Wallflower kitty decides she’s a lap cat after all
When Luna was at the Best Friends Lifesaving Center in New York, she loved to pass away the day sitting in the big storefront window and watching people pass by. Most of the time, you could find the shy cat in the highest cubby in the corner of the window, where she cat could sit, feel the warmth of the sun and settle in for some epic people-watching.
You could say Luna was hiding in plain sight, because she always picked a spot where no one in the room could see her. But every day hundreds of people walking past the front window could, and she liked that just fine. In fact, she seemed to bask in the adoration passersby showered on her.
While she was as good as invisible to people in the room, she was the star of countless snapshots and selfies with people the sidewalk outside. And that’s ultimately how she found her perfect new home.
Room for a shy cat to feel comfortable
Patience is the key to helping shy, quiet cats like Luna find a home, says Sarah Aitken, adoptions specialist at the center. That’s because the more extroverted cats tend to be adopted first.
“Luna just really liked to keep to herself,” says Sarah. “And she was more interested in watching the world from the window than she was in socializing with people.”
All it would take was for the right person to come in, meet Luna and decide to give her a home. And considering that hundreds of people saw Luna every day, the odds of that happening were in her favor.
Sure enough, one day Amanda Grace saw Luna in the window and went in to meet her. “I wanted to adopt a cat for a while,” says Amanda. “I met a lot of cats that day and
Luna was the only one who stayed hidden. I went to pet her and she didn’t run away or get upset. She just kept her face covered.”
Amanda wasn’t worried about Luna’s shyness. She liked it, even. “I thought that being around a lot of other people and cats would overwhelm anyone,” she says. And since her own home is fairly quiet, Amanda thought Luna would be more comfortable there. With that, sweet and shy Luna had found her home.
Less phone time, more lap time
When Luna got to Amanda’s house, she dove under the covers on Amanda’s bed and stayed put. But that’s just what Amanda expected her to do. To make Luna feel more comfortable, Amanda fed her on the bed so she wouldn’t have to muster up the courage to head to the kitchen.
After about two weeks, Amanda returned home from work one day to discover Luna had turned a corner. The shy kitty had become a cuddle bug — purring and rolling over on to her back to be petted. “I knew then that we were friends,” Amanda says.
Today, she’s Amanda’s snuggly, cuddly lap cat and pillow-sharer at night. In fact, now when Amanda’s on the phone and Luna wants so attention, she’ll nudge the phone with her chin. That’s Amanda’s cue to wrap up the call.
Amanda notes that Luna is still shy with strangers, but she makes friends as soon as she feels comfortable enough to let her guard down. Amanda knows that with cats like Luna, it’s all about having patience and letting their personalities unfold in their own time.
“Luna has taught me that making even a small positive difference will bring you joy,” says Amanda. As for Luna, she’s found a home with a person who gives her all the space she needs to be just who she is — no changing required. Seems once again, Luna has found her perfect spot.
Best Friends in New York works collaboratively with city shelters, local animal welfare organizations and individuals to save the lives of pets in shelters in New York City and the surrounding tri-state area. As part of this work, Best Friends has a national lifesaving concept space and pet adoption center in SoHo, hosts adoption and fundraising events and runs a foster program in partnership with Animal Care Centers of NYC. Together, we will Save Them All.
Photos by Robert Stoetzel and courtesy of Amanda Grace