Gus and Tamara
Trust can’t be rushed. For a frightened cat, it’s built in small moments: a slow blink, a gentle voice, a hand that comes close and then moves away again.
This is the story of Gus, a shy longhaired boy who wasn’t sure people could be safe, and a volunteer named Tamara, who showed him one small moment at a time, that they could.
A Frightened Arrival
Our friends at Humane Society of Boulder Valley reached out to us in April about a two year old cat who was very fearful and needed behavior support. New places, sudden movements, and especially human hands sent Gus into hiding. He spent his first weeks at CCS tucked into a hidey bed, tense and watchful.
Tamara, a behavior volunteer who specializes in working with frightened cats, visited Gus every week. At first, she simply sat with him, talking softly and offering slow blinks. He sniffed the churu she brought. Most cats can’t resist the tasty treat, but Gus wouldn’t touch it.
One Lick at a Time
Then one week, a friendly cat named Creamsicle was keeping Gus company. With a buddy by his side, Tamara noticed his demeanor change. Gus shared a whole churu and let Tamara pet his head.
Progress wasn’t a straight line. After a few moves to new rooms, Gus slid backward and started hissing when people came near. We often see this kind of regression in behavior cats. The uncertainty of a new space, new sounds, and new smells requires time to adjust. Tamara kept coming back.
In late March, she started playing a simple game. She put a dab of churu on her finger, let Gus lick it off, took her hand away, and repeated it, sometimes 15 or 20 times a session. Each time, a hand came close, something good happened, and the hand left. Gradually, she held her finger farther away, so Gus had to lean forward to reach it.
One afternoon, after about 20 minutes of churu dabs, Gus relaxed enough to start grooming, and then he stepped forward for the next dab. The next week, he turned to face the front of his bed, stretched his neck out to meet her, and closed his eyes while she scratched his head.
Protecting Every Bit of Trust
Our care team built a plan around Gus. They tried quieter spaces and pairing him with social cats, and started anti-anxiety medication to help him feel safer.
Giving it was the hard part. A negative experience with a person risked undoing weeks of progress. So the team decided to limit handling of Gus unless it was truly necessary. They weighed him while he stayed snug in his bed, then weighed the empty bed afterward and did the math.
For his medication, they played the churu game, tucking his pill into a dab of churu. Gus licked it right up. Trust he had built with one person was now helping everyone care for him.
Learning to Live in a Home
In May, Gus moved into a foster home to learn about life in a real house. The change set him back again. Weeks went by with small steps, but as his foster put it, “Slow progress is still something!” In June, Gus began eating churu off their fingers. By August, he was lounging around the house and accepting pets in his cat tower.
Later that month, Gus went home with an adopter who knew his story and was ready to go at his pace. The cat who once couldn’t be touched had learned, one dab at a time, that people could be trusted. His next chapter is just beginning.
Help Write the Next Chapter
Gus’s progress didn’t happen by accident. It took a volunteer who kept showing up, a care team that protected every bit of trust he built, and a foster family who patiently helped him adapt to life in a home. For 45 years, Cat Care Society has been the place for cats who need that kind of patience and care. As a 100% donor-funded shelter, we can only do this work because of supporters like you.
Every cat has a story. You help write the next chapter. Please give to Cat Care Society this Colorado Gives Day to support more cats like Gus.
