Peng Peng

Peng Peng, along with cat named Eng Teng, had lived for nine years with their owner when they had to be transferred to foster care while the lady received some extended treatment. The cats were fostered by a retired RAPS volunteer for eight months. When the original owner went into an outpatient program, she didn't stay in touch with the volunteer and so Peng Peng and Eng Teng were brought to the cat sanctuary.

When Ayako and I visited last week, Peng Peng very graciously posed for a number of photos, talking to us with little "mrah" sounds all the while. The sign in the "Gericatrics" trailer with captioned photos of all the resident cats describes her as a "feisty girl, a bit unpredictable."

This made me curious about her background, and so I asked Leslie about her and Eng Teng, who I'd also happened to get a few photos of (not knowing at time that they had more in common than their similar names). She said that the loss of their home and the two moves that followed had been very stressful for both cats. Peng Peng reacted "with aggression and distrust for a while."

While Peng Peng seems a lot more ready to trust people these days, it's not fair to expect her to be completely over the big changes to her life over the past few years. I have a feeling she'll hold on to her right to the "unpredictable" label for a while yet.