King Street Cats in their Furrever Homes-Pandora

Love hearing about our kitties in their new homes, 

so here's an update on Pandora!

About eight months ago my neighbor, who is a King Street Cats volunteer, suggested to me that I become a foster parent to a cat.  She explained that there was a cat who was not doing well being around other cats, and KSC was looking for a foster home where there were no other pets and no small children.  And, she told me, the shelter would pay for all the food and medical care.

Well, why not, I thought.  My apartment is quiet.  I’m at work most of the day, and I don’t have any children or pets.  What could be hard about this?  So Pandora was brought to me, and we began our adventure together.

I was somewhat aware of her history prior to coming to me.  I knew she had been brought to Virginia from St. Croix because her former owner had dropped her off at the local shelter, and since she was already an older cat, she would have been euthanized if she hadn’t been rescued and brought to the United States.  I knew she had had surgery on her eyes that had required several months of after-care consisting of having drops put in her eyes several times a day.  I knew she had lived at KSC for a while and in several foster homes.

As it turns out, the former owner had left her at the St. Croix shelter in a burlap bag, giving no information about her name, age, or medical history.  By the time she felt the shock and pain of this dramatic abandonment, she was put on an airplane and flown to another country.  It’s no wonder that she was frightened and lashed out at other cats at KSC, or that she just stopped eating for a while, causing ulcers to form on her eyes.  Only the benevolence of KSC, who arranged and paid for specialized surgery, saved her sight.

As she stepped out of her cat carrier and walked around in my apartment for the first time, I thought she was so beautiful.  She seemed so sweet and fragile that first day.  On the second day, I tried to pet her, and she bit me so hard I had to go to the urgent care clinic.

More serious bites and scratches followed, as well as days of not eating anything at all and other days of spitting up everything she ate.  As the months went by, I called on the assistance of KSC volunteers, an animal behaviorist, and a cat communicator.  I was determined not to give up on Pandora, and I ended up formally adopting her.

Pandora seems now to have made her home with me.  She has truly come a long way.  She jumps and runs and loves to walk with me in the halls of my apartment building.  She loves to play with her “cat dancer” and the other many toys people have given her.  The consistency of being in one place for several months seems to have paid off.  She has much more energy than she had at first, and even sometimes seems joyful.  I know now that she had to go through the process of grief at losing her old life in St. Croix, and the fear and anger she must have felt at having her life so disrupted.

As I write this, she is sleeping peacefully on my couch.  She is so graceful and regal and beautiful.  I feel so privileged to have her, and I can’t imagine life without her. ~Elizabeth

Have you been rescued by a kitty from King Street Cats?

Please send us an update and photos!

Shoot them over to Contact@KingStreetCats.org