Onyx may be leaving
January 22, 2008
Two Saturdays ago my family went from Humane Society to Humane Society hunting for me a pet to keep me company here at the beach. I fianlly selected a black/white “tuxedo” kitten that we named Onyx. 
According to the Humane Society, Onyx was a 4-6 month old kitten, and I rapidly took to her. We paid for her shots and brought her home, and then I put her in the car to bring to Myrtle Beach (the work-week home away from home for now.)
I have 2 other cats in Rock Hill, and they were most unhappy with the addition. It didn’t matter though because Onyx would stay in Myrtle Beach for now. Since the adoption we received a letter in the mail from the Humane Society, and the paperwork revealed that Onyx, who is very small, is in reality 4 years old. She has been raised at the Humane Society where I got her. I tell this b/c the kitty (cat) is absolutely miserable. She hides 100% of the time. She has been hidden for a complete 15 hour span once. I’ve only seen her out and about by accident. If she realizes she has been seen, she cries, and runs. If I catch her she extends all her claws, and she trembles. I think I have TOTALLY disrupted and devastated this cat’s life!
At the YC Humane Society, I did think it odd that most of the cats were in cages, but three or four (including Onyx) were totally free to roam all over the office. Now I suspect these cats were safe to roam b/c the office was their home, the ONLY home they have ever known. All of them were probably raised as kittens there.
My husband is planning to take Onyx back this Friday. He said the whole reason we got her was to offer me companionship, and if all she does is cry, scratch, tremble, and hide, AND she is 4 yers old instead of 4 months old, she is totally set in her ways and probably very homesick. He has pretty much convinced me that it is cruel to keep her. The Humane Society does have a policy that will allow this.
I don’t know…I do have terrible pangs of guilt that she is so terribly afraid. SAD in Myrtle Beach. Sorry for the personal post. Not much to be professional about here.
January 23rd, 2008 at 10:39 pm
Cathy - Obviously, you’ll need to do what you think is best for Onyx and for you. If you’re at all still considering keeping her, I can tell you the story of one of my cats (I have 3, all from the Humane Society).
Shady was 6 years old when I adopted her, and she’d been at the HS for more than a year - no one adopted her because all she ever did at the HS was lie in a cat bed, even tho’ that HS allows all cats that aren’t aggressive to roam freely in the cat rooms - she showed no signs of friendliness or affection when people visited. The paperwork from the person who surrendered her said she was so scared of other cats that she’d hide, not use the litter box out of fear they’d come after her, barely eat.
For two months, she ran away from me; she hissed at the kitten; she barely tolerated the two year old cat; she ate only when no one was around, and ran at the first sign of anyone. Then, slowly, things started changing. She stopped hissing; she started curling up near the two year old; she “chirped” at the birds she saw on our balcony.
It’s now been 16 months since I adopted her. She and the “kitten” now chase each other playfully around the condo; she only runs when a loud noise scares her; she starts chatting at me if I take too long with her dinner, or if she wants some treats; when I go into the bedroom she follows me in, jumps on the bed, and rolls on her back to have her belly rubbed; in the morning she curls up on the pillow next to me; at night she sits next to me on the couch and sometimes crawls into my lap. She and the two year old are best buddies. The people at the HS wouldn’t recognize Shady now.
This isn’t to say that Onyx will recover - she’s certainly now in a place and environment she’s not known. And again, I say you need to do whatever you think is best for both of you. But if your heart is breaking, and you’re at all questioning it, I encourage you to give it a little time. Even older cats can and do change. When they know they’re safe, and loved, (and treats are at hand), you’d be surprised at how they might react.
January 23rd, 2008 at 10:48 pm
Thanks Jeannette. I “drug” her out from under the bureau today, and closed off the bedroom of this one bedroom apartment. I held her for a bit, until she would rub her face against my hand. But she soon jumped down and is behind the couch (I can just barely see her.) Yes we are debating the possibility of returning her still. I’ll be sure to share what I decide to do. She is a pretty little thing.
January 27th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
Cathy,
Cathy,
I’m sorry to hear that Onyx is having trouble adjusting; but I think that Jeanette is right … you need to give her time if you can. I know that you are a great “kitty-mom” and given some time she’ll probably be climbing up in your lap in the evenings when you are trying to do your blog-reading and lesson-planning.
Since we don’t do cats anymore (only dogs), I am content to have Peachie (my Shih Tzu) stretched out beside me in the evenings. She sits between my leg and the arm of my chair. When she feels like she has been ignored long enough, she climbs up on my lap — yes, on top of the laptop — and lets me know that it’s time to give her some attention! Of course, that gets Trouble (our big black lab-mix) jealous and he has to try to get my hand off Peachie and onto him! He uses his nose … it’s one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen! =)
Kim
January 27th, 2008 at 8:29 pm
I hope it works out with Onyx whatever you decide. Like I mentioned via email, my rescue kitty was wild and hid, too, when we brought her home. We rarely saw her when she didn’t run - hence her name “Shadow”…because that was what she was like…a little shadow flitting here and there. And, like Onyx, she was older than I was led to believe. That was over 12 years ago and I still have her. Her nickname is “the Queen of Sheba” and I am her human! Our newest animal update is my son, Jack, in Dallas. Yesterday he adopted an 8 month old male beagle puppy that had been abandoned. It will be his first warm-blooded pet. He had only had a beta fish until now! Paula