When I went out on a medical leave, and decided not to go back to work, my first thought was, “what do I do with my time?”. Doing chores all day long really isn’t a way to “live”. I want to help better this world. My first thought was the shelter, so I reached out to Joyce. Kittens needed to be socialized. I hopped right on that train!
The Woodland Crew
The first “group” of kittens that needed socializing was the Woodland Crew. In a previous post, I had written about Elfie. Bambi is her sister. She was the most fearful of the five litter mates. Wow. To say she was one tough nut is an understatement. One by one, her litter mates were getting adopted. It seemed as though as each one was getting adopted out, Bambi was getting worse and worse. It was heartbreaking to watch.
Bambi really was a heartbreaking case. When you walked near her, she would growl like she was an alpha-male lion. Trying to pick her up and getting her used to human touch was no small feat. Scruffing her was difficult. Bambi would act like an alligator doing the “crocodile roll”. I would have to get a blanket and cover her face up in order to pick her up.
Making Progress, And A New Friend
Spoon feeding her was something Bambi was okay with, from the video below. I was attempting to hoax her out of her cage and build up her confidence. It was a process that required an abundance of patience. We were on Bambi’s timeline, not the other way around.
Her Friend Linen
After all of Bambi’s littermates had been adopted, she wasn’t alone for too long. Joyce had attempted to trap a feral momma kitty and her litter, but only one ‘took the bait’. That one was Linen. For a feral kitten, Linen was remarkable. She was outgoing as if she was born indoors. At first, the shelter didn’t want them to have direct contact with each other, and soon enough, it was obvious they both took a liking to each other. Linen was synergistic with our attempts to socialize Bambi.
Time To Move To The Office
Another step the shelter takes to socialize feral kittens is to move them to the office. This ensures a timid kitten, or a timid cat gets exposed to us ‘humans’ as much as possible. Once Linen and Bambi were moved to the office, Bambi really did start turning around – but not completely. As you can see from the proceeding pictures, even me walking near the cage to get pictures of them would spook Bambi. Linen bopping Bambi on the nose didn’t help. Haha. And yes, Linen has “thumbs”.
As A bonded Pair, Bambi and Linen Would Find Their Forever Home
Every day I leave the shelter, I say bye to the babies I work with. I never know when they may go home. I remember the day I got that email that Bambi and Linen went home together. Bambi wasn’t my first ‘hard’ case (that title goes to Chunky Monkey), but my first one since my return to volunteer duties at the shelter. Bambi would be only the first of many, but she will always have a place in my heart. Below are Linen and Bambi chillin’ in their furever home.
