Waldo needed medicating when he arrived and he'd shrink back with the sad eyes of a child who's about to get a shot.
In the photo at top right, he's seen the syringe in the volunteer's hand. Yet he was always docile and grateful for kindness.

Waldo came to us in May 2007. He had been homeless for many months during which he went to a home for food. When he was finally trapped, he was in rough shape with a head wound and a bad ear infection. Life without a home is harsh for abandoned pets and is usually a slow downward slide toward an early death. Waldo was trapped in time to save his life but not soon enough to save him from contracting Feline Leukemia, a virus that would have been passed on in a fight with another FeLV+ cat. He was so scared that everyone concluded he was feral. But it turns out that Waldo is just a sensitive, bashful boy by nature. Once he was able to believe that he was among friends, he reacted with a sudden burst of affection, expressing all his pent-up loneliness and his need for love. After that, he settled quietly into life in his communal room and, true to his meek, bashful nature, he became a wallflower again, allowing himself to be overlooked while other cats crowded around visitors for attention. There's an earnestness and vulnerability in this little cat. While a soul like Waldo needs gentleness in response to his own gentleness, he has endured mostly hardship in his life. Our vet estimated him to be about five years old and he's known kindness for very little of that time. We will try to make up for it.

Waldo doesn't ask for attention but he does enjoy it so much if he's given some, as you can see in his videos below.

Sept/08
Waldo tends to stay in the background. He enjoys getting some pets but he never comes to ask for any. Visitors in that communal room are always surrounded instantly by the more outgoing cats who clamour for attention. A shy guy like Waldo doesn't stand a chance in a crowd like that. He tries to avoid getting in their way. So we see him curled up in various nests around the room and we have to remember to go over and give him some pets or he'll just retreat to the company of the semi-feral cats who don't bounce around excitedly when we arrive.

 

Jan/09
Waldo has become a social butterfly compared to the bashful Waldo we've always known. Maybe the move to the new shelter was good for him. Maybe he was just ready to blossom. Rather than sitting on the outskirts, barely visible, like a sad little wallflower, he's been in the middle of activities, milling around happily and coming over to get pets when visitors come in. We even heard some conversational meows from him once.
 

May/09
The volunteers who spend the most time in the Boys' Pen have noticed that Waldo likes to play, not with the other cats but with people. He seems to be a people-oriented cat. We've seen that he's happy to lie on the couch with the other cats, but he doesn't snuggle into them the way some like to do. Clearly Waldo had a home once where he felt part of a human family. Humans more than cats are family to him. If he doesn't follow us around demanding attention, it's only because of his introverted nature. Waldo enjoys attention very much whenever it's offered to him.
 

June 17/09
Waldo's latest video, made yesterday, shows how this sweet guy is doing fine these days.

Sept/09
Waldo is a puzzle! He has the thickest coat in the Boys' Pen, it's a heat-absorbing black, and he's a stocky little guy. Yet, where was his favourite place to lounge throughout record-breaking hot weather? A shelf out on the porch rather than inside the air conditioned building! It's not because he was avoiding any of his roommates, he's always mingled easily. Go figure cats!

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