Bella the Cat

by Melanie Lally
(Georgetown, Pennsylvania)

It all started with an idea. My boyfriend and I decided we wanted to get a cat together. At first we wanted to adopt an older cat and give it a good life. Then we heard about some free stray kittens several weeks old. Who can say no to a kitten? Obviously not us!

The problem with the kitten we picked out was that she was undomesticated and had no human contact before we adopted her. Little did we know we would spend WEEKS training her! All she did in the beginning was hide under the couch and if we were extra lucky we caught a glimpse of gray fur running towards the TV stand. I would lay by the couch and talk to her any chance I got.

After about a week of this we knew we had to do something! We moved the couch and threw a blanket over her so we could catch her. I wrapped her up in the blanket and held her for about an hour before she decided to go back into hiding. At the time this felt a little mean and like it was invading her personal space. It was like we were not giving her the time she needed to adjust to her new home. It went on this way for a couple more weeks, with us luring her out with treats and cat talk.

One day, out of the blue, she ran out in front of us to use her litter box (we never even had to train her!). That was the beginning of our success story! From that moment on Bella would come out of hiding and brush against our feet or meow at us to let us know she was ready for attention.

Now, only a short six months later, Bella does not bother to hide from either of us. Right now as I am writing this she is curled up by my head on the back of the couch, but if I wasn’t on my laptop she would cuddle in my lap.

There were a few times we felt like giving up on her. All we wanted was a cat you can pet and spend time with. We finally got exactly what we wanted after months of training and getting her to warm up to us. If you are in a similar situation, my advice is to not give up. Keep your hopes up and do not lose your patience. Getting this stubborn little fur ball was totally worth it.

Bella’s favorite activity is playing fetch with her humans. She is very spoiled and has a basket full of balls and mice she brings us to throw for her. I’ve had a lot of cats growing up, and never once did I know that cats love to play fetch. Now I look forward to coming home from work and relaxing or playing with my cat. Learning with Bella has been a wonderful experience.