Gigi

This is a write up from Gigi’s foster mom who recently gave her a vacation from the shelter!

 

Meet Gigi – a wonderful and unusual cat!  She is pretty small and has extra thick, very soft fur.  She’s almost all black, but has some white hairs on her chest and belly.  She’s quick to purr with just a little attention.  And she’s not shy like most of the foster cats I bring into the house; she didn’t go into hiding ever. 

 

Like many cats, Gigi has an attitude, but hers is more pronounced than most.  I think she is a bit of a princess.  It worked great for me to treat her like royalty; watch for signs when she wants to be petted.  Once she relaxes she really is quite social and likes to play once she is de-stressed, but the shelter really stresses her out.  She calmed down at my house – it took her 3 weeks this last time.  I just gave her extra space and let her approach me for attention when she wanted it.  And that said, for both stays at my place, she was in my lap purring after the first 24 hours! 

 

She also slept on the bed with me about half the time.  And she liked to curl up on a blanket to be near me in either the living room or office.  And about the fourth day I had her I picked her up and she fell asleep on my shoulder!  (After the first few days I could pick her up easily – though usually she didn’t want to be held for very long.)

 

Another unusual thing is she doesn’t jump very high, so unlike most cats, she doesn’t jump on counters or window sills unless there is something like a chair in front of it.  Nice for having her in the house.

 

I understand she was found starving a few months back.  She eats well, but not a lot.  She likes treats – she’s not a picky eater at all, though she did seem to prefer some flavors of moist cat food more than others (cod and shrimp are not her favorites, she loved Trader Joe’s tuna).  I fed her moist food once a day and dry food when she asked for it.  She was really easy to accommodate on the food side of things.  She needs fur-ball medicine sometimes, and the good news is she loves it – she would eagerly lick it off my fingers when I gave it to her.

 

Gigi has a loud voice when she wants something; she will speak up when she wants food or outdoors.  She asked to go outside every day; that was one thing I couldn’t let her do where I live.  She’ll be happier when she has in-and-out privileges.

 

I could tell Gigi has been a house cat before; she was really easy that way.  She wasn’t afraid of hair-dryer noises, and understood that there are places like the dining room table that are off limits at meal time.  She seems very trainable; she already knows the word ‘No’.  And she used the litter box all the time – no troubles there.

 

One habit Gig is‘love-bites’.  She never bit me hard, but often she would love-bite to let me know she’d like me to stop petting her.  I found using the spray bottle with water worked wonders.  After just one or 2 times, she’d straighten up her behavior when I’d grab the bottle.  I think with time and consistent training this habit can be reversed.

 

She a wonderful cat and easy to have around.  I’ll miss her.  I know she’s a great cat.  I hope she finds a new owner who’ll appreciate and love her.