KNOWN HISTORY:: Lived Indoors Previously lived with: 2 Adults, 2 Cats Behavior toward strangers: Stress meows, growls, hisses, swats Behavior toward children: Unknown Behavior toward cats: Friendly & outgoing but plays rough (can break skin) Behavior toward dogs: Unknown Bite or Scratch history: Previous bite incident on 1/6/26 – see potential challenges section for more info Litter box training: Yes, she is accustomed to having access to four uncovered litterboxes with unscented crystal or pine litter located in the living room, hallway, or bathroom of her home. Energy level/descriptors: Very High Energy Levels Other notes: Nemo is described as a friendly and affectionate indoor cat. She spends most of her time where her people are and enjoys playing by chasing, pouncing, or jumping on toys and feet. She also enjoys scratching on rough rope surfaces and cuddling with her people once she warms up to them. She eats both wet and dry food of various brands and enjoys dental treats. Nemo is known to display defensive behaviors and can be easily triggered. Enjoys having nails trimmed, coat brushed and is unbothered by being picked up, held, or placed in a carrier. Upon intake cat was stressed and fearful. Staff was unable to handle due to FAS and transferred her directly from the carrier to a den and placed her in kennel. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nemo was brought in as a stray, there is no known information on her behavior history in a home environment. Upon intake cat was stressed and fearful. Staff was able to scan for MC but not to collar. Cat was transferred into a den and placed in exam room.

ENRICHMENT NOTES:: 12/09/25 FB06 Nemo was in her den out of view. She pokes her head out as the kennel door is opened. Her eyes are wide and she is hissing. I slowly offer her treats on the scratcher and she swats. I closed the portal and lifted the den cover, she is still hissing, swats the glass. I offer her the scratcher under the glass, she swats it and continues to hiss. I ended the interaction and when I walked away she came out of the den and was peeking out of the cubby side of the kennel. 12/11/25 FB20 Nemo is coming out of her den when the kennel door is opened. When she sees the handler she softly hisses, and jumps up to her shelf to eat her wet food. Handler slow blinks and talks softly to her while she eats, and Nemo will pause to look up before resuming eating. 12/16/25 FB06 Nemo seems very stressed, non stop meowing, lunging and attacking the kennel door if the cage cover is lifted. I opened the cubby door to offer her some chicken but she had no interest and tried to push her nose out through the opening. I offered her the scratcher and she sniffed but continued to try and nudge the door open more. 12/16/25 ACFR Nemo was meowing loudly and repetitively, lunging and striking the glass as I approached the kennel. She continued this behavior as I sat in front of her kennel. After some time of slow blinking and softly speaking to her she calmed down, her meows became less intense and lowered in volume, body was notably less tense. I slowly opened the kennel door, she approached slowly, sniffed my hand and began head-bunting. I began to gently scratch her cheek and head. I continued the interaction for a minute and end the interaction early as to not overstimulate her. 12/18/25 FB61 Hunched in front of kennel, body and face tense with her ears forward. She stress meows very loudly upon initial approach, however if you hunch down in front of her and speak to her softly she begins to soften her vocalizations, she begins to slow-blink and she begins to rub against the kennel door. She LOVES to be spoken to, she eats all the treats offered and she plays with the toys offered! I did not attempt petting today as I don't feel she's ready at this time. I have seen ACS staff scratch her head and cheeks, which she leans in for! Has potential! 12/20/25 FB79 At the front of the kennel Neo is standing on her back legs/pawing at the glass, hissing, spitting, growling loudly and striking when the kennel cover was lifted. She had wide/dilated eyes and a tilted ear as she growls and grumbles louder when spoken to. Will request for GABA. 12/23/25 FB06 Nemo was on the ledge at the front eating and meowing between bites. Her eyes were neutral and ears forward. As the door is opened, she pokes her head out and sniffs my hand and then nudges it. She allows head petting and begins to purr. GAN

ACTIVITY LEVEL:: Lively

VOCAL:: Talkative

CHARACTER TYPE: : Bold,Shy ,Sweet,Affectionate,Demanding,Playful,Curious,Independent

POTENTIAL CHALLENGES:: Overstimulation,Rough play,Fearful,Very high energy level,Other,New home adjustment period

