| Charis |
 | To meet Charis, please ask for Gail R. | |
Charis's mother belonged to a couple who didn't get her spayed and then let her go out, so of course she got pregnant. A short time later the couple split up. The man moved out and the cat stayed with the woman in her apartment. Some time later the man stopped by the apartment and 
found that the woman was gone. She had up and left – just moved away, leaving the cat behind with three kittens that were only a few weeks old. The man took the whole family home with him, but he wasn't allowed to keep so many cats in his apartment. He also didn't have time to play with the kittens and handle them and get them really comfortable with people. So Charis and her sisters were shy and reserved at first when they came to PAW.
Charis was never comfortable with the other cats in her foster home; she preferred to hang around with the dogs. But unfortunately for her, a new foster cat entered the scene. Isabeau disdained the company of the other cats even more than Charis did. She too
preferred to join the dog's little circle, and she booted poor Charis right out of the group. So Charis became something of a pariah, fitting in nowhere. She wasn't outgoing enough to fit in with the people-pleaser cats; she didn't care for the cat in-crowd and they didn't care for
her; and her previous spot with the dogs had been rudely usurped. What's a poor cat to do but become reclusive and 
withdrawn? Luckily her foster mom stuck up for her, and Charis started to see the advantage of allying herself with the human set.
Finally, when another cat left, Charis got her own room all to herself. Her foster mom made sure to spend plenty of one-on-one time with her, petting her and playing teaser-toy games. Charis was much happier then, and she has become much more sociable and relaxed. She isn't a lap cat, but she likes to sit next to her foster mom on the sofa and get petted. She really loves to play and that has helped to overcome her shyness. Even when a total stranger came to take pictures she wasn't timid and didn't attempt to hide. She just wanted to play with that nifty teaser toy!
Charis's two sisters, Beatrice and Vela, were adopted years ago, but after all this time Charis is still lingering in her foster home. She's gentle and unaggressive (she always opts for flight over fight), and she's a lovely cat, with beautiful yellow-green eyes (like peridot), and a ticked coat (bands of white, brown and orange on each hair). But somehow, maybe because she was the shyest of the three sisters, it seems she never made a big impression on people who met her. Or maybe it's just that the perfect adopter hasn't come along yet. Charis did get adopted once, but unfortunately it didn't work out. The new place scared her and she didn't adjust quickly. She is fine in a familiar setting, but easily intimidated in a new situation. She will need time to settle in; a confined, unthreatening space to start out with; and a kind and gentle adopter with lots of patience. If you think you might be that adopter, or if you just think you could give Charis a more congenial home with fewer cats around, please click on Gail's name to send an email. Charis thanks you for your support.
Printed November 20, 2009
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PAW needs foster homes for cats. For information on how you can make a difference, please contact us at paw_cats@yahoo.com. |
