KNOWN HISTORY:: Previously lived with: 1 adult, 2 children (ages 6 and 9) Behavior toward strangers: When around strangers, Silva is curious, tolerant, shy/timid, warms up before two weeks, prefers contact on his own terms, and nips. Once comfortable, he is friendly, outgoing, plays gently, and curious. Behavior toward children: When around children, Silva is curious, tolerant, hides initially, warms up before two weeks, actively avoids, and plays gently. Behavior toward cats: Silva has no experience around other cats. Behavior toward dogs: Silva has no experience around dogs. Bite or Scratch history: No reported bite history. Litter box training: Yes, there is one litter box in the home located in the living room, uncovered with scented litter. History of spraying. Energy level/descriptors: Low Energy Level Other notes: Silva is described as friendly, affectionate, quiet, and lazy. He spent his time indoors, like in the bedroom or at the window. He likes to play rough, chase and pounce on toys, chases bugs, and will fetch toys. Silva gets interactive playtime twice a day. He did not have a scratching post. The previous owner stated that their favorite thing about Silva is that he is a "Chill" kind of cat. He was fed Friskies wet food and he loved Temptations treats Upon intake, cat allowed staff to pick up and scan for microchip. Collaring was attempted but cat wanted to find a hiding spot. Initial eval moved to Known history due to limited space: 4/13/25 Inside of the den, Silva has wide dilated eyes, tilted ears and a tightly wrapped tail; when the den cover is lifted for a better view. He has no interest in the treats that were offered and when the assessor slowly brought their hand into the den he flinched and backed himself into the corner in attempted to avoid contact. Silva started to lip lick as his eyes started to dilate more and when being pet on his head his ears flattened to his head as he looked around the den for an exit. However, he remained still/tolerant throughout the interaction without any further escalation with a tense hunched