
Jody

Myrtle
Jody and Myrtle can be homed together or separately
Name: Jody and Myrtle / Sex: Female / Age: 18 months / Colour: Mainly black / Good with other cats?: Yes / Good with children?: Older quiet children
Myrtle and Jodie (First photo is Myrtle and second is Jody. Remove the one of the two cats in the basket together. Change profile info to read ‘Jody and Winnie can be homed together or separately’ and age to ’18 months’ and colour to ‘mainly black’.)
Their story: Jody and Myrtle are sisters, born in the really bad winter of 2010/11 along with four other kittens. It was due entirely to the kindness of an elderly caretaker on the site that these cats had any food at all. It took quite a few trips to eventually round up all the adults for neutering and spaying but I decided to bring the kittens back to get them used to being handled so that they, at least, could eventually enjoy the comfort of a proper home.
The old man who fed the cats had never treated them unkindly so, although they hadn’t been handled, at least the kittens would have no memory of having been treated cruelly by people. It does take time, though, to gain the confidence of little ones like these and, inevitably, Jody, Myrtle and their now adopted sister, Winnie, would hide away under a blanket or behind a bed whenever potential adopters came to visit and then re-emerge from their hiding place as soon as the visitors were gone! As a result, the steady flow of rescued kittens that came in over the following months would attract the attention of adopters and Jody, Myrtle (and also Winnie until a couple of months ago) were always left behind. This is such a shame as these shy little girls are really sweet natured and yet they have spent almost all of their young lives confined to our cat pens when they should be racing around and having fun. The girls get on really well together, but they can be homed separately if the homes are right. They are friendly towards other cats, too, so can be introduced into a home where there is already a cat resident. In fact, they would probably prefer that.
The right people to adopt these particular cats would be patient and understanding, with some experience of cats and their ways. There is no point whatsoever in thinking either Jody or Myrtle would be clambering to sit on your knee after being in you company for a couple of hours. That just isn’t going to happen. Sorry if this sounds blunt, but all rescues will tell you of people who have insisted that they will give the (shy) cat time to adjust to his/her new surroundings, that they won’t force attention on them, that it doesn’t matter how long it takes to gain the cat’s confidence, only to return the cat after a few days because it’s “still shy”. The success stories, and there are many, are those where the people have done exactly what they promised: they have taken the cat home, put everything it needs within easy reach, made reassuring gentle noises, and waited for the cat to start to trust them. That wait can be days, it can be weeks, it can be longer. In the words (well, almost) of John F. Kennedy: “Ask not what your cat can do for you. Ask what you can do for your cat“.
In addition to all that patience, understanding, and an endless supply of treats, these girls would really appreciate homes with gardens or other safe outdoor area to play in for when they settled enough to be let out. As with all our rescued cats and kittens both girls have been spayed and fully inoculated.
Myrtle
Not quite as confident as Jody, nevertheless Myrtle eats right out of my hand and moves around me quite happily. She moves away a bit, but in a very laid-back fashion, if I put out my hand to stroke her (yet licks ‘tasty’ – to a cat – stuff from my fingers!). She’s really quite nosy, as can be seen in her photograph. She wanted to play with the strap hanging down from the side of the camera, so forgot to be shy.
Jody
Jody is the most confident of the sisters and just loves me to fuss and pet her and just loves to be groomed. She doesn’t want me to pick her up but rubs up against my legs and puts her paws on to my knee, especially (but not only) at treat-dispensing time. When I make to stop petting her, she reaches out to my hand and pats it, telling me not to stop! Jody is such a sweet, good natured cat and it really is tragic that she is so consistently overlooked.