must have gotten to be too much and in the Spring of 2002 'Tinky' decided to hit the road and spent all summer in the alleys, returning home less and less. It was a bit weird to figure out where J.O stood because I made it clear that since they let the cat wander and since it chose my porch to crawl under, it was now my responsibility, if I could capture it. In the end, she let it go, thankful that I was willing to try and asked only that I kept her updated. Deal.

Tues, Nov 30-Fri, Dec 17
I continued to put food and water out, she ate regularly, and despite two inches of snow, she left during the day but returned at night. It started to get very cold (-20) and her water froze within an hour, so I replaced it frequently. She found a spot right in front of the dryer vent that exits the house under the deck so I turned the dryer on as much as possible. With the lights turned off I could get a good look at her close-up without her seeing me. She looked to be in decent shape, uninjured and not thin at all. So cute, she was just a tiny thing even at almost seven years old.

Sat, Dec 18
It turned brutally cold overnight-dipped down to -30-so we took one lattice panel off and I crawled under the deck to dig out a hollow. In it, I placed a carrier without its metal door, lined with blankets and a heating pad set on low. After bolting when she saw us coming, she took no time to settle into it and get comfy, leaving the carrier to eat and drink but returning immediately because it is so cold. The live trap I bought from the Humane Society and put close to her food is useless: she knows what it is and walks big circles around it.

Fri, Dec 31 New Years Eve day
Last night I noticed small scabs around the tips of both her ears: the exposure to the cold was starting to show. I felt really panicked about not being able to trap her, then it hit me: use the carrier as a trap since she trusts it and seeks shelter in it. In that bone-crushing cold, we took the lattice off again and pulled the carrier out to modify it.

We drilled a hole in the back corner near the floor, and I threaded a sturdy rope through it, tied it to the door and concealed the rope loosely under the heating pad. We tested it a few times: the idea being that she wouldn't be able to see the rope and would be too cold to care that there was suddenly an open door on her shelter. I turned the opening away from where I would be located at the end of the rope so she wouldn't see me and bolt again. It took her no more than an hour to crawl back in. Slam! I practically dove in and secured the door. She spit and hissed at my face but I felt such relief that it worked just as I had planned. We set her up in the still empty front room with food and litter. This was a terrified, pathetic little creature. She huddled when I approached but I felt like I had to immediately introduce her to touch and when I picked her up, she basically went limp, waiting for something bad to happen.

Wed, 12 Jan 2005
We shifted her digs downstairs and she has been living in the basement since January 7th; the majority of the time inside the carrier. I hand-fed her wet food which she licked off my finger and spend at least two hours a day just talking and sitting nearby. She ate and used her litter daily, but didn't venture very far out of the carrier. She let me pet her for about seven strokes before swatting back. Picking her up is not an option, she's too scared and bit my hand lightly.

I talked to MF at Animal Ark (a no-kill shelter) today about bringing her in for adoption. They told me that the cat holding rooms are large and cozy and that many cats live out their lives there.

Fri, 28 Jan-Mon, 21 Feb
In preparation for her transfer, Smudge had all her vaccinations today. She went limp in the vet's arms so handling her wasn't difficult. Over the next two weeks, nothing changed, her tolerance for touch remained low but she did start going out of the carrier to various spots in the basement. I was becoming concerned that being so isolated will prevent her from being socialized, so I've decided to take her to Animal Ark with the idea of getting her some more exposure and the hope that she will catch someone's eye and be adopted.

Tues, 22 Feb
Bringing her to Animal Ark today was excruciating. She was hunkered down in the carrier the whole drive and would occasionally look up at me with pitiful eyes. They checked her in and showed me the facility. She ended up in a steel holding cage in a room with twenty other cats that were waiting for the larger rooms to open up. The drive back without her was torture because I knew she had no hope of being socialized in that situation, let alone be adopted. By the evening, they had posted her story on their adoption website, with the most pitiful picture; ears pulled back, eyes yellow. I offered to email them the beautiful portrait I took of her but they didn't want it.

Wed, 23 Feb-Sun 20 March
Never has a month gone by slower. I checked her adoption page every day just to see her and I thought about her constantly. I called a couple of times to see how she was doing. I was told that little missy bolted out of the cage and gave the staff a good run around. I visited the shelter once to spend time with all the cats and check on her and she was basically in the same corner of the steel cage three weeks after they put her in it. I couldn't take it, I had to talk to Mr. M and beg him to bring her back to see if we could make her into a more social cat. Sunday night I told him my heart was breaking. He gave in.

So I did. That following Christmas we decided to keep her. It took her almost another year to allow us unrestricted touch and almost three more to come up to the third level and sleep with us. I have had more wicked scratches and bites than I care to remember. After all this time, it doesn't take much for her to run and hide, she still occasionally swats and bites and I still can't pick her up. Trips to the vet set her back a few days but she usually comes around. Mostly, she is the softest, sweetest cuddlething that makes me very happy that I didn't give up.