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Kira’s Story
Kira was only a week old when she was rescued with her mother and four siblings in January 2012.We knew there was something special about her from the very beginning. She was the most charismatic little kitten, and much more active than the rest of her littermates. She loved being the center of attention from a very early age, and was the leader amongst her brothers and sisters. Her mother was a rare orange tabby, and so Kira was graced with the most magnificent brown tabby coat, covered with a light sprinkling of orange. When her fur caches the light it is absolutely exquisite.Unsurprisingly, Kira’s beauty and charm made her one of the first of her litter to be scooped up, and was adopted from PetitsPawz in April 2012. We were very excited to find her a loving forever home, and believed that this would be her happy ending. Unfortunately this was not the case.
In November 2012, Kira was returned to PetitsPawz at nine months old and placed in emergency foster care. For months Kira was urinating on the furniture in her new home and her adoptive mom had decided that she was at the end of her rope.We accepted Kira back, and immediately brought her to the vet to see if we could find a cause for her behaviour. The vet gave Kira a clean bill of health, and at this point we knew that the urinating had to be a behavioral issue. In foster care, we made sure that someone would be home most of the time to keep her company, and to observe her behavior. Kira was kept in a closed environment, separated from any other cats. In order to change the behavior, our goal was to figure out exactly why she had taken to urinating outside of her litterbox in the first place. Basically, we needed to get to know Kira a little better.
The answer became VERY clear to us after only a short period of time. This is what we learned:
Kira isn’t a cat. In fact, she is actually a dog in a cat’s body… only smarter. Her favorite pastime is playing in water! She can often be found sleeping in the sink, and if she is hot, Kira will dunk her head under the water to cool herself down. Her foster parents are actually convinced that she can say the word “water”! She is very gentle with children, and has the energy to keep them entertained for hours. Kira is very talkative, and greets everyone she meets with a chorus of happy chatter. She has an eagerness to learn like no other cat that we have met and with a little bit of training can easily be taught to run obstacle courses. It took her about five minutes to learn how to play fetch. At night, Kira loves to sleep in the same bed as her human, so you have to make sure to save her a spot! While most cats prefer their independence, that is definitely not the case for Kira. The busier the household, the better! Because Kira had been living in a small apartment with one person, she wasn’t able to get all of the attention she needed and craved. As a result, Kira acted out by urinating on her owner’s favorite spots in the home. She was being defiant and crying out for more attention. Since arriving in foster care, Kira has had absolutely no issues with her litter box.
After a couple of weeks, her foster parents began gradually introducing her to the rest of the cats in their care. Kira’s reaction was a little bit surprising to us. She would panic, and was terrified to be approached by them. Even though the other cats posed no threat to her and were actually very friendly, she would refuse to compromise. Although Kira thrives off of her relationships with people, she had not lived with other cats in eight months. That time was enough for her to become uncomfortable in the company of other cats. Oddly enough, she gets along great with resident dog but still wants nothing to do with most other felines. The only option her foster family has had, as a result, is to segregate Kira from the other cats indefinitely.
Kira has been in her own room for six months now. We have been trying desperately to find her a new foster home with no other cats, but it has proven to be extremely difficult. The majority of the people who do foster already have other cats and all of our current foster homes are full. Kira has attended three adoption events held in different locations and was the STAR of the show, yet she is still available. While she continues to receive the attention and love from her foster parents, it isn’t enough for her. Kira does not have enough space to thrive, and as a result she has gained weight. Like every other cat, she deserves to have full run of a home. Kira is an extremely active girl, and would benefit greatly from extra space to run around and play. Most importantly, she is a cat that wants to be close to and interact with her humans at all times. Right now she can’t have that, which is absolutely heartbreaking. She would like nothing more than to be able to enjoy the company of the ones she loves all of the time. As a rescue, our goal is to provide every one of our animals with the best possible environment while they are waiting to be adopted. We have not met our goal with Kira. The right foster home is out there for her, we just have to find them. In sharing her story, we are hoping that someone will fall in love with her and finally open their hearts to her. Kira is ready to be the best companion anyone could ask ever for, all she needs is someone who would be willing to give her a chance.
If you are interested in fostering or adopting Kira, please contact PetitsPawz Cat Refuge of Montreal at info@petitspawz.net or visit www.petitspawz.net for more information.
