Combo #5

You may not see Combo when you first walk into a room, but he's seen you. You can tell by the spirited hissing he launches into, not troubling to wait until the intruder (you) actually gets close to where he is.

"Combo #5" comes from a menu item at the A&W restaurant where this feral boy was found as a kitten. He's still feral (hence the hissy-fest), though Marianne says he's "a bit better" than he was. At least now it's possible be in the same room as he is without him going ballistic. Apparently he used to be a lot scarier, hanging out on the porch behind the double wide trailer for his first few years at the sanctuary, not only hissing but actually "lunging across the room whenever anyone entered."

Scary indeed!

photo provided by Marianne

Several years ago, he had to be in a cage to receive some medical care. Marianne tells how "in attempting to fend him off with a long-handled back-scratcher so [she] could change his water bowl, [she] discovered that he actually liked having his head stroked with the back-scratcher!" She says he still really seems to enjoy this, even if he does growl and hiss a bit at first.

These days, our boy likes to hang out on one of the bottom shelves in the tearoom or sometimes on top of the tearoom cages. I'm told it is possible to tempt him to lick a bit of tuna off your finger... if you approach him VERY carefully.

I think I may stick to the back-scratcher for now.

For a little of the famous hissing action, please see below: