0124-67 Bertie

*Indoor only* Beautiful, petite Bertie has quite a story to tell. First, her parents were obviously a tabby and a white cat since she has quite a beautiful pattern. Second, when she was trapped, she was found to be very underweight and extremely shy, so she obviously had a tough beginning trying to survive. With SCTNR, she gained some weight and began to trust with a loving foster family. She could be picked up and even though she was shy, she was loving. She was then adopted and was immediately shy in her new home. This home was not a good match at all and she developed some defensive reactions to cope. She was then returned and was set up in a store location where she had even more new people, new smells, and way too much stimulation. She developed even more defensive tactics such as smacking away anyone who would try to comfort her. She retreated into a ball and gained quite a lot of weight as she would just eat, sleep, and hide. After developing a wheeze and a kitty cold, she went back into a foster home where she had lots of time to decompress. She explored and began to move around while being on a bit of a diet. She healed from her kitty cold but a bit of a wheeze remains. She had chiropractic treatments to treat some back discomfort, allowed her nails to be cut, enjoyed being brushed, and sniffed at other cats. She was not reactive at all to these visitors, so she may do well with other cats. Present day Bertie is quite different than who she was. She's still a little chunky so her food is being monitored. She needs a safe hiding cube of some sort where she can retreat when she feels unsafe, but when she knows you're her friend, she'll come out for pets and affection. However, she will need a patient and cat-savvy adopter who will be able to read her cues. Sometimes she gets overstimulated so she'll give a gentle bite. The word "no" is a trigger to her as if she has been yelled at in the past (she will flinch and scurry away with her ears down and will react very negatively if she is pursued), so a gentle "oops" has become the new word to have her stop and be aware, but not be scared. A raised hand sometimes scares her as if she had a rough hand grabbing at her, but she will reach her head to you for petting when she knows you're her friend, and she loves her head, neck, and shoulders pet. That's when the purrs come out. She will walk back and forth through your legs for affection, but when she decides to retreat, she would appreciate it if you let her have her space. Forcing things will result in a swat. This girl is so young to have such a story already, but if you'd like a companion who's a champion litter box user, who likes to explore without a lot of fuss, who likes to be a companion by sitting on your computer table or near your feet, but definitely wants her own space when she needs it, this is your girl. She can be picked up but only with a towel over her. She then seems to relax into it but this can only be when she has had time to decompress. Oh - and she has the cutest little sound-less meow squeak. Let's help find this girl the perfect, calm, relaxing home where she can explore, come for love, and then be left to watch the world around her. Adoption fee of $100 includes spay/neuter, FIV and FELV combo test, up-to-date rabies and distemper vaccinations, deworming treatments, flea treatments, and microchip. If you are interested in adopting, please visit shadowcatstnr.org/adopt to complete an application.