The Untouchable

It is commonly believed that purebred cats live better and happier lives than mixed breeds but it does seem questionable at times. There’s no doubt that purebreds are beautiful as they have been selectively bred to get the appearance and characteristics the

breeders desire and even moggies which strongly resemble one breed are deemed highly popular. Unfortunately, there’s no guarantee that they will all find loving owners; if they fall into the wrong hands, their physical traits may just decide their destiny…

With her short blue grey fur with silver tipping and vivid, almost always green eyes, Falsika is the very picture of a true Russian Blue, with an overall dose of good looks. Other than that, I don’t know much about her since she was given to me

instead of my own grey cat two years ago, after maybe the worst adoption of the Felix kitties that one could’ve ever imagined.

Looking back, I still can’t believe how naïve and trusting I was at the time. Not that I didn’t have a

lurking sense of unease about the woman who wanted to adopt four of my cats together, but she was willing to sign the adoption contract and to give all of her personal data, she even sounded quite nice… With a heavy heart, I gave them up, only to face a terrible

reality some ten days later – instead of keeping them as pets, she was planning to sell them all! After a couple of nerve wracking, dramatic weeks and countless phone calls, I managed to get them back, only to find out that a skinny grey cat which was last to

arrive at the shelter was not the same one I gave up a month earlier.

She was malnourished and terrified upon arrival, the very personification of pure despair. She’d been cowering in the back of her cage for days and whenever I tried

to pet her she would just freeze, totally indifferent to a touch, as if the fear shut her down. The second I let her out, she fled in panic, disappeared in the yard and I literally didn’t see her for months, I would just catch fleeting glimpses of her sometimes, as if she

were a ghost. The Russian Blue mixes are supposed to be lively, playful and curious but she was anything but and there was no way to know if she would ever change.

Two years have passed, Falsika’s gained weight and

recovered physically long ago, but the scars in her mind have remained. Although she’s mellowed a little, she is still very cautious and shy and may never learn to trust; I don’t even want to think about everything she’s been through and only time will tell if she will ever

be willing and brave enough to accept a human into her life. However, it’s a good sign that a grey shadow with sparkling green eyes, which is usually approaching hesitantly and surreptitiously, keeps getting closer with each passing day…