It’s hard to believe this loving little black cat survived the challenges she did in her first couple of years. Spider was born outside to a large colony being cared for by Joe, who lived there with them.
Joe was helped by Happy Cats friends Janet and Kerry, who spent thousands of hours feeding, trapping and then working with us at the Haven–especially Janet!–to transition our little Glampers to the inside life.
Spider was always a little smaller than the rest. That made her more vulnerable, both to all the predators stalking the cats as well as to competition for limited food and shelter. She became one of the colony outcasts, bullied by everyone.
When we started working with Joe in spring of 2021, he had nearly 40 cats who needed help. Spider came in with several others, but it soon became clear the bullying would continue. We gave her a safe space of her own and renamed her Shyler to give her a fresh start.
Even with all this, she never lost her sweet nature, purring and headbonking her new friends once she felt safe. Janet came in most days to socialize, showing us how playful she could be when she knew she wasn’t going to get harassed.
https://youtu.be/iuLbhiS3w-U&rel=0
Finally she caught the eye of Jane, a renowned musician who found herself with more time at home because of the pandemic. She has allergies, but fortunately Shyler doesn’t trigger them.
Her beautiful new name is Asheena and Jane says, “My life is definitely more rich and my home much more cozy because of her.
I watch her very carefully: her tail is so expressive and her ears and paws let me know what she needs.
https://youtu.be/uNawE5XyYCY&rel=0
Little by little she’s gaining confidence and courage to explore. It’s only taken her a week to show her true colors: she’s an incredibly agile hunter (her favorite is the toy mouse I bought at Happy Cats).
She is so funny, sweet, gentle and cuddly. She’s already learned her new name!
I’m extremely grateful to Janet and everyone at Happy Cats for rescuing Asheena. She is a tiny bundle of joy!”~Jane Rigler
This is the look of unconditional love for sure!
