In the summer of 2009, one of our former board members was at one of Chicago's low cost/high volume spay/neuter/vaccine clinics and started talking to one of the people dropping off feral cats. They described a sad story: he worked in an industrial area out in the suburbs and there were lots of cats that lived around it. He started feeding the cats and then trapping them to get spay/neutered. Unfortunately, the other workers didn't understand the benefits of a TNR (trap-neuter-return) program and started complaining that he was encouraging cats to come to the workplace, along with ostracizing him. Despite this, he continued using his own money to get the cats s/n'd, vaccinated, etc.
As he tried to catch all the cats, spring came and the few females cats he hadn't caught became pregnant and had kittens- about 2 dozen, to be exact. Luckily, he met BSAR then. The former board member helped him trap the rest of the cats and kittens. Sadly, at least one other worker had started attacking the kittens- we found several dead or injured from blunt force trauma. We took in the kittens to socialize and some adults to help nurse back to health before being released in a safer location.
At that time, the former board member was our main foster home, so she took in the majority of the kittens. Other board members and foster homes took in some litters. Luckily, many of the kittens went quickly but there were a few that were highly antisocial, whom I took in after the main foster home's efforts weren't working (she did have a lot at one time, after all!). We worked with them for weeks, even months, and most of them were adopted.
Except, for some reason, Tigerlily and Faustina.
Tigerlily's the orange & white girl in front, Faustina's the striking calico in the back.
These beautiful sisters stayed in my care for over a year and a half. I refereed to Faustina as semi-feral for quite a while. No matter what we did, she only trusted two people and was easily spooked, even with us. She didn't like to be touched, she'd run away from people walking towards her and she was so easily scared that she'd hide at any loud sound. Tigerlily was shy at first but when she warmed up, she was super sweet, lovey and trusting.
For the longest time, I said I'd adopt Faustina if Tigerlily was adopted solo but that they really should be adopted together. Faustina depended on her sister to feel safe but Tigerlily didn't depend on her. Besides, Faustina also loved my cat and I was use to her quirky ways. A couple times, people wanted to meet Tigerlily, but were weary of how shy she was at first and went with someone else.
Luckily, it worked out for the best! Eventually, a young couple contacted us interested in adoption. They had heard about us from a friend that fosters for the rescue and were interested in cats that had been with us the longest. They came to my house to meet a few cats, but everyone was shy that night- except for Faustina and Tigerlily! Armed with wand toys and treats, the girls actually came out of their shells a bit and cautiously played with them. We knew this was meant to be and went straight to their house to do the home check. After discussing their needs and any questions they had, we arranged to drop the girls off after their new parents had some time to buy cat supplies.
Last we heard, the girls were adjusting great- cuddling and being sweet. We are so happy that, after a year and a half of waiting, they found their forever home. Congratulations to them and their new family!
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