Katrina

Katrina is a quiet, shy girl who's quite adept a performing a vanishing act when approached. Needless to say, I didn't have an easy time photographing her.

The first time I noticed her, she was sleeping contentedly on a sofa on the covered porch behind the singlewide. Her calico markings caught my attention and I hoped to get an introduction and a photo. Kim warned me that I'd likely have trouble getting close, and indeed no sooner had I unlatched the door than Katrina zipped under the couch. Even when I came back a little later, the best I could get was a photo of her squinting at me from under a table.

It turns out that Katrina, who's around 10 years old, came to RAPS as a feral. Unlike Madison, she's never stopped fearing close contact with humans. Even so, her sweet nature shines through. When I came across her again this week, she was sitting just on the other side of a barrier. She could clearly see, hear and smell me, yet she still allowed me to get much closer than she had before and even take a few pictures, content in the knowledge that I wouldn't be able to touch or grab her through the fence. No defensive growling, hissing, or even glaring needed.

It's nice that shy ferals like Katrina can have a place to live where they can feel safe enough to let humans get even that close.