KNOWN HISTORY:: Mints was brought in from a hoarding situation with limited information on her behavior history in a home environment.

ENRICHMENT NOTES:: 3/24/25 FB61 Lying in litterbox upon approach, body and face tense, pupils dilated and feet and tail tucked. She hisses when offered some treats and she hisses again and begins to shift her weight when offered a catnip toy. I close the kennel door to grab some squeeze-ups, and when I open the kennel again to place the treats in front of her she retreats very quickly to her main kennel space, body and tail low. Not interested in interaction at this time - evasive and displays distance increasing behaviors. 3/28/25 FB79 Inside of his bed, Mints lifts her head when she hears me open the kennel door; she has forward ears but really wide/dilated eyes. She has no reaction when i speak to her as she watches me closely and when i bring the tool closer for pets she hisses and her ears start to tilt - Mints very quickly retreats into the cubby with a low body/tail. 4/3/25 FB58 Laying in litter box with a tense face and body, ears tilted and eyes wide and dilated. She hisses each time petting is attempted and she is touched with the tool. Gaba is started today to see if this helps with socialization attempts. 4/6/25 Vol Mints was in the litter box compartment, lying behind the litter box. I put treats near her and she hissed at me. I went away to get Squeeze Up. When I returned and opened the kennel door, she ran to her bed in the main compartment. She hissed at me and ran to the shelf. She hissed every time I spoke to her. I did not try to pet her because she seemed uninterested in interacting with me today. 4/10/25 FB58 In her hide box and hisses with a tense face and body when the door is opened. I offer her a tray with chicken and squeeze up and place it near the front of the box and close the door to let her eat in peace. When I check back later, she has not touched it. 4/16/25 FB61 She is lying in her hidey box, head resting on floor with pupils dilated and ears tilted. She watches me as I leave her treats and a catnip toy and she remains frozen in place when spoken to, ears flattening further. She does not engage with the offerings and I keep the interaction brief to reduce stress. 4/22/25 FB61 Mints displayed the same behaviors as previous sessions for the duration of this session. 4/30/25 FB58 In den and pokes her head out, pauses for a moment and then hisses at me with a tense face. I offer squeeze up near the den portal and when I check back she hasn't does it or the dry treats I left. 5/02/25 FB61 Mints has been showing consistent behaviors in our care center and has not shown improvement with daily interactions or enrichment offered. For this reason, the feline behavior team is going to discontinue recording daily behavior notes in Shelter Buddy. She is still going to receive daily enrichment and we will continue to monitor their behavior. Notes will resume if we notice any changes in behavior.

ACTIVITY LEVEL:: Subdued

VOCAL:: Quiet

CHARACTER TYPE: : Shy ,Timid,Skittish,Independent

POTENTIAL CHALLENGES:: Fearful,New home adjustment period,Adult cat socialization

Potential challenges comments:: Mints is an adult cat that may not have had many interactions with humans from an early age. She is very apprehensive of people and she does attempt to avoid human contact. It is difficult to predict if she will respond to socialization but we recommend offering high value treats and food to help build a positive association to humans. Please be mindful that older cats will require more time and skill in order for them to be comfortable around people. Please speak to an adoption counselor to learn more about socialization techniques.

BEHAVIOR DETERMINATION: : New Hope Only

RECOMMENDATIONS:: Adult only home

Recommendations comments:: Due to the behavior seen in shelter and needing a longer time to warm up, the behavior team feels Mints would do best in an adult-only home where they would be able to acclimate in a calm environment.

BEHAVIOR SUMMARY:: 3/15/25 Inside of her den, Mints can be heard hissing when the assessor opens the kennel door; she is pressed up to the back of the den with wide eyes and a tense crouched body. Mints hisses when the scratcher tool is slowly introduced into the den for petting and continues to harshly hiss when the tool is brought down her back. Mints tolerates very brief petting on her head and cheeks before she snaps her head over and harshly hisses as well as wraps she tail around her body tightly and begins to lip lick. Pick up was not attempted at this time. 4/15/25 Upon re-eval, Mints is siting in her hide box with a tense face and body and begins to hiss consistently when the assessor slowly offers out the scratcher tool. When contact is made with the tool, she tenses and flinches away hissing more and at times nipping at the tool. She then runs out of the hide box and into the cubby, when the assessor slowly attempts to touch her once more with the tool, she again flees and runs up onto the shelf and then into the hide box. She is avoidant and fearful of touch and does not allow handling at this time. The interaction is ended and pick up is not attempted. Mints is displaying behaviors that preclude placement in the adoptions room and/or may require further investigation before placement in a home. She has tried to is extremely fearful in the shelter environment and does not currently tolerate petting or handling. The behavior department feels that placement with a New Hope Partner is the best option at this time.