ROKU Siamese & Domestic Short Hair Mix Grand Rapids, MI

In mid-November, 2015 pet groomer Shawnee M. alerted us to the plight of a cat in need that had been hanging around her house for a few weeks. Although she had set him up on her front porch, and he was camping out there quite contentedly in a heated cat house, she soon discovered that he had been kicked out by another stray, a wild child that wouldn’t let him back in. So she set him up in her garage for a few days, awaiting program intake, and the overwhelmed, exhausted fella slept like he hadn’t in ages! He had absolutely no interest in venturing further than his food dish and litter box, so Shawnee just let him rest and regain his strength. Although he was grateful, he had a hard time expressing his emotions, as he wasn’t used to anyone being decent to him; he grumbled and growled in spite of himself. After some research, his rescuer discovered that this stunning Siamese (born in late 2011) had been living in the area for a few years, sheltered by people’s garages and porches, being fed intermittently, but most of the time fending for himself. Given his history, it is no wonder that this gorgeous guy was a bit grumpy.

Once at the clinic, Roku decided that even though he wasn’t too keen on this whole TLC thing, that he did enjoy the endless supply of food and the creature comforts provided. Not a fan of other felines too much, he will tolerate them as long as they are not in too close of proximity; however since we house on average 90 cats at Crash’s, he won’t be able to go very far without encountering another cat. One good thing though is that Roku now finds us humans more tolerable, though if he has had enough petting or attention slathered on him, he will gently slap your hand away or nibble at your fingers, though not once has he attempted to scratch or chomp:) We feel given his strong personality and the fact that he is very set in his ways, he will do best in a solo home, but one where he isn’t expected to be a lap cat, because that just isn’t his thing. Don’t get me wrong, Roku really is a nice boy, but he is stubborn and independent—and obviously these traits served him well, in his past, so we can’t begrudge him that. We have no worries that in time, with patience and stability, Roku will understand and accept our kindness whole heartedly, so we will continue to dish it out in small doses. Each resident in our rescue deserves to have his or her care tailored to meet their individuals needs, and Roku is no exception. We will consider him a work in progress and continue to provide him the affection he may not know he wants but most definitely needs, until his forever family comes along.