By Sharon Wylie, Crash’s Landing

In early Jan. 2017, one of our volunteers came across a stunning but profoundly, shy gray girl at a feral feeding station in downtown Grand Rapids. Born in early 2013, this poor soul ended up a shadow dweller, hiding out in the darkness until night fell, then scrambling out for a quick bite before scurrying off to safety.

After observing the volunteer diligently at work day after day, supplying all the cats with canned food, the stray finally gained enough courage to crash on through the dishes one day, knocking everything over in order to get to the yummy wet food — and amazingly allowed herself to be petted while she gobbled down with gusto and delight. It took a bit longer until Zillah — whose name means ’shadow’ — could be convinced to come to our clinic. Once she arrived, she was spayed, treated for intestinal parasites, tested (negative–YAY!) and vaccinated. Zillah spent a month at the volunteer’s home getting acclimated to indoor living, then came down to Crash’s to spend a month with us before heading off to another foster home that offered a bit more peace and quiet.

Zillah’s foster mom, Sara wrote up a synopsis of her emerging personality, as the longer she is with Sara, the bolder she becomes and the brighter she shines. Here are the sweet things Sara had to say about her timid little lady:

“Zillah spent most of her time in the corner of her open cage in Intake while at Crash’s, not wanting a thing to do with anyone — cat or human. In her foster room (with companion Moriarity) she has gone from hiding all of the time to sitting in a cat bed looking out the window. She loves being petted all over, even her sleek belly and, of course, is absolutely wild about wet food, tolerating tummy rubs while chowing down to her heart’s content.

“Her favorite toy is a bird on a stick and she will jump extremely high to catch that little bugger! It has been an absolute delight teaching her all about treats, as so many strays are unfamiliar with them and don’t understand quite how to take them from a person’s fingers; she licks away at the hard kibble until she finally takes it in through the side of her mouth and looks up beseechingly for more! She does NOT like being picked up at all and is not, at least at the writing of this bio in April, a lap cat. She will sit close and allow you to stroke her sleek coat, which is one of our favorite pastimes.”

We are all so very proud of how far Zillah has come in such a short time! We are looking forward to watching her blossom as spring turns into summer and she finds comfort and security where she is planted.

More about Zillah