Earlier this year, Diane Sontum bid farewell to her cherished cat, Ricki. As part of her recovery procedure, specifically as a recent window, Sontum chose to open her heart and home to a shelter cat quickly after. She connected to Laramie Animal Welfare Society (LAWS) to ask about citizens in requirement of a foster home, and they understood simply the ideal cat for her: an orange tabby called Margo.
“She had been surrounded by a family that loved her, but they had a baby and … it wasn’t working with the baby,” Sontum said in a TikTok. “She’s been in the shelter for about a month.”
When she went to choose her up, LAWS informed Sontum that Margo was having a tough time adapting to life at the shelter. Margo was frightened of her brand-new environment and wouldn’t let anybody at the shelter get near or touch her.
“They told me that she doesn’t want to be petted or touched and that she’s been so stressed out about being surrendered,” Sontum said.
The cat was already in her dog crate and all set to go home when Sontum selected her up. This suggested that their very first main conference would remain in Sontum’s home.
Sontum brought Margo back to her house and put the dog crate in a peaceful room. As she grabbed the dog crate’s door, Margo began rubbing her face versus its bars as if she couldn’t wait to go out. Sontum unlocked and was amazed when Margo ran directly to her for love.
You can view their heartfelt very first conference here:
“They told me she was so shy and that she wouldn’t come to me,” Sontum said. “When I opened that crate, that was our first introduction. I think it went pretty well.”
A number of days later on, Sontum supplied an update on TikTok about Margo. Unfortunately, Sontum discovered the shelter’s issues to be real — Margo was too afraid to let anybody, consisting of Sontum, touch her.
“She will rub up against my feet, but she does not want me to pet her,” Sontum said in the update. “Part of her stress response from her trauma has been that she does not want to be touched. We’re just figuring it out together.”
As much as Sontum desired Margo to feel comfy immediately, she understood that the cat required to heat up to her brand-new environments on her own time.
“I’m really happy that she’s here, and I’m willing to be very patient with her as she unwinds from what she’s been through,” Sontum said.
Over time, Margo began settling into her brand-new environment. As her interest grew, she started checking out other parts of Sontum’s house. For one of the most part, Sontum felt that the cat was simply searching for brand-new locations to sleep, however one room, in specific, captured her attention.
Dean, Sontum’s sulcata tortoise, resided in that room, and the cat was simply as baffled about him as she had an interest in her brand-new brother or sister.
“Margo has been having a good time exploring the house. But, there is one room she’s not quite sure if she wants to visit yet,” Sontum composed in a TikTok.
As Margo’s interest grew, so did her desire to check out the land exterior Sontum’s house. So, Sontum linked a leash to Margo’s collar and took the cat for her very first stroll outside.
“This little girl has been begging to go outside, and, you know, I cannot let her out. It’s not safe for her to be out. So, I put her on a little leash, and we go for a walk in the backyard,” Sontum said in a TikTok.
It’s been over a month now given that Sontum beginning promoting Margo, and, although she still has a long journey of recovery ahead of her, the cat’s worries lastly appear to be dissolving.
“Margo is starting to like me to touch her,” Sontum composed in a TikTok caption. “She doesn’t cuddle, but we are getting closer.”
When she’s not rubbing her face versus Sontum for love or sitting outdoors on her leash, Margo can be discovered cozying up in her recently found areas.
“She’s been super busy going into every room in the house exploring, sniffing around, looking. And I thought, ‘What in the world is she looking for?’ And then I got it: horizontal surfaces,” Sontum said on TikTok. “She found a lot of them.”
As of now, there’s no informing what Margo’s next chapter will appear like as the sweet cat is still on the hunt for a permanently home. But, with her connection to Sontum growing more powerful every day, there’s an opportunity that Margo is already precisely where she belongs.
“She’s kind of taken over,” Sontum said in a TikTok. “[It’s a] queen of the castle kind of thing.”
To help animals like Margo get the care they require, you can make a contribution to Laramie Animal Welfare Society here.
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