Sweetie

 Sweetie was given her name by a cat loving neighbor of mine.  She had been living on the streets of Gainesville, Ga. along with some other cats near a business in the industrial area.  The cats had been ridding the businesses of mice and rats which had become quite prolific.

This cat lover began to feed the cats as he has a soft heart for stray cats.  They became socialized somewhat by his kindness to them.  Someone complained about the many cats in the area so animal control came with traps and began taking some of them away.  When this little part Minx was taken in a trap, he determined to find a home for  this kitten.

After a medical examination,  needed shots and assurances that the cat had no diseases it was given over to him.  He had come to me the day before telling me what a sweet kitten this was and asked me to take her in until she could be socialized a bit and then keep  her outside, to help rid my premises of moles and voles known to be here.  He assured me he would come over and help socialize her, and he  did, bringing food for her and a kennel for her to stay in until she was ready for more freedom.  He also brought litter for her to use and pans and a warm bed. He already had two cats at his house and one of them will not tolerate any new cats coming in.

He was very adept at making the cat at home and getting it in a happy frame of mind.  I have held her but she is still not sure about my intentions.  She comes quickly enough when she sees me putting in her food.  Today I opened the door to give her fresh water and food and she took the opportunity to come into my house from the sun room where she was set up for the duration.

I let her stroll around and explore the large tile floor where many plants are set around in front of large windows.  After a while she had done enough exploring so she went back out into the sun room.  That is when I got a snapshot of her inside her  kennel.  The door is open so she can explore all she wants out there.  When she feels more comfortable with me and will come to me or allow me to come close to her, then I may bring her inside for short visits.

My ultimate goal is to have her set up outdoors as she has been living on the streets.  She will have to gain some weight, at least up to two pounds so she can be spayed.  Then she can be released outside and begin to establish her territory.

Some years ago this same neighbor came to me with two male kittens which had been born under a shed in his yard.  He had found homes for all of them except these two.  I have written about those two cats in an earlier story in this Blog.  One of the cats was named Spitfire as he really fit the name.  He had been traumatized while his eyes were still closed. He spit- hissed at me for a long time.   My neighbor would pick him up and he came each day to pet them.  Eventually they became quite tame and that is what we hope will happen with Sweetie.  I think cats can sense people who have a deep love for their kind.  I am rather ambivalent about cats.  I wish them no harm and I enjoy them as long as they are outdoors.

I think Sweetie is on her  way to living up to her name.  It took her one week to begin to actually play.  She was so frightened of all things and for one week she tried to make herself as small as possible to avoid attracting attention to herself.  But yesterday when I saw her actually making up play, pouncing,  jumping and leaping, I knew she had turned a corner and things were progressing just as we had hoped.  She will not be one of those felines that populate the area, but she will become a good hunter and "terminator" of some of the annoying voles which like to destroy the plants I have outside.  So she is a welcome guest and I look forward to the day that she scores her first hit and brings it to share with me.