About the Cat
Hi, my name is Malory. I am beautiful and I am derpy.
My cat mom was a feral in a cemetery in south Texas. As feral cats are wont to do, her only desire was to breed, so she had a LOT of kittens within her colony, including me! With so many mamas and babies, cemetery workers felt overwhelmed with all the mouths to feed. Back in 2013 TNR wasn't as well-known, so my mom and her babies, along with other feral moms and their babies, were taken to a local park, where they were all released as a happy family...
...Except me and one of my sisters, we somehow got left behind. At five weeks old, we could barely fend for ourselves, so we trawled through the headstones and flower sprays for days trying to find our mom. Eventually one of the workers found us and took us to a rescue, where we were cleaned up, fed, spayed and inoculated, and found homes. My first mom was my current mom's mom-in-law (...did you follow all that), who worked at this cemetery and thought I was stunning! They lived waaaaay out in BFE, so she thought I'd make a good mouser, so she adopted me and named me Malory.
Six week old Malory
Showing love through violence
The first time my Current Mom saw me, I was literally lounging in a toilet.
As you can see, I was living the good life!
Unfortunately, my First Mom moved to a new place that didn't allow more than two pets. I was pet number three, so she asked Current Mom and Dad if they would take me, and they said YES. At that point, I went from fierce, rugged outdoor hunter in the rural sticks to pampered, suburban housecat life. It was tough - I cried three days nonstop and Current Mom was pretty sure that their apartment neighbors though I was being tortured, even though I was just hanging out in a bathroom cabinet.
As I got more familiar and felt more safe in my new home, my personality really started to emerge. Some of my favorite things are laying on fresh laundry, watching Twitch, and giving high fives.
Malo-Collie and the Infinite Shirt
Backseat gamer
High five!
Big change upsets everyone, but it absolutely traumatizes me, even the smallest of changes make me skittish. Current Mom and Dad joke that I am totally their cat because I run and hide under the bed any time the doorbell rings, just like them! Although I seem to have some PTSD from my time living in the cat version of the wild wild west, I've learned to trust my parents, and oftentimes I will push my own challenge lines - if putting one paw into a new room doesn't kill me this time, maybe I can put two paws in next time. For a cat I'm quite intelligent and have very complex emotions (that go out the window when food is involved, ofc).
I even found the Purrmuda Triangle
The world has also been difficult for me because, since I was separated from my family during a crucial stage of kittenhood, I lost a lot of socialization. While play fighting with my sister cat seemed like fun, sometimes I didn't know my own strength, or when to stop. Same went for the human parents - there were many painfully clawed body parts at first, but eventually I learned that hey, sometimes just a whack with a paw says enough to the other cat and hey, a jump scare is MUCH more fun than a full on attack.
Enjoying the good life
Cinco de Malo
While I will never be a lap cat and I still show traits from my feral heritage, meaning sometimes I awkwardly do not know how to cat, I'm always learning to be a better version of myself. Let your cats be themselves without reserve, even if they're not who you want them to be! My Current Mom says my story drives home the value of TNR and how to effectively treat feral/community cats with patience, understanding, compassion and respect - as we should all living beings.
Even though I'm semi-feral and shy away from affection, I still have a huge heart and am full of love, fun, and gratitude. Please take care of each other, PLEASE spay and neuter your pets, and if you see a group of feral cats in your area that are not ear-tipped, PLEASE seek out your local TNR/find resources via Alley Cat Allies.
Is that it? Is it food time?
