Cheyenne
Date of Birth: 01/08/2016
Gender: Female
Gotcha Day: 01/10/2016
Breed: European Cat
Cheyenne, Laila and Aramis were born under a barn in a village not far from Mudita Sanctuary. Their mother had been abandoned there for unknown reasons left to fend for herself. She was a house cat who was no longer wanted, but she was not sterilised.
Eventually the owner of the barn wanted the kittens gone, and asked her neighbour if she could help trap them to bring them to the SPCA. This neighbour called us to inform of the situation and to ask whether we would be able to take them in. We were aware that any kitten under two months was automatically being euthanised at the SPCA, so we weren’t going to let that happen.
We asked the SPCA to borrow one of their trapping cages and we brought the kittens back to Mudita. Unfortunately we had to give the cage back immediately which meant that we had to release these very wild kittens somewhere at the sanctuary. Luckily we had a vacant room in which we could put them. Normally we would first keep any new (wild) cat in a dog bench until they get used to us and start becoming more social. It’s not advised to give them so much space from the get go but at that time we didn’t have an option.
Laila disappeared instantly and we didn’t know where Cheyenne was either. She was eventually found glued between the wall and the bed head. She was a very wild scared little kitten.
We tried to have them adopted but for months nobody was interested so Ariane decided to keep all three. There also comes a moment when an animal has been in our care too long for us to emotionally be able to part with them… The three cats stayed separate from the other animals for three or four months whilst we still sought an adoption family, then finally we started to introduce them to the other cats. They are tolerated by most but are still not fully accepted in the clowder. Therefore they spend most of their time outdoors.
All the cats are very well behaved inside, they are clean and don’t spray anywhere. They are all very affectionate and friendly once inside which is quite unusual for cats as wild as these were.
Cheyenne is still the wildest of the three. Like most tortoiseshell cats she’s very shy with new people and animals and often runs away when a stranger walks towards her. It takes time for someone new to earn her trust but once you’ve been granted it, she’s incredibly affectionate and sweet. She doesn’t really meddle with the other cats and only comes inside for the night via a private entrance through Ariane’s bathroom window.