Getting to Know Her

The movement of Cammie from the downstairs shower-room to her temporary quarters upstairs provided some interesting insight into her character.

She fought against being put into a carrier for the short journey. She screamed and twisted and grabbed for inanimate objects that would anchor her, that would keep her from falling into the abyss of the carrier. But she did not scratch or bite me. She could have. As anyone who has a cat knows, a human carrying, or attempting to carry, a cat can do little to prevent even the fattest, most lethargic of felines from spinning about and tearing, scratching or ripping. Only quick reflexes or lithe agility will prevent injury. So Cammie could have done me great harm at any point.

She did sink her claws into a leg of my trousers, but it wasn’t to hurt the person she saw as doing something malevolent to her. It was to fix herself in one spot. And of course I could have been damaged inadvertently, as she flailed about. But a deliberate attack upon me did not occur. And through the long evening of trying to figure out how to put her into a carrier, I saw that she did not like me at that moment; she would not have cared if I had been consigned to the deepest regions of Stygia. And yet, she did not harm me.

What does that say about Cammie? She came to the PAW Society, the cat-rescue group for which I volunteer, with a history of being abused. I would have appreciated her feelings if she had struck out at me; I would have if I had been in her place. I can think only that Cammie is simply an innately harmless creature.

That’s not to say that she may not sink her claws into me at some point. One of my previous foster-cats did exactly that when I prevented him from chasing another cat immediately after a fight. (I know, never interrupt a cat-fight, but it was my chance to separate them.) The cat in question would never have wittingly hurt me, but he was still in combat mode and I…I was in the way. So yes, Cammie may scratch at some point, depending on the provocation. But considering that she received the greatest provocation short of actually being hurt, yet did nothing harmful makes me conclude that she is just not constituted that way.

So I begin to acquaint myself with this unique animal, and hope I will be able to describe in her greater detail later, perhaps to a prospective adopter. She will never fulfill her potential in a foster-home, but I may some day know what that potential is.