Mischief - An Aptly Named Cat!
A Mysterious Beginning
In the Autumn of 2019, staff at the National Animal Welfare Trust Hertfordshire centre based in Watford, began noticing some strange things around the yard.
In particular: they were finding droppings behind the door, or food spilt on the floor in the storeroom with seemingly no explanation as this was not an area animals had access to.
After a week of the problem continuing, staff were getting more and more confused until one day it all became clear! Someone opened the large storage container of dog biscuits and found a very small and frightened kitten curled up inside!
They soon realised that this wasn’t one of the cats in our care, and that this lost little kitty had been abandoned at the centre without staff knowing and had rather cleverly made his way into the safety of the storeroom.
Mischief by name, Mischief by nature
We could not leave the little one in the storeroom, we needed to get him into a carrier so we could set him up with a place in the cattery where we would be able to give him a proper check over and take care of him. However, Mischief had other ideas and that is how he gained his name!
The world was a very scary place for this little guy, and he could not understand that staff were trying to help him, so he ran all around the storeroom, knocking everything off the shelves and trying to hide under bowls.
It took a long time and was challenging, but eventually Mischief was safely moved into the cattery where he could be warm, comfortable, and cared for.
We took pictures of him and advertised online to find his owner but sadly, no one came forward, so we know little else about him. He was a very timid boy, but he was sweet and affectionate when he was given time to feel confident. So, we began looking for his forever home.
Here's Mischief after being found by staff, enjoying a snuggle.
Home Sweet Home
In February 2020, after going through the rehoming process, Mischief was off to his new home with his new owners!
Across his visits he had slowly started to come out of his shell and trust his new family more and more (it turns out he was quite easily won round by some cat treats and a chin scratch). We have heard from his new owners, who tells us Mischief has settled in well!