by Sean Fennell
A somewhat feral cat was being relocated to Sunburst Sanctuary. It would act as a important deterrent to rodent expansion in the up-canyon shop area. I wanted to help this cat know that he had actually arrived at his new home.
He was staying in an enclosure for a few weeks. This is necessary with cats (and some dogs), to keep them from simply running away, maybe back to their previous home. Each day I gave him food and water and visited with him while. I would try to pet him, but he would always move away from me.
After the allotted confinement time passed, I went to his enclosure as usual in the evening, talking to him as I normally did. I wanted to assure him that everything would be okay. I opened the enclosure and, to my surprise, he came right to me, rubbing against my legs. I stooped down and he leaned into my open hands, letting me pet him for the first time.
This cat and I found that everything is and will continue to be quite okay here.