OAKLAND — As I stood in the Quiet Zone this past week, I, a fellow staff member, and one of our volunteers watched in delight as 6-month-old Ogden accepted minutes-long pets.
"It's amazing how much progress he's made! Now all he has to do is show his sister!"
Ogden soaks up pets in the Quiet Zone at the start of the day.
That sister is Odessa, a notoriously hissy kitten who likes to hide out in the City Hall building. An outsider might find it hard to believe that she and her brother have had largely the same experience at Cat Town and before that at the shelter.
But that's the point of the Forgotten Kitten Project, and Cat Town as a whole — each cat is free to grow and learn at a pace that's right for them for as long as they need; no deadlines are set, no progress needs to be made on a given timeline.
In their first week at Cat Town, Odessa (left) and Ogden showed classic signs of forgotten kittens--like flat ears and hissing. Photo by Liz Lazich.
And when some cats find their confidence more quickly, it only serves to help the others along, modeling positive behaviors and interactions with humans to the under socialized members of our population. That's the magic of the Cat Zone and it's role in our Forgotten Kitten Project work.
So we hope you'll come visit our cats this weekend, helping to reinforce the progress some have made, and helping others build their confidence on the road to adoption. Every visit makes a difference! And in the coming weeks, when we share Odessa's progress, you'll know you, and Ogden, helped!
Cat Town is working to help other rescues across the country replicate our work with Forgotten Kittens thanks to a generous grant from Maddie’s Fund. First visit to the Cat Town blog? Learn more about our Forgotten Kitten Project in our regular Kitten Wire dispatches.
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