Tia's tale

Tia came to us towards the end of last year. Her previous owners were unable to keep her as they were moving house and she could not go with them. Tia came in with another cat, Maria, who we believe was either her sister or her long term companion.

It was obvious from the start that Tia was more than usually nervous. Despite the fact that she had lived all her life in a family, Tia was absolutely petrified of everyone and everything. She was so frightened that she spent the first month with us hiding behind her bed.
Eventually we removed the bed and put lots of blankets on her shelf, and Tia began to be a little less nervous.

Just after Christmas we rehomed Maria, as we felt that Tia might make better progress if she didn't have Maria to hide behind, and we moved Tia to a different pen in our cattery, one where there was slightly more activity and where she could see what was going on but still have some security. We were delighted when we put her bed back to see that Tia slept in it, not behind it!

Tia has now been on her own for just over a month and is gradually coming out of her shell. She takes an interest in what goes on around her and sometimes even miaows when it is meal times.

She will sometimes rub her nose along gentle fingers or hands, but she doesn't duck her head for strokes and she won't purr. She only seems to feel safe when she is in her bed on her shelf, if anyone goes into her pen whilst she is on the floor or out of her bed, she panics.

Tia is gradually learning that she can trust people, but she will never be a confident cat. We don't know what caused her to be so frightened and so traumatised. Her behaviour is odd in that she doesn't flinch, she just maintains a frozen immobility. We hope that with time and patience, Tia will become more used to people and that a caring, patient and understanding person will soon offer her a home.