Esme

I've lately been experiencing something of a domino effect of friendliness in the front courtyard. First Cozy recommended me to Pickle, then Shady wanted in on the action. Then, while I was getting in some nice portrait shots of Shady, a pretty little tabby with white bib and socks started doing every cat dance she knew to charm me into paying attention to her as well.

Lisa tells me her name is Esme and describes her as shy but very sweet. Esme and her sister Abby have been with RAPS since they were kittens.

With her pretty face, Esme looks like the kind of cat somebody or other would want to take home with them. And indeed, Esme did get adopted at one point, but it didn't work out. Lisa explains: "As with many of the semi-feral who are exceptionally sweet at the shelter, she just couldn't handle the change of scenery." Lisa, Leslie and Carol had to go and hunt Esme down in the home of the lady who'd adopted her, finally finding her "curled into a tight little ball, scared out of her mind behind the water heater."

And so back Esme came to the sanctuary, where she's been living happily ever since. "She does really well at the shelter" says Lisa, "and often comes around when other cats are out for some love."

Shady

Interesting how cat friends are made. Sometimes it's at the whim of the human, such as when I took an interest in Pickle because she reminded me of a cat I had growing up. And sometimes, the human has no say in the matter - it's all up to the cat.

Earlier this month, Shady decided I was going to be her friend. And that's all there was too it. Leslie noticed her pawing at my back as I crouched to visit with Cozy and came over to make the proper introductions. Shady was so insistently friendly that I was surprised to learn that she isn't like this with everyone she meets.

I learned from Lisa that Shady came in as a kitten with her sister. Initially, when they were in a cage in the kitten trailer, the sister was the more tame of the two. But later, once they were released into the main sanctuary population, Shady became the tame one. Now, when a group of cats cluster around a human visitor to receive cuddles and treats, Shady will often decide to join them. Demands for intensive one-on-one cuddle time? That's apparently a little more unusual. No wonder when Lisa saw me getting trills and headbutts out of a little black-brown cat, she asked "Who is that?" and was surprised by the answer.

Maybe I look like someone Shady used to know.

Pickle

When I first met Pickle, she was curious about me but no way was she going to let me touch her. She just wanted to peek at me from behind a couple of water jugs.

Around the time I started becoming friends with Cozy, Pickles, still interested in peeking at me, decided maybe I could pat her a little bit before she had enough and scooted away. And so I kept trying to make friends with her.

Why persist when there are so many other cats who already want to be friends and don't need all this convincing? Well, initially she caught my attention because she reminded me of a cat I had growing up who had similar markings and was similarly skittish. And then I started taking a shine to her for her own sake.

When I asked Leslie and Lisa about her, I found out her name and that she came in as a wild kitten. Her odd spookiness? Leslie said that nobody had ever singled her out to really pay attention to.

Aw... now I'm extra determined to win this cat over!

Lisa added that in her experience, Pickle "likes you to think she is very ferocious when in fact you can usually touch her or comb her with few side effects."
Side effects? Apparently, Pickle has gotten Lisa with some of her pointy bits on occasion. But Lisa knows not to take it personally, putting it down to being "the big bad medicine lady."
Hopefully, "big weird camera lady" will have better luck. Stay tuned....

Cozy

Cozy is one of my new best buddies at the sanctuary. I'm not sure which one of us first decided to befriend the other, but whoever it was, it seems to have stuck.

Cozy's such a sweetheart now, I was surprised to find out from Leslie that when he came to the shelter as an adult cat years ago, he was so wild that people were afraid to go in his cage. His brother, then by far the tamer of the two, was adopted by former regular volunteer Tess. It may have taken him a little longer, but Cozy did end up taking up his brother's view that people are a kind of OK.

I'd tried once to pick Cozy up and was gently rebuffed with a wiggly escape. Assuming that wasn't his thing, I didn't push the issue. It never occurred to me that this might be a cat who'd just never been held and cuddled before!