Pretty Little Charlene

I'd like to take a moment to tell you about my foster cat, Charlene, because she is awesome.



When Charlene first came to HART, it was thought that she was an older kitten, due to her size. A visit to the vet however revealed that she is actually a couple of years old. She was not really approachable, and very timid, so she was added to the quietest room at the shelter. It was in this room that I first met her - if you tried to approach her, she would run and hide with other cats. She was always with other cats, never off by herself. She always looked terrified at the sight of a person. I decided if there was any hope for her to learn to trust people, she needed to be in a home. Thus, Charlene became my foster.

She hid for the first day, which I expected. It really didn't take very long though, for her to make herself at home and appear (ever so cautiously) when I was in the room. It took her even less time to find the box filled with cat toys, and I learned that Charlene LOVES to play. She not only loves to play with all the toys, she also likes to play with my two cats, and with my feet!


It took Charlene awhile to stop going around the very outer edge of the room in order to get around me; now she just dashes behind my chair and is on her way. She is still pretty cautious when I approach, and I can't pet her, but she will come up and sniff my hand if I extend it out to her. She gets up on my bed while I'm in it, and will tackle my feet. She's even slept at my feet for a few minutes. She has come close to my head a couple of times, but usually will run off if she thinks I'm even marginally alive. Despite her nervousness, she follows me all around the house, and sleeps on the couch next to me.

I love watching Charlene, she provides hours of entertainment. It helps that she is just too cute! She doesn't meow, but I have heard her chirp at birds, and I've seen her mouth open in a silent cry at me when she wants to be fed. I've discovered that she is an undergarment thief as well - if socks or other garments are on the floor and I turn my back, she'll run in and grab them, take them into another room and roll around on them! She's really well behaved though - I only had to speak to her a couple of times to get her to stay off my counter, and she doesn't scratch my furniture.

If you're interested in adopting Charlene, come into HART and fill out an application.

Update: On November 6th I woke up to find all 3 cats sleeping on my bed - including Charlene! She woke when I moved to take a picture, but instead of running, she decided to take a bath. Didn't she pose so pretty for the picture?