Lewis IF048-22

Physical Description

Lewis is a raggedy looking slinky street cat who is the definition of lean (but not mean). He has flecks of white/grey fur amongst his all-black coat, and it truly looks like he is an old man going grey. The vet estimated his age to be between 6 and 8, so we went with 7 as an estimate.

Known History & Temperament

We’re not sure what Lewis’s story is prior to his arrival in the pound. He was a scaredy boy in there, but was able to be patted. After he came into foster care he just did a lot of hissing and swiping. This is easing off slightly now, but he still has a lot of hissing to give. At first, he acted like he wanted to be friends with the other cats in his current foster home. Sadly though, they were too mean to him (some in particular were more mean than others), and now he mostly hisses and swipes out at them. It’s got a bit silly now and he will do a half-hearted swipe/chase before remembering there are more important things in life – like when his foster carer is going to get the food out and fill his bowl.

Despite his ‘mean’ exterior, Lewis appears to be a bit of a sweetheart, and enjoys a good brush (as long as you don’t try to brush around his hips/tail area), and a pat. He doesn’t mind being picked up, though he won’t just sit there contentedly for hours on end. He’ll start to wonder quickly what the point of you picking him up was.

Currently he has to be carried to the litter trays because he doesn’t like running the cat gauntlet past all the other cats to get there. If he had a tray all his own, he would be absolutely fine using it.

Cattitude Level

• Shy, gentle, tentative
• Loves snuggle time, but also ‘alone’ time
• Scared and shy – prefers cats to people

Interests and Hobbies

Lewis enjoys food most of all, but he absolutely loves curling up on the couch to sleep, or on his foster carer’s bed. He would much prefer to have a home of his own where he has the run of the house without fear of being swiped at or attacked (sadly he’s had a bit of that here). He is very good with his litter tray, and enjoys food time very much.

Dislikes

Lewis really doesn’t like being swiped and hissed at and attacked – and who could blame the boy, right? He gets quite threatened when legs are walking fast towards him, as if he’s been kicked before and fears it might happen again. Over time he will learn to trust your legs if you are a kind person to him, and will stop being so scared.

Purrfect Home

Lewis needs a home with cat savvy people who won’t be frightened by hissing and swiping out. He’s not a bitey boy (at least not with people), he just puts on a front of being macho and feisty so nobody will think they can push him around. He would be fine in a home with a small number of other friendly cats. He’s not the happiest in his current foster home, where there are far too many other cats he has to put up with.

Health Notes

We know that Lewis is FIV+, and his short-haired coat is quite rough, though it’s improving with near-daily brushes. He looks like he’s been through the wars, but looks a lot nicer after a good brush. Overall he seems to be in decent health, but he does have a tooth that needs to be extracted, which IFR will do for him in the near future.