Evie

This ladycat is a very very special ladycat for us. We love her. Evie was our first adult foster. When she came to us, we were told she was pregnant. This turned out to be incorrect, but it meant that we got to spend 3 wonderful months with her.
Evie was a real mystery for us. We don't know where she came from, or what she had been through, but we definately think it affected her. From what we understand, she would have come from a breeder. We believe she was a Devon Rex, as she had the curly cat that we understand only occurs in purebred Rexes. We contacted every breeder of Cornish and Devon Rexes in Australia with photos and a description of Evie, hoping to trace where she had come from. Because the people who brought her to the shelter said she was a stray, we thought there could have been a chance that there was someone looking for her. Unfortunately, none of the breeders recognised her. She tested positive to FIV, but we don't know whether this was from an actual infection or a vaccination.
Evie did have some behavioural issues that we believed could have been linked to mistreatment in the past. She used to recoil from hands that came too close to her, and didn't like it at all when somebody walked too close to her (within about 2 metres). It made mum sad to see her flinch and shy away when she went to stroke her, as if she expected mum to hit her. If Evie was sitting in a lap when someone went to stroke her side or back , she would bite. She didn't like to be left alone, and when mum would put her in her room for the night, Evie would run at her and bite her feet and ankles as she went through the door. Needless to say, mum has a few Evie scars to remember her by!
Mum and dad spent a lot of time trying to be patient and gentle with Evie, and show her that she was safe. She slowly started coming around, and the aggressive responses and shying away started to fade away. She remained overly aggressive at the vet though, and sent several vet techs to the doctor with bite wounds. Mum thought there was a good chance that Evie had initially been in a home where she was loved and safe, and was used to affection and gentle touches, but had an experience before coming to us that made her doubt her safety. She was a very good girl when it came to things like cleaning her ears and clipping her nails, and wore a harness very happily.
While Suey and I tried to escape our Halloween outfits, Evie seemed to enjoy being dressed up! She was a fascinating girl, and very special to mum.
We never really got to meet Evie, because she did not like other cats at all. On the one occasion mum tried slowly introducing us, she charged at me and tried to bite my bum. So that was the end of that. She did relax with humans though, and became a really affectionate girl who loved cuddles, and enjoyed meeting human visitors. She was also very patient and gentle with children.
Evie eventually went to a new home in Sydney, where she has a little doggie brother that she has made great friends with, but not before giving mum a major interest in feline behaviour. We hope she will have a very long, happy life with her new family.