London's Adoption Update

London's Adoption Update

As a former stray, London is an expert at hiding. This defense was his first thought when he was brought to Oakland Animal Services, where he hid in his bed as often as he could. He was receptive to chin scratches and pets, but he was starting to feel cage stress, and began hissing at shelter volunteers when approached.

Cat Town stepped in to help London move past his cage stress, so he could continue working on the confidence the shelter volunteers had helped him build. It was slow progress, but with patience he started peeking out of his cubby more and more, curious to see what other Cat Town cats and visitors were doing all day.

KITTEN WIRE: BREAKTHROUGH ALERT WITH SUZY

KITTEN WIRE: BREAKTHROUGH ALERT WITH SUZY

OAKLAND — Can a cat who spent the early months of her life on the streets learn to like people?

At Cat Town, we know the answer is yes, given the right conditions.

That's what we're working on with a cat named Suzy, one of the kittens born homeless during the 2017 kitten season. This tortie girl with tufts of black, tan and orange fur managed to evade a rescuer's humane traps for months. As her littermates found their way to Oakland Animal Services and then on to Cat Town, which found them homes, Suzy remained a stray.

Looking Past the Fear

Looking Past the Fear

The Oakland shelter takes in thousands of cats each year. Some are confident, and greet you purring, while others hide behind their litter boxes, or hiss at the sound of their cage door rattling open. Before Cat Town, many cats never left the shelter because of how they react to life in a cage.

I wanted Cat Town to focus on these cats at the back of the shelter. The ones who rescue organizations wouldn’t risk taking. I thought, if people could see these cats, there would be others who would want to help them, too. Thankfully, I was right.