Cat Sanctuary

Ziggy Girl

I was a little trepidatious about entering this new arrival’s cage tonight. The sign on her door said:

“Ziggy Girl”
surrendered for peeing
CAREFUL
She is very nasty at the moment.

And if this wasn’t enough, Debbie told me how, earlier in the day, Ziggy Girl had been screaming like a banshee when Louise so much as tried to enter her cage. There were even reports of lunging and slashing.

Keeping an eye on the blanket draped over the back corner of the cage, I slowly opened the door and quietly announced my non-violent intention to fill her water dish. I expected mayhem to start, but instead this little head poked out from the side of the drape and blinked at me. I blinked back (it seemed only polite).

Next thing I knew, I’d crouched down and reached out to her, still half expecting at least a swat and prepared to ignore it. Instead, she gave a little yawn, sniffed my hand and then gave it a little rub with her head.

Twice later during my shift I repeated the experiment, each time expecting her to turn into the angry kitty I’d been warned about. But each time it was all purrs, rubs and yawns and stretches.

There’s often no knowing what they’ve experienced before coming to us… and generally what goes on in those little cat brains of theirs. And so there’s no knowing why one person makes a particular cat’s guest list and another gets an angry rebuff for no reason that us human types can see. Maybe I sounded, looked or smelled like somebody she used to know?

 

Updated September 2, 2011: Before I start sounding too special, I’d like to point out that when I went to visit Ziggy a second time and ignored her “not accepting visitors” demeanor, she felt obliged to respond by biting me silly!