Bali and Ceres

When I think of what donations can make possible at Cat Town, I think of Bali and Ceres. Their adoption is still one of my favorites, because it probably wouldn’t have happened anywhere else. 

Bali and Ceres at our Adoption Center.

Bali started out as a scared kitten at Oakland Animal Services, our city shelter. She had made a lot of socialization progress, but was becoming frustrated in her cage, where she’d been alone for two months. She was beginning to show behaviors that make it hard for a sweet girl like her to get adopted, so we brought her to Cat Town to help her learn how to play gently while building up her bravery — that’s where she met Ceres!

Ceres was a former colony cat, shy and sweet. It took him months to shake off his nerves at our Adoption Center. They were such an unlikely pair — neither was particularly bold or outgoing — but little Bali bonded with big ol’ Ceres right away, and started following him around everywhere. He really brought her out of her shell, and having her by his side seemed to give Ceres courage, too. They got adopted as a pair, and their adopter reports that they’re still inseparable.

Bali and Ceres in their forever home.

I have a special spot in my heart for shy little cats like Bali and gentle giants like Ceres. In a traditional shelter environment, they probably never would have met each other — but because we could give Ceres all the time he needed to feel safe, they met here, and it made such a big difference for them both. I love that their lifelong friendship started at Cat Town.

Our supporters do much more than keep Cat Town’s doors open. You give us the ability to let cats stay with us as long as they need. They have really good lives in our care while they build up their courage, and with time and love, they each find happiness — even harder-to-adopt cats like Ceres and Bali, who needed to meet a few people before they found just the right fit. 

I hope you’ll consider donating to Cat Town today, to give us the resources we need to make more stories like Ceres and Bali’s possible next year!

Thank you,

Genevieve Cottraux
Adoption Coordinator

Helping Forgotten Kittens

When it comes to kittens, one thing is certain: starting at about 10 weeks old, it gets a lot harder to socialize them if they have not had positive interactions with people. The stress that comes from living in a shelter cage makes it even harder for them to trust humans. This is why Cat Town runs a cage-free adoption program — a big part of why we’re able to help kittens as old as ten months learn to feel confident and brave around people. Your donations have supported our cage-free approach, so that we can help scared older kittens find courage, and find their perfect homes. Rocket and Radio were two of those kittens who have you to thank for their happy outcome.

Radio (left) and Rocket (right). Photos by the Cat Man of West Oakland and Erica Danger, respectively.

At 11 weeks old, this pair of scared youngsters was just outside the ideal time frame to be socialized. Knowing this, a kind-hearted shelter worker took them home as fosters to help them start getting used to people. The pair made a bit of progress, then came to our Adoption Center to speed things along.

Rocket. Photo by the Cat Man of West Oakland.

Radio quickly overcame his uncertainties, and soon had a lot of mischievous energy. He played with toys readily, and would lure guests into their Studio with his big eyes. Rocket could watch him interact with us from safe within his hidey bed, learning at his own pace that we humans are okay. Although he was scared, he was a sweet kitten. Both brothers received lots of supportive encouragement from our staff, volunteers, and even some of our guests, and the way to Rocket’s heart proved to be through lots (and lots) of treats. 

With time and patience, Rocket and Radio were finally ready to adopt so they could continue to blossom in a home. By the time they met their new family, little Rocket had started to enjoy letting people pet him. Their adopters were excited to coax Rocket into loving pets even more with treats, and purchased two of every type of toy they could find so the boys wouldn’t need to share once Rocket started feeling confident enough to play with them.

Because they were already 11 weeks old when they first encountered people, it took 6 weeks of work to get these boys home. Compared to how quickly younger kittens feel safe around people, their care required a bit more patience and commitment, but we believe the joy shared by these kittens and their new family made all that work worth it.

Radio and Rocket’s adopters.

Taking chances and trying new approaches is core to Cat Town’s framework. Your support helps us explore new tactics to better support our community, and gives every cat and kitten an opportunity to learn, blossom, and succeed at finding the person who will love them forever. Thank you for making it possible for us to go the extra mile, and help older kittens who need extra support to get adopted!