We got the call in February of 2016 from one of our friends who has a TNR colony. It was minus 20 outside and a very thin, sick cat had shown up at her colony, looking for food. The others were not welcoming, so she brought her to us.

Nora weighed 4.5 pounds on a 10 pound frame and had recently been spayed. She had a microchip, but it was never registered, telling us that she was a Return to Field cat. She had been found by the Humane Society, assumed to be a neighborhood cat, spayed and returned where she was found.

The problem was, this kitty was lost. She had no home, no people, no food or water. Now she was even more scared, hurting from the surgery with horrific weather conditions on top of that. It’s a wonder she was even able to make it to a colony to ask for help.

Of course she came down with a horrible upper respiratory infection, but our foster mom nursed her back to health. When we brought her into a colony, she continued to lay low. Literally. A tree dweller, she would disappear into any hiding place above our heads on the catwalk or cat trees. She tended to stay away from other cats, preferring her own company.

By the way she ducked anytime we tried to pet her, we guessed she had been slapped. But she loved human touch and would turn her back so she could get pets but not have to watch hands coming at her. Her love of touch told us she was once someone’s adored, fluffy little kitten before things went terribly wrong. It was truly a case of Feline PTSD.

Some of us made friends with her, but it wasn’t until Hope walked in that Nora’s eyes lit up. Hope is a college student and wanted a kitty companion to help support her in her studies. After just a couple of visits, Nora was no longer hiding in the trees but running down to meet Hope!

After her adoption, Nora, now Flynn, slept and slept, seeming not to want to play. We think now she was catching up for all the time she was lost, finally able to relax in her forever home. She had just a few weeks to settle in before Hope, who hails from the East Coast, went back home for Thanksgiving. We thought it might be less stress to come back to stay with us than fly, but Flynn seemed heartbroken. We were so glad when Hope returned to retrieve her.

Since then, Flynn has become quite the traveler. She went back and forth for a couple of times before Hope made another move, this time to Vermont. Each time it got a little easier, as she got to snuggle in Hope’s jacket and eat treats on the way.

Flynn graduated through all our Kitty Personalities, from hidden Private Eye to Snuggle Bunny and now to Hope’s Kitty Secretary, helping her with her computer science studies. Her beautiful pastel tortoiseshell fur is thick and full. She’s back to her energetic self, stealing Hope’s hair ties and making a secret stash under the bed. She snuggles on Hope’s shoulder every night, purring her to sleep.

Her next big adventure is exploring beautiful Vermont, after Hope trains her to walk on a harness. Hope says, “I am so grateful for Happy Cats for bringing her to me.” We are also grateful this once-lost sweetheart is now completely found, with Hope in her life!