Cinder

Cinder and his sister Ella were brought to RAPS when the sanctuary was in its second or third year. They were feral and skittish. Leslie says they had one or two long-haired siblings, one of whom was adopted by a volunteer.

Leslie quickly took to Cinder, "so handsome that he reminded [her] of purebred Russian Blue cats." She really made an effort to work with the youngster, hoping to tame him enough that he could be adopted. But it never really took, at least not as much as she'd hoped.

"He'd purr when I'd stroke him, but remained pretty uptight and standoffish. Ella, on the other hand, warmed up beautifully and would clamber onto my lap."

Even now, while Ella is love-me-love-me friendly and will readily purr and pose for attention, Cinder requires a quieter, more cautious approach if you want to make more contact than a fingertip to tail tip as he scoots away just out of reach. Take it slow, though, and you'll be able to get close enough to stroke his head and scratch behind his ears while he looks up at you with those large, expressive eyes.