Happy Dell

Last time I wrote about Dell, he was in a large cage with cautionary signage on it and our medical staff had to wear heavy gloves and use a net to safely treat him. Ever since his arrival at the sanctuary in May of last year, he's been known for turning his extreme fear and mistrust of humans into violent aggression.

Well, the latest round of cage time and contact with staff must have given a boost to the efforts of a few brave, patient souls who never stopped making themselves available for friendship should Dell ever change his mind about people -- because in the past few weeks he's done just that. Out of the cage and returned to the back pen where he's been living for the past year or so, Dell has done the most incredible 180 in outlook that many of us have ever seen.

I'd started to hear rumours of his transformation two weeks ago, and then last week ventured a visit myself. He was inside the shed located in the middle of the pen and hissed at me from one of the shelves. He didn't seem quite as emphatic in the hissing as he once was, but I still thought it best to leave well enough alone.

I came back a short time later and found he'd come out of the shed and into the open. This time he was everything people had said. He approached me and rubbed against my ankles, leaning into my palm as I bent down to pat him. When I went over to sit on the porch of the shed, he followed and did a few rubbing circles around me before sitting down next to me and leaning against my arm.

I didn't get any photos of this encounter, but Michele got some wonderful ones while she and Julian were spending some time with Dell. I couldn't have done better than these. Enjoy.

He's so handsome when he's not angry

Content kitty drool!

A look of love: one expression I never thought I'd see from this cat