sheanaIn September of 2002 I started looking for a cat. We had been catless for too long! 
So the trail around animal shelters began! I decided it would be better to adopt an older cat as the older ones tend to be a bit over looked.

There were so many adorable kittens about, and I could have brought every one home but I was holding out for the right cat.

We found out that The Cats Protection had a few older cats looking for homes so off we went to some body’s home to see these furry friends. By now it was December and I really wanted to be able to give a cat a home for Christmas. And we were lucky as there was a gorgeous looking black cat with big golden eyes looking at us! She had 5 kittens with her. They had been found in a shed and brought in a few weeks before.

We fell in love with her. I fell for one of her kittens too, a little grey tom. But we wanted her to have a life that was different to what she had known, so we decided on just having her.

So as you know, the kittens were re homed after Christmas.

This was about 10th December. The lady came out and did a home check on us. Then the 20th December Sheana came to live with us! Or should I say we became Sheana's staff!

For the first week she seemed to live in the dining room under a swivel chair. And that's where I could be found, on the floor with my hand under the chair feeding her biscuits and slowly gaining her trust. She came out at night or when we were out to eat, drink and use her litter box.

I spent weeks getting her to trust me and to play.

We let her settle for a while before we took her to our vet. Cats Protection had spayed her and she was up to date with her booster. The vet thought the same as me that she was probably 18 months old.

Slowly as time went by she ventured into other rooms and learnt to play with a cat nip mouse on some string. It took a long time to win her trust as we think she had been mistreated. We never let her out until the start of the summer and then she was very wary of the great outdoors. A strange noise or shouting would send her running back under the swivel chair. She was terrified of the sweeping brush, so it was only used when she was inside!

Over the years she has become a much braver girl and isn't bothered by me hoovering under her radiator bed when she is in it!

She is now 15 and a happy girl. She has an over-active thyroid problem but meds seem to be getting her back on track. She yowls loudly when she can't find me and is such a sweet little girl when she greets me. She never ventures far, much preferring a snooze on a crochet blanket or on a sunny window sill!

I'm so glad we got her.

Trish James

Cheltenham, UK

Five Good Reasons for Having Your Cat Neutered

  • Reduces fighting, injury and noise
  • Reduces spraying and smelling
  • Much less likely to wander and get lost
  • Safer from diseases like feline AIDS, mammary tumours and feline leukaemia
  • Reduces the number of unwanted kittens

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