The transformation of the B-Boys

The B Boys had been rescued once before, then found sanctuary with Critteraid after their person’s passing.

Maybe it was the relocation, maybe it was the loss of the one human they trusted, maybe they had never really learned how to feel safe from that very first life as strays. Probably, it was a combination of everything, but my first remembrance of them is six wild eyes staring down from the highest shelf – whites showing, ears pressed flat – big black boys trying to hide one under the other and somehow shrink small enough to escape notice.

They came to us already named – Burt, Booster, and Mr. Betsy – it would be a while before we would be able to put name to face, or see how big they actually were. When I look now at the small square shelf where they spent so many frightened hours in the beginning, it’s hard to believe it’s the same spot they perched on, a three-cat amalgam of uncertainty that eventually transformed into three, long-legged, domestic panthers.

Those first days we gave them space, checking only to make sure they were coming down to the food bowls and that they knew no one was going to force them to move. Even that took time and patience – cats will go without eating and drinking, sometimes for a few days, if they are very scared or very sad. And they were all both sad and scared.

A camera in the room let our director observe them and confirm that they were coming down for meals, and starting to explore without any of us having to intrude too much. Then, while their room was closed to the majority of cuddlers in the sanctuary, a few volunteers who expressed interest were asked to sit in the room and help the new boys adjust to our presence.

It was slow going.

Much of the time while visiting we kept the lights off and the room dim. We would sit across the floor, in view of the shelf, and read out loud to the B-Boys. Sometimes it was memoir, sometimes historical fiction, sometimes fantasy, or Sci fi. Reading out loud to cats is calming for them, it enables them to get used to our voices, to get used to the rhythm of human speech, to relax in your presence, and to observe us without having to feel the shyness that our full focus on them can provoke.

Eventually, the wide eyes became less fixed. Finally, we started getting some eye-squint smiles. Occasionally, one or two of them would even be down from the high shelf and tucked away on a lower one! It was time to introduce things to draw their curiosity. One of us might sit and talk softly while pulling a string on a rod slowly around on the floor. Or gently roll a ball back and forth while reading.
We started setting up the room with extra beds, small scratching posts distributed in various places, and a blanket on the floor.

Of the many cat attractants, a random blanket stretched on the floor ranks amongst things like newspapers or reusable shopping bags momentarily set down, and just slightly lower than your computer keyboard or the book you are reading. All these things are cat magnets.

One of our cuddlers noticed the boys showed interest in cat nip spray. The next visit she brought in a small offering of cat nip to leave on the shelf and the boys ate it in her presence. This was the “in” we were looking for. She rubbed cat nip on her hands, and then offered a taste to the shelf. A handsome fellow with broad features and impressively long legs jumped down to taste more. When she held her hand out to him, he began to rub his face in the catnip scent. She dusted the floor blanket with it, and watched as this massive, somewhat intimidating cat started flip-flopping and rolling in delight.

The dam, so to speak, was broken.

Sometimes it just takes one cat to make the leap, to start letting someone connect with them, to start a cascade effect. The other cats watch their interactions with us, and learn more confidence through the example of their fellows. That first breakthrough was Booster, a guy with lazy grey-green eyes, a half-length tail, a deep voice, and an unusual reception to petting; he would flatten his ears back, and almost grimace – often expressions of dislike in a cat – but his was a grimace of pleasure.

Another period of time passed with reading, enticements of toys, catnip, the occasional treat, and regular cuddling with Booster. Gradually, we were seeing all the cats down off of their perch. I remember walking up the driveway and realizing that Mr. Betsy, the only brother with a partial white mustache and chest patch, was sitting in the window looking out, and it was only mid-afternoon!

Soon Burt, the other all-black brother, with the lankiest legs and bright green eyes, had also bid farewell to the high shelf, and found a perch like a tall, jet phantom, behind a small privacy curtain on the lower shelf. We could peek behind it and offer catnip or a treat, and he would gaze solemnly back with the grave thanks of a distinguished gentleman.

Mr. Betsy also chose new sleeping locations closer to humans and we were able to give the brothers access to a catio, and even introduce some other cats to be friends and inspirations.

Like kids, cats learn so much from watching other cats.

Skip ahead to Burt starting to drool with happiness when getting chin scratches; to Burt starting to peek out from under his curtain if we didn’t come pet him quickly enough; to Booster pacing the floor and bumping up against our legs for more pets; to Booster meowing in complaint if he WASN’T being cuddled; to both boys enjoying being brushed, seeking out volunteers to cuddle with them, inside and out in the catio, making friends with other cats and joining in a cuddle swarm… So many wonderful firsts that became just part of everyday as their confidence had become so great.

Even Mr. Betsy, though still much shyer and more uncertain than his brothers, started letting us approach him, started nibbling cat nip (he is VERY enthusiastic about it) and treats from our fingers, and squinting with welcome when we sweet talk him.

Over this past year that they have been with us we’ve witnessed them move from terrified, mourning cats, to confident, cuddly, happy felines. They have become favorites of many of our volunteers.

Then last week, the most exciting kind of news in any rescue: Burt & Booster have been adopted!

Seeing these boys go to their furever is a teary triumph. We come to love the cats at the sanctuary dearly – we couldn’t do what we do and be effective if we didn’t genuinely invest our hearts – so it is the greatest affirmation of our efforts when we see cats find their people!

And then we miss them terribly.

At present, we still have Mr. Betsy to continue to support in his journey toward confidence. He, like so many of the cats that come to Critteraid, has so many reasons to mistrust people. And every one of them just needs the time and consistent exposure to love and care that will help them have their own breakthrough… one day soon.