Candy Domestic Short Hair & Tabby Mix Cookeville, TN

I was originally picked up by animal control as a tiny baby not doing well back in fall 2019. I was barely over one pound, hungry, dehydrated, and flea infested. The people at the shelter took good care of me, and when I got healthier and big enough, I went to the spay neuter clinic to get spayed. Someone adopted me not long after that.

Then comes the part I wish I could tell Ms Tana and humans who have helped take care of me since August 2022. Somehow I ended up outside & lost. I was scared & hungry. Some larger animal attacked me and left bite wounds & infection across the back half of me. Thankfully, I managed to escape and find a house with a nice lady who always put out fresh water & food for other kitties in the area. (She gets all of them "fixed" and vaccinated.) The lady did not know if I was fixed or not, so she called Ms Tana, and they set a trap. I was always so hungry that I went right in.

Next thing I know, I am at another spay neuter clinic because the 2 ladies did not yet know part of my history, but they were about to learn. I had a spay scar and a tattoo, so the people who worked at the 2nd spay neuter clinic scanned me for a microchip. Sure enough, I had one, and that is when they found out about my kitten history in 2019. They contacted the person who was supposed to be my owner. They tried calling & left a voicemail; they tried texting; and they tried emailing, but my previous owner never called Ms Tana back about me.

That's okay because I had obviously had some very bad times. I could have been killed by the other animal that attacked me. And some people had been very mean to me because I was afraid of Ms Tana at first. If she talked loud (her mom is hearing impaired), I would lay my ears back, hiss & growl, run away and try to hide. If she reached out to pet me, I would blink my eyes hard & fast (because I thought she was going to hit or hurt me), lay my ears back, hiss & growl, run away and try to hide. If she picked up anything I was unfamiliar with, I would blink my eyes hard & fast (because I thought she was going to strike me with the object & hurt me), lay my ears back, run away and try to hide. I just did not trust Ms Tana or anyone because multiple people had been mean to me in the past 3 years.

Finally, I KNOW I am safe. My wounds are all healed; my fur has grown back; my coat is all shiny & healthy looking now. My combo test was negative on both. I am relaxed and happy and come to Tana for pets and love now. In the picture, you can compare inset when she first had me to now standing up on my hind legs on top of a nightstand in bedroom with my front paws on Ms Tana's tummy, reaching up as best I could for her to pet me. I love the tlc attention. I want and need more one on one time and attention though, so am looking for my own special purrson and forever family again, someone who will always keep me safe indoors, and who will treasure me like a beloved family member. Let's make new pawsitive memories together. I know I could be your purrfect best friend.

special needs is eosinophilic granuloma complex that in Candy's case may cause "rodent ulcers" and swelling around the mouth and may sometimes affect the skin, cause her to itch, lick & chew at her skin, which in turn may cause redness, raw sores, and fur loss. she also has severe flea bite allergy dermatitis, will get scabs all over and have moth-eaten, thinned-out look fur loss, so it is even more important for her to stay indoors only and always keep her on flea prevention year round such as Bayer's Advantage II or Revolution.