Potential challenges comments:: Previous bite incident on 1/6/26: Client reported that Nemo frequently exhibited sudden episodes of overstimulation, during which she would lunge at her and her partner. These incidents typically resulted in scratching which did not break skin. On 01/06/2026, the client was walking in her home when Nemo lunged at her randomly, biting her on the right calf. This left four puncture wounds and drew blood. She received treatment at New York Cardiovascular Medicine and was prescribed antibiotics. During her first stay in the shelter, Nemo initially presented with very high levels of FAS and displayed consistent defensive aggression when approached - lunging, hissing, growling and yowling loudly. As she settled into the shelter, was given Gabapentin, and worked with the behavior team, she began to warm up and would sit at the front of the cage vocalizing and head bunt the door, allowing some pets and generally was more open to interactions. Upon being adopted, she displayed more social behaviors than would have been expected by the behavior team. Her adopters stated "Nemo immediately forms a bond, she likes to cuddle, purr, knead and is very sweet and affectionate kitty. She likes to follow her human everywhere and remain in the vicinity. Nemo has a lot of separation anxiety when her human leaves the sight. Nemo tolerates bath quite well, no aggression. She likes her paws being touched and doesn’t mind being clipped. She likes brushing and chin scratches. She is indifferent about being picked up." However, in the home she also presented with behavior challenges that were not previously known as there was no prior history for her. He previous adopters noted: "Nemo gets easily overstimulated and sometimes attacks a nearest human. She screams in high pitch voice, and launches. She is triggered by large shapes, fast walking, especially towards her, waving large objects close to her face. She is perfectly fine with usual noise from a truck passing by, a vacuum, loud people in a hallway. It’s easy to calm Nemo down by throwing a blanket over her and talking to her in soothing voice. It’s best if a person tending to her is calm and not making fast moves.". Appearing to have multiple triggers which can be hard to minimize in daily life in a home, as well as being reported to dislike closed doors/confined spaced, Nemo repeated escalated to attacking/redirecting onto the humans in the home and scratching or biting while loudly yowling. It would be in the best interest of both her future adopters as well as Nemo to consult with a private vet about potentially starting her on long-term anxiety meds such as Prozac and potentially having a neurological/behavioral workup done with her. Please see GAN for counseling notes with previous adopters.

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 Nemo would do best in an adult-only home where they would be able to acclimate in a calm environment.

BEHAVIOR SUMMARY:: 12/04/25 On approach, Nemo is in her den and can be heard hissing and low growling from inside her den. When the assessor attempts to open the cage door initially, she pokes her head out and does an aborted lunge as she snarls and hisses hard. When the door is opened, she repeats this again and begins to growl and hiss consistently. The assessor then offers the scratcher tool out slowly and she reaches out from the den and swats the tool hard repeatedly as she snarls again. The interaction is ended to prevent even further escalation and pick up is not attempted. 12/22/25 Although Nemo did not allow petting or handling previously, through socialization attempts made by our staff, Nemo is now beginning to acclimate to the shelter environment. Nemo was standing in front of her kennel as the assessor approached, ears forward and fluffy tail raised in a question mark position. Nemo made eye contact when spoken to and she began kneading, vocalizing and head-butting the kennel door as the assessor crouched down in front of her. Nemo tolerated petting along her head and back after the kennel door was opened while leaning in, rubbing her cheeks all over and raising her tail. Nemo tried to push out of the kennel but the assessor did not allow it. Nemo appears to have the potential to escalate at this time as her tail does sway around and her body and face does remain tensed despite her leaning in and soliciting attention. Pick up was not attempted at this time to reduce stress. 01/14/26 Upon returning to the shelter on a bite quarantine, Nemo has adjusted much more quickly to the shelter environment and is consistently vocalizing to solicit attention, allows some pets, but appears very focused on getting out of the cage and can easily become frustrated (potentially escalating). On approach, Nemo is sitting at the front of the cage with a neutral face and body, ears forward, and vocalizing consistently to solicit attention as she rubs along the cage door. When the cage door is opened, she sniffs the hand offered, and accepts pets along her head and cheeks, as well as along her back with her tail raised and quivering. She steps closer to the front and appears very interested in the room, stepping up onto the assessor's hand to look over the edge of her kennel. As she seems to become more aware that she is able to jump out if wanted and is being prevented from doing so, her vocalizations change in tone to a deeper and seemingly more stressed sound. The assessor offers her treats which she eats quickly but cannot be distracted from getting out. As the door is closed, she attempts to push her way out multiple times and seems to get more frantic with the potential to escalate due to frustration. Pick up is not attempted. Due to behavior challenges identified in shelter as well as in her previous home, a previous bite incident, and history of repeated and unpredictable escalations directed at humans, the behavior team feels Rescue is her best pathway