Hela

This beautiful girl had a pretty rough start to life and is still feeling the effects of that trauma 12 months on.

Hela and her sister Sif were both born on the streets and lived the first 9 months or so of their lives as stray cats, terrified of humans.

They were first noticed by a local rescue when they were just kittens but they unfortunately unable to be trapped and were not seen again until the next kitten season around 9 months later. The rescue were able to catch them and their mum and bring them inside to safety. Mum was able to find a home quickly but the girls have taken a little while to gain confidence.

They spent the next 3 months with a foster carer where they were making good progress but unfortunately the carer had to move them on to make room for some sickly cats that desperately needed help, so they reached out to us to find them a new home, which we were of-course happy to do.

Hela and Sif arrived on the 4th of August and have been making slow progress. They can be held and pat when they are in their crate but rarely venture out of their safe space. You'll see them pop out to have a quick bite to eat or catch a glimpse of them rushing past every now and then but for the most part they hide in the safety of their crate, even though the door has been open 24/7 for a long time now. I'd say they're both also a bit intimidated by all the other cats running around.

You can check out a video of Sif and Hela on our social media below:

Facebook
https://fb.watch/eZpsI8LsI3/

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/p/ChYnY1BDcWp/

Hela in particular is still very VERY scared. When you pick her up she will just freeze in place and not move until you put her down. When she's in her crate she will hide in the furthermost back corner and make herself as flat to the ground as possible when you're patting her. She is however getting better every day. She's slinking away less and less and will sometimes even lift her head so you can give her a scratch under her chin or behind her ear. So the signs are there but she's just going to need a lot of time.

Hela really needs a patient owner who is willing to spend a lot of time and energy building her trust before she really starts to warm up and come out of her shell. She may never become a lap cat ( or maybe she will ) but I do strongly believe there is an affection and loyal companion inside there waiting for the right person to draw her out.

One of my own cats was very much like this, he was terrified of me for the first few months but now he is super affectionate and is always in the mood for a smooch. He still can't be picked up and hugged and will occasionally duck away if I move suddenly or make a loud noise, but majority of the time hes happy to be pat, he's happy to play, he'll rub up against your legs when he wants attention and will even jump up on my bed and have a cuddle.

I see the same traits in Hela and I'm really confident she will be the same sort of cat if given enough time.

It would be great for her confidence if Hela could be adopted with her sister Sif but this is not necessarily a must.

Hela is approximately 12 months old, has been desexed, vaccinated, micro-chipped, flea and worm treated, inspected by our vet and is ready for adoption right meow ( to the right person ).

If you think you have the room in your heart and your home to provide this gorgeous girl with a great life please let us know and we'll be more than happy to arrange a time for you to meet and fall in love with her.

Located in Wantirna South.

Urban Feline Australia is a newly established cat rescue service dedicated to keeping cats out of kill shelters and helping them find loving forever homes. We specialize in helping "surrenders" which are cats that have lived with humans previously but for one reason or another their owners are unfortunately no longer able to look after them.

Please check out our Facebook or Instagram accounts to learn a bit more about what we do.

https://www.facebook.com/urbanfelineaustralia

https://www.instagram.com/urbanfelineaustralia/