We think she spent her first year in a breeder's cage, with very little human contact except for impersonal grooming of her long fur. That's why, when the (reputable?) breeder gave her away to someone (in an anonymous meeting place instead of at her house), the poor overwhelmed kitty ran and hid in the safest-looking places she could find in her big new house. She wasn't spayed, so she went in and out of heat, snuggling up to their other cat, but running away from the humans. They wanted to cuddle her, but only managed to catch her occasionally to try and brush her fur. She cried for help by peeing on their belongings, but they didn't understand what was wrong. Then the husband became allergic, and so they finally decided she had to go. They tried all their friends and family, but no one would take a cat that ran away and peed on laundry, even if she was a purebred Seal Tortie Point Himalayan. The wife was determined to find a no-kill haven, and didn't give up the kitty until she found one.

As a last resort, she contacted Tani at KitnHevn rescue group. Tani referred the lady to Mona, who volunteers for Purrs and Whiskers Shelter (PAWS) and often takes in hard luck cases. Mona contacted me, saying that she needed extra help with this one-year-old cat that was acting as unsociable as a feral kitten. Her name was Lilo (yes, after the recent Disney movie). After her former owner got her spayed and waited a few weeks until I had room (more points in her favor), Lilo was surrendered to Mona, and came to live with me.

Predictably, Lilo spent her first few days under the futon in my spare bedroom. I took her to my vet for a checkup, since she was so thin under all that fur, and her teeth were so yellow. My vet said that Lilo was probably over 2 pounds underweight because she had been spayed recently and had been in heat before that. Nothing some good kitten food can't cure. Her teeth didn't need cleaning after all, but it's a mystery how they got to be such a color. I also asked Elisabeth, our local pet psychic, to get in touch with Lilo and see what was going on with her, emotionally. The answer came back that Lilo had "allergies" to bright lights, loud noises and large spaces. No surprise for a cat that was raised in a small, dim, quiet cage. Elisabeth cleared Lilo of her allergies, which opened the door for her to adjust to a larger, brighter, noisier place much faster. Lilo started peering out from under the futon with more interest, and I would catch her out in the open when I came into the room, before she dived back under. She would purr and seem to enjoy being petted, when I could reach her under the futon, after she backed away from me as far as she could go.

Grooming was another story, since I had never had a long-haired cat. If I was trying to convince Lilo that people were OK, I didn't feel right chasing after her every day in order to drag a comb through her fur. I also suspected that Lilo had been handled roughly when she was groomed, probably infrequently, so no wonder she ran away from people who would tug on her. Mona got me started with grooming tips and brushes/combs, and I contacted Debi, who I knew had long-haired cats. Debi put me in touch with a Persian breeder named Penny. They gave me all sorts of good advice on what combs to buy, and how to properly groom a cat. Even though I tried to be gentle, Lilo and I still dreaded grooming time, and I knew I wasn't getting the mats out. Mona, Penny and Debi encouraged me to go ahead and take Lilo in to a groomer's for a "lion cut", and just start from scratch. Mona even gave me the remainder of a gift certificate to a local groomer's. Since I wasn't sure if Lilo would be further traumatized by getting most of her fur shaved off, I asked Elisabeth for help. Sure enough, Lilo had a strong allergy to grooming (poor thing!), which Elisabeth promptly cleared. Elisabeth asked Lilo if she would mind getting a haircut, and she indicated that it would probably be a relief. So off we went!

Lilo was a changed cat after she got back from the groomer's. I swear that she strutted and posed for me those first few minutes home, loving the freedom from all that long fur, and knowing she looked good! She made rapid progress in the socialization department after that. Lilo started coming out to me to be petted, purring a wonderfully loud, rumbly purr. She LOVED getting rubbed around the cheeks, and being stroked along her peach-fuzz body. I worked on brushing her with a soft brush, and she soon learned to enjoy it. A few days later, she even let me comb her ruff without having to be restrained. Lilo also started playing with an interactive toy; tentatively at first, like she didn't quite know what to do with it. I bet no one really played with her before. Soon she was bounding all around the room, and crouching with her tail lashing, ready to pounce! Lilo still got nervous when I picked her up, but I kept it short.

I showed Lilo's "before" and "after" pictures to my friends and co-workers, who were amazed at the physical transformation, even if they couldn't quite decipher her sad-to-happy expressions. My friend Susan recently lost her Himalayan, and was just thinking about getting companion for her remaining cat. It only took her a day to decide that she wanted to adopt Lilo. I was thrilled, since I knew that Susan would continue what I had started with Lilo's gentle introduction to "the good life". Lilo went to her new home just two weeks after she came to my house, already a much happier cat than she was after nearly 4 months in her previous home. She never missed the litterbox, either.

I got regular updates from Susan the first few days, and all seemed to be going well with her new kitty, now called "Lila". Then I got this message from Susan, only 1 week after she adopted Lila: "…And something else amazing happened just a few minutes ago while I was sitting with her. I had an accident earlier today and got pretty banged up (tripped and hit the sidewalk and big rocks). We just got back from the doctor and xrays, etc. (nothing's broken) The amazing thing is that Lila noticed. She started examining my wrist and hand and fingers (no broken skin on that part, but that is the most painful injury). She would sniff all around my hand and turn and look me right in the face and go back to it. Then she worked her way up the arm where I do have a bandage and some scraped skin that's not bandaged. Then she wanted to "clean" the wound, no kidding, she started licking my arm. Right after that is when she had to get right in my face and look into my eyes, then she licked my leg near the damaged knee and laid right down in my lap. She'd still be there, but I had to come in here where Maxine is. She actually made me feel better. I'll never forget it. She is really a treasure. I can't wait to see all she has in store for us over the years."

Lilo/Lila is in her perfect home now, thanks to her "rescue team": Tani, Mona, Debi, Penny, Elisabeth and me.