We are just suckers for a hard-luck story and stray psycho-animals, Hipparchia. It’s part of the burden of being DFHs. 😉

that was the problem i had with my first batch. i had homes for the tabby and the black and white one, but both of them turned out to be wilder than the average pet cat. they would have made nice companions for the right [read: patient, calm, quiet, and appreciative of feline company] person/people…

with the copious use of bits of chicken, i’ve won over the black and white cat to a great extent – still can’t pick her up, and she’s not a lapcat, but she loves brushing and even likes petting now. she’s one of the first to come running whenever i show up, with or without food or brushes or catnip.

and even the tabby, who occasionally growls at people, including me, will curl up next to my feet if i sit still long enough.

the all-black ones and the all-gray ones are a lot tamer, but nobody wanted cats of a solid boring color.

all of them have their individual and different and well-developed personalities, so i’ve been well-rewarded for the time and expense and just plain work of having a houseful of semi-feral critters, and those other, impatient, perfectionist people have really missed out.

i loved the fluffy black dog and he was my best friend for years and years and i would not change a thing about him if i had it to do all over again. same for the fluffy red dog before him. but i had promised myself that my NEXT dog would not be a “project” dog. my next dog was going to be happy and healthy and well-adjusted from day one, not one who needed extensive rehabilitation…

and then i went and took on 11 “project” cats.