“Betty just crawled onto Truvy, made herself comfortable, and wouldn’t move … It was the sweetest thing.”Welcome to another heartwarming story that once again proves how a single sweet soul can transform another being’s entire life. Meet Betty a stray, scared, grumpy 5-week-old kitten who, after becoming friends with a yellow labrador named Truvy, found a way to come out of her shell.
Betty was taken to Jelly’s Place animal shelter in San Pablo, California after being abandonedThe cute kitten was very scared and wouldn’t let anyone get near to herThe kitten certainly wasn’t the most attractive for adoption. When people approached the kitten’s cage, she would retract her entire body into a corner and hiss.
“I volunteer with a non-profit shelter called Jelly’s Place located in San Pablo, CA. Someone in the community had found her abandoned and brought her in. Our best guess is that she was a kitten in a feral colony,” a volunteer at the Jelly’s Place animal shelter named Kendal Benken told Bored Panda.
She was really scared and wouldn’t let anyone get near her. “She was super scared and very hissy at first. No one could touch her,” Kendal said. “We weren’t even sure if she was a male or female. She was only 5 weeks at the time, and most likely had never had human contact.”
Kendal, who is a ‘seasoned feral kitten whisperer’ knows a thing or two about taming even the most undomesticated kittens. Within minutes of observing the distressed kitty, she decided that the 5-week-old Siamese wasn’t scary, but instead was scared.
“No one could touch her. She was very angry,” Benken said. “She was a little, tiny demon. It was a fear reaction. She probably had never been handled. She acted so aggressively. She was hissing. She was adorable, though.” She had to throw a towel to go over Betty’s head and then wrap her up to bring her home.
“She was not happy at all. But honestly, she was just really scared. With feral kittens, the best thing you can do for them is to put them in the center of everything and not let them hide,” Kendal explained. “So I put her in a big dog crate in my kitchen. As often as I could, I would hold her, wrapped in a towel, and pet her head.”
After Betty’s new foster momma took her home, rescue labrador Truvy became quite fascinated with her
“She had those [Betty] Davis eyes, huge, pretty blue eyes. She looked like a Betty to me,” Benken said.
After a while, Kendals family of rescue animals came over to check out the new addition to the family. The dogs were quite fascinated with the new family member and even though Betty wasn’t behaving in the friendliest manner, they were still in awe of her.
“Truvy LOVES kittens!! She must have been a mama cat in a former life. She was always licking her head when I would hold her,” said Kendal.
“She was always licking her head when I would hold her.”
Each day, Betty slowly came more and more out of her shell, and after quote a few days of consistent and honest effort, she seemed as though she had finally accepted Truvy as her best friend. “I think because Betty was so young, she just accepted that it was normal for a giant dog to clean you. Betty absolutely loved Truvy and would curl up to sleep on her any chance she got,” Kendal told us.
“Betty just crawled onto Truvy, made herself comfortable, and wouldn’t move. Truvy was afraid to move because she knew Betty was on her. It was the sweetest thing,” Kendal said. “Truvy was delighted Betty finally returned her affection.”
Throughout the few weeks that followed, Betty started to slowly come out of her shell and finally accepted the labrador as her friend
Betty eventually transformed into a sweet and loving kitten and was ready to be adopted. “Once Betty stopped being so afraid, she was actually a really sweet, playful kitten. It was really hard for me to give her up. I really loved her. But Roz was the perfect person for Betty! We still stay in touch. So I’ve gotten to watch Betty grow up,” said Kendal.
It was a bittersweet moment, Kendal had grown to love Betty but her job as a foster mom was complete. Understandably Kendal was very particular about who would adopt Betty, but when she interviewed Roz Westil, she was very pleased. “I spoke to Roz and knew she was the right one for Betty. She’s just such a great cat, and I wanted her to go to someone who would treat her so well,” said Kendal.
Truvy’s the lav’s love and attention had transformed Betty into a loving and playful kitten who was finally ready to be adopted
“The only thing I would like to add is that I wish more people would consider fostering, both cats and dogs. I know it’s hard giving them up. But the reward of taking in a scared animal and helping them gain the confidence to be a great dog or cat for someone else is really a wonderful thing. And fosters are desperately needed across the country by shelters and rescues,” Kendal added.