{"id":804,"date":"2016-08-22T06:00:50","date_gmt":"2016-08-22T06:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/happypetsinfo.com\/blog\/?p=804"},"modified":"2017-05-27T12:17:47","modified_gmt":"2017-05-27T12:17:47","slug":"adopting-a-feral-cat-the-story-of-arya","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/happypetsinfo.com\/blog\/adopting-a-feral-cat-the-story-of-arya\/","title":{"rendered":"Adopting a Feral Cat \u2013 Arya’s Story"},"content":{"rendered":"

Adopting a Feral Cat* \u2013 The Story of Arya<\/h1>\n

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*A feral ca<\/em>t\u00a0is a\u00a0cat\u00a0that has been born into\u00a0wildness\u00a0or has not had\u00a0human interaction\u00a0for a significant period of time and is self-sufficient.\u00a0 Feral cats are usually considered to be distinct from stray cats, which are socialized cats who no longer live in homes, but could potentially be reintroduced successfully to a home environment.<\/p>\n

Arya was found on a cold February day in 2013 by a BARCS (Baltimore Area Rescue and Care Shelter)<\/a> volunteer who saw a small kitten scavenging in the dumpster for food outside of a downtown Baltimore City grocery store. When the volunteer called for the kitten to come, she surprisingly went to the volunteer.\u00a0 She was then taken to BARCS<\/a> where she was assessed and immediately put on antibiotics. There was severe conjunctivitis in both eyes, lung congestion, and she was thin and malnourished. Through the course of a few weeks, one eye healed but the other had to be removed and sutured shut while she was under anesthesia for spay surgery.<\/p>\n

BARCS then sent Arya to a foster to see if she was able to be adopted.\u00a0 Some feral cats are not capable of being socialized and adopted, depending on their background, on their age when found, and because of health issues.\u00a0 Because Arya came to the BARCS volunteer that day she was found, it was determined that there may have been a good Samaritan feeding her and that she did have some contact with humans. Also, Arya was probably only three months old when she was rescued and this made it easier for her to acclimate to human contact.<\/p>\n

Arya was first named Arlington by BARCS just before they sent her to be fostered, and she flourished under the care of that loving, caring person. She was then selected to be featured at a Pet Valu<\/em> store in Baltimore so she would get greater exposure to prospective adopters who have a soft spot for ‘undesirable’ cats.\u00a0 Undesirable cats are categorized as being older, black, missing limbs or an eye, or having FIV (feline immunodeficiency virus, positive)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Arya at Pet Valu adoption event, waiting for a forever home<\/p><\/div>\n

Fortunately for all involved, my daughter was managing a Pet Valu store in another location in Baltimore and happened to be in the store where Arya was being featured for adoption. My daughter, Kami, told me, \u201cShe was soooo tiny and scroungy, but she spoke to me. She came right over to the edge of the kennel and let me pet her, she looked at me with that one eye and I wanted her.\u201d\u00a0 Keeping in mind that she already had a 13 year old cat at home (Keke) who was the only pet and who has diabetes, Kami decided to resist her impulse to take Arya that same day and to wait a week.\u00a0 If the kitten was still there a week later, she would know that it was meant to be and she would take Arya home.<\/p>\n

After a week of looking at her picture, and thinking of the pros and cons, Kami went back and little Arya was still there. An application was filled out, supplies bought, and research done on how to introduce a new cat to another cat. She came back to the Pet Valu store the next evening to take Arya home and saw the \u201cI Have Been Adopted\u201d sign on the cage, knowing that her new kitten was ready to go to her new home and her new life. At that time, Kami decided to rename her new baby \u201cArya\u201d (after Arya Stark in Game of Thrones because she\u2019s a small but mighty female).<\/p>\n

In her research, Kami found that she needed to get everything new for Arya, from litter box to water bowls, toys, and lots of blankets. She also read that the relationship of a younger female cat with the established older male cat worked out best in bringing a new cat into a household. This was a perfect match so far!\u00a0 She had a spare bedroom where she set up all of Arya\u2019s new things.
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