The moment I heard of Grinch, formally known as Glen, I knew that I had to adopt him.

Volunteering as a cat/kitten fosterer for NCAR at the time, I couldn’t help but ask who their longest standing cat member was and why this poor soul hadn’t found his furever home.

This is where I learnt about Grinch (Glen) and how he had been in the centre for nearly 2 years – he was having difficulty being adopted not only because of his fur colour (black cats are harder to adopt due to superstitions!) but because he had strong aggressive tendencies/behaviour created by former human abuse.

This absolutely broke my heart and, as a sufferer of PTSD at the time, I could immediately identify and relate to his behaviour. There was absolutely no question, I was going to take Grinch home and we were going to heal together.

Our journey began with me laying on the floor of his NCAR bedroom in Moggie Mansion, giving him slow blinks to show i wasn’t a threat to taking him home and working together on gaining his trust and proving to him that not all humans are bad and that he should be showered with love, fuss, kisses and cuddles at all times!

It took alot of time, patience and hard work from the both of us but we persevered and Grinch absolutely transformed, like a phoenix through the ashes.

Over time, he went from lashing out and biting (ouch!) to head bops and motor purring! He loves to play – and has regular ‘funny 5’s’ around the house, zooming up and down and making the most peculiar of noises!

He loves laying on the heated blanket and greeting you first thing in the morning and he adores rolling around in the sunshine.

Adopting any animal comes with its challenges and it’s not always easy, you may even have times where you question yourself and your decision – but if you’re prepared to keep exploring new avenues to help them heal, be patient, kind, loving and tolerant, you really will get the rewards – a happy animal finally living their best life!

Some photo’s of Grinch are attached, including him at Moggie Manson when he didn’t want to give me the time of day! – loves him!

Jessie