Kirra – 3/20 – BARC

Diana and I went to BARC again, but this time Aaron and Isabella came along! We all had a lot of fun playing with the cats. However, there were two new kittens! Enter: incredibly adorable Cherub and Sinatra. Cherub has white fur, combined with that of a tabby. She is incredibly shy, and when I went there, I saw something that really disturbed me. One of the animal caretakers was poking and prodding at Cherub, holding her down with plastic gloves. Cherub was being extremely unsocial, hissing and biting and batting and scratching, she even went under her little bed! The caretaker still held her, apparently ‘socializing’ her. I suppose it was what they needed to do in order to get Cherub adopted– but still– it was horrifying to watch.Next to Cherub was adorable little Sinatra. Sinatra is a shy domestic shorthair, who goes to the back of her cage and shrinks from any attention. She is so incredibly scared that it overpowers her feline instincts. My dad began teasing her with a sting of leather (he likes to make leather bracelets and such), something that most cats can’t resist batting. But Sinatra only shrunk away, eyes wide with fear. Eventually, after a lot of coaxing, my dad got him to come a little closer so we could pet him. Sinatra showed no signs of enjoyment and went into her littler box. I hope Sinatra become more social and happy! Another thing that happened was a cat named Provenzano (who sat on my lap the first time I went to BARC) started hissing when I was trying to get Sinatra to play. At first I didn’t understand, but then I read her sign. He loves humans, but hates other cats. However humorous this may seem at first, if you think about it, it’s a little depressing. I’ll keep you updated on the latest cat fights and make sure to note more cats in the future!