Romeo

In the summer of 2016 a handsome tuxedo stray was picked up near Steveston Highway. With no tattoo and no chip, he was held at the Shelter for possible claiming, and ultimately for adoption. But wonderful as the work is at the Shelter, it’s a high-stress place for some of the more highly-strung inhabitants – and Romeo was one of them. Too much action, too many noises – he took it out on the cats around him when he was allowed out, and ended up having to be moved from one room to another to avoid other alpha cats, Finally he began expressing his feelings in pee, and reluctantly the Shelter staff had to accept that he was unlikely to be adopted, and he was brought to the Sanctuary.

Romeo endeared himself to staff and volunteers alike within the first week. In his own cage (much more space than he would have had at the Shelter), visitors were greeted with head-butting and shoulder-climbing.

He’s older than he looks – the vet thinks he’s about seven, and he has some arthritis in his hips, which we will need to monitor. For the first while his cage included a little staircase so that he could access the floor more easily, but he quickly established that as long as he didn’t have to negotiate slippery blankets on a chair, he could hop up and down fairly easily.

Now out and about, he still tends to claim “his” cage, curling up in a box out of the way. But he’s also been exploring the great outdoors when the weather is fine, and, though not actively seeking feline company, he seems to tolerate the other cats around him.

Obviously the Sanctuary feels a safer place for him than the Shelter did – and he might well turn out to be a cat that, in spite of his medical issues and reactions to stress, finds a human here to take him home.