Description
Saucepan spent years believing that she had already found her permanent home. Unfortunately, major changes within her family meant that the life she had always known suddenly became very different.
The environment became increasingly difficult for her, particularly because she was sharing a busy flat with other cats she did not get along with. Saucepan is an emotionally sensitive cat, and over time the stress of that situation began to affect her wellbeing.
Eventually, it became clear that she needed a different environment.
Since moving into foster care, Saucepan has had the opportunity to decompress and show much more of the cat she really is. With greater stability and less pressure around her, she has proven herself to be an incredibly loving and people orientated cat who genuinely enjoys being involved in everyday family life.
Saucepan loves human company.
She has a habit of following her people around the home like a little shadow, interested in where they are going and what they are doing. She enjoys meeting people and is quite happy receiving attention, often behaving as though being the centre of proceedings is exactly where she belongs.
There is definitely a diva hiding underneath all that affection.
Saucepan has strong opinions about how her day should operate. Waking her up in the morning before she considers herself ready is unlikely to earn anyone much appreciation. She has plenty of sass, knows what she wants, and is not afraid to communicate her feelings.
Her future family should understand that Saucepan communicates her boundaries very clearly.
If she becomes overstimulated or no longer wants an interaction to continue, she may give a light slap with her paw, hiss, or bare her teeth. These behaviours are her way of asking for space. She gives warnings rather than simply tolerating an interaction that is making her uncomfortable, so someone who understands feline body language and respects those signals will find her relatively straightforward to read.
When Saucepan says she has had enough, the best response is simply to listen to her and allow her some space.
Once those boundaries are respected, there is an extremely affectionate cat underneath the sass. Saucepan forms strong attachments to people and genuinely wants closeness and interaction. She is not a cat who wants to spend her life hiding away from the household. She likes being involved and enjoys knowing where her humans are.
Her foster placement has also revealed a particularly lovely side of her personality. She has been wonderful around the resident toddler, showing herself to be gentle and tolerant in a family environment. This does not mean her boundaries should ever be ignored, particularly around children, but it does show that the right household can bring out a very settled and relaxed side of her.
Play is another important part of Saucepan’s personality.
She has a high prey drive and particularly loves her feather wand. Toys that allow her to stalk, chase, and pounce are an excellent way to keep her mentally and physically stimulated. She also enjoys watching birds on television and can happily settle down for some screen based bird watching when she is not busy supervising the household.
And then there is catnip.
Catnip Dreamies are apparently important enough to deserve their own mention. Saucepan absolutely loves them, and anyone hoping to win some favour with this particular diva would be wise to remember that information.
Her previous litter tray difficulties also need to be understood within the context in which they occurred. During periods when she was extremely stressed and unhappy, particularly while living alongside cats she struggled with, she occasionally toileted outside her litter tray. Since moving into a calmer foster environment, her stress levels have improved significantly. Her history does mean that future adopters should recognise how strongly her environment can affect her emotionally and should monitor for changes in toileting if she ever becomes stressed again.
For this reason, Saucepan would be best suited to a stable home where routines are reasonably predictable and she has places of her own where she can retreat when she wants peace.
Her experience with other cats suggests that she would be happiest as the only cat in her future home. She has already shown how significantly an unsuitable relationship with other cats can affect her wellbeing, and there is no reason to place her back into a situation that could recreate that stress. Being the only cat would also suit Saucepan’s considerable appreciation for human attention.
Saucepan may need some time to adjust when she first moves. She has experienced significant changes after years of stability, so her future family should allow her to explore her new environment at her own pace and establish a routine without unnecessary pressure.
Once comfortable, however, Saucepan has a great deal to offer. She is affectionate, social, entertaining, playful, expressive, and occasionally rather dramatic. She will follow her humans around, demand appropriate recognition of her status within the household, chase her feather wand, watch her birds, enjoy her favourite treats, and make it very obvious when something does not meet her standards.
Saucepan does not need a home that expects her to be a perfectly compliant cat who accepts every interaction without question. She needs people who will appreciate that her sass, boundaries, affection, and enormous personality all belong to the same cat.
For the right family, Saucepan will be far more than a quiet presence in the background. She will be an active part of the household, a little shadow following her favourite people around, and a very loving cat who simply expects her humans to remember that, ultimately, Saucepan believes she is the one in charge.