Willow

Willow came with her sister from a barn on No. 9 Rd. in Richmond. Both were feral and had no interest whatsoever in befriending humans when they arrived at the sanctuary.

Ann named Willow "Spider Cat" after the spider pig scene from The Simpsons, as when she was housed in the Teens area she would apparently "'spider' herself across the mesh to escape the evil aliens/humans." The grey tabby was subsequently given a pretty name to go with her pretty face, but Ann says she still answers to Spider Cat.

Fortunately, Willow no longer thinks humans are quite so horrifying. Under the right circumstances, she can even be quite friendly.

When I was visiting May and others in their shed in the back pen where they live, May so enjoyed being patted that she started clambering over the various available surfaces in her efforts to not miss out on a single good patting position. This caught the attention of Willow, who found herself drawn to joining in the cuddle party.

Willow & May

Willow ended up welcoming a fairly extended cuddle, which continued even after May had her fill of me and decided to go off and have her fill of kibble.

Even so, no sooner had I left the shed then Willow forgot all about having decided to trust me. I tried to make friends again by approaching her slowly outside, but only ended up inadvertently chasing her around the building a couple of times because she'd get all wide-eyed and scuttle off around the corner every time I came into view.

As often seems to be the case with cats who started off wild, "tameness" is a relative thing.