Grendel

There is a sad situation going on in the Alaska woods where the House of Many Cats is. Callous people dump their unwanted cats off in the woods to fend for themselves. The husband and wife who live in the house have taken in as many of these cats as they can persuade to come inside and then they take care of them for the rest of their lives. During the summer months, they put out food and water for the cats, who get used to hanging around the house. When the cold weather comes, they put out humane traps and take in any cats they catch. They now have 28 of them. Grendel was caught just this way in the autumn of 1996. She was pregnant and gave birth to two black kittens. Grendel was, and still is, very feral, so the Mom took her kittens at a few weeks old and put them with another litter belonging to a more socialized cat, so they could have a better life. Shortly after that, Grendel was spayed. She didn't take too well to being an inside cat and escaped. The Mom and Dad looked for her, but didn't find her and resigned themselves to never seeing her again. Then in 1998, they found her again in the trap and brought her in once again. This time she stayed. She spooks very easily and mostly hides when any human comes near her, though she does socialize quite a bit with the other cats. Just within the last year, she has finally become used enough to her humans that she doesn't always run when she sees them. She has even come out to watch her food being put in her bowl and even lets the Mom pat her once in a while. She will sit in a cat bed and watch the Mom work on her computer, only a few feet away. She may turn into a friendly cat yet.

                                    Grendel is more than a little bit shy.
                                    She mostly hides when humans go by.
                                           She'll accept a pat,
                                           But no more than that.
                                    Maybe she'll yet come 'round, bye and bye.