Paddy started out as a neighborhood cat. No one knew where he came from, but he was a young adult, and pretty friendly, when he showed up. He had not been neutered, so a kind neighbor took him to be neutered and vaccinated through the local Feral Freedom program. He invited Paddy to live in his house, but quickly learned that Paddy did not like dogs and showed his displeasure with his teeth. He didn’t bite the dog; he bit the person. It is called “displaced aggression” – animals who feel stress express it with aggression towards a handy target – not necessarily the source of the stress.
So, Paddy returned to the street. Paddy was happy. The neighborhood liked him, and many people left food and treats out for him. Not a bad gig, except the neighborhood was right up against some open-space hills that were home to a lot of wildlife, including coyotes. The coyotes liked the neighborhood too. The free roaming cats were easy to catch and resulted in a larger meal than catching mice or rats.
People were worried about Paddy and his safety, but given his history, no one was willing to take him in. Then it happened again. Someone was petting Paddy out on the sidewalk when a dog passed by. Without warning, Paddy bit again. This time it was a deeper bite, which led to medical attention, which led to animal control becoming involved. Thankfully, when Paddy was neutered, he was also vaccinated, and the rabies shot was still in effect. But the law required him to be quarantined for 10 days, which he spent in the local shelter. He was a nice boy but, given his bite history, he wasn’t a good adoption prospect. He didn’t have an owner, but did have an established territory, so he was turned back out like any other “community cat.” Now the neighborhood was nervous. They were worried for Paddy because of the coyotes. But they were also worried about their kids – Paddy was friendly and let the kids pet him. What if a child was petting him when he saw a dog? Something needed to be done. Another kind neighbor brought Paddy to our attention and we agreed that he needed to get out of that situation. But he was not a good candidate for barn placement or “yard cat” placement due to the combination of his friendliness and his history of biting. And, unfortunately, every one of our foster homes that had space, also had a dog. The only place we could put him was a local doggie day care place! Yes, you read that right! We knew from experience Wagly did a fabulous job boarding cats. Since they were kept completely separate from the dogs – and the staff knew Paddy’s history – they were willing to take him. Paddy LOVED living there and the staff really enjoyed him so he got a ton of attention. It was a great short-term solution, but he couldn’t stay there forever. Many of the staff wanted to adopt him, but, they all had dogs! What were we going to do? Suddenly the COVID shutdown started and with it, many people started looking to foster pets. We had several requests for him, and one of them sounded perfect. They were experienced cat owners and were nonplussed about his less than stellar history. They came to meet him and a match was made. He has now been with them almost 8 months and they love him. Their pre-COVID work/life did not support having a pet, and no one knows what the new normal is going to be like. But, for now, Paddy is a very happy boy with his personal full-time teen-age servant.
She recently wrote us: “The search for a foster cat was long, but we are so glad we found Paddy (or PaddyCat as we call him). He is a tuxedo with a big personality and lots of love in his heart (though he likes to conceal it). He loves a good play session and loves to snuggle when we are least expecting it. He enjoys sneak attacks; he will jump out of nowhere and playfully fling himself onto us. He likes to believe he owns the house, but when we return home after being gone, he bounds down the stairs to greet us. At night he will crawl on top of me, rub his head on my arm, and begin to purr. He is a sweetheart and quite a character, and our family is so happy to have found him.” And we are so happy he found you!
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