by Lorraine Monfils
Back this winter I received a call about a big yellow cat hanging around the neighborhood. Actually, two different families had been feeding him and making shelters for him outside so he wouldn’t freeze to death. Neither family was quite sure what his temperament was, but they were both desperate to help him. With a little reluctance we agreed that the Ark would take him.
The day he arrived he was very frightened and wanted nothing to do with humans. Once the paperwork was filled out and we got him situated, I decided to try and handle him. Not a good idea; he came around and bit me pretty badly. He certainly had a lot of spunk and he was going to do whatever it took to protect himself. This little incident determined his name: we decided to call him Pistol.
Pistol was scheduled for surgery to be neutered and this whole ordeal left him very unimpressed with humans and even more untrusting.
From that day forward I only worked around Pistol with gloves on and was very cautious. He was such a big, bold, beautiful cat and his eyes were full of wisdom. I had a great deal of respect for this guy and knew it was going to take a long time for me to win his trust. There were days when I thought it was not going to happen and I was okay with that.
In April Pistol got sick and had to be medicated every day; not an easy task for either of us, but we muddled our way through it. After two weeks of antibiotics Pistol was feeling much better and I noticed that every day I was getting a little bit closer to him without him running away.
Then one day it happened — he rubbed up against my legs. I was shocked and did not even try to pat him because of my previous experience. I just decided that it would all be on his terms and not to rush anything. In May I was sitting in a chair and he jumped up on my lap and started head bumping me. I couldn’t resist and started patting him, and then I heard it: his little motor was running so loud it sounded like a freight train.
Four months after his arrival Pistol decided that humans weren’t so bad and turned into the biggest love bug you could ever hope to meet. A little time and love has turned this big guy into a marshmallow. Now when I walk through the door Pistol is right there to greet me and he follows me wherever I go. We have become best friends.
We get so caught up in life and we want everything to happen now. Most of us don’t want to invest a lot of time into a relationship with an animal. We just want an animal to be affectionate and the perfect pet right off the bat. I am here to tell you that good things take time and the end result is something that will make you appreciate your relationship with your pet a great deal more.
Trust does not come easy for some pets, but when they trust you they trust you all the way.
Pistol is such an awesome cat. It just took me a little time to figure that out and gain his trust. I still have a scar from where he bit me. I look at it and smile – a small price to pay for the relationship we have now.
Sanctuary ground update: the vinyl siding is going up and we are preparing to pour the slab. The plumbing lines are run. Once this is done, the construction on the inside will begin. Everything done so far is paid for in full , the account sits at $50,000. You will see us out there doing a lot of fundraising in order to complete the work.
Please join us for a bake sale outside Hollywood pet Salon on Saturday, July 25, from 10-2.Thank you for your continued support and as always thank you for reading our column.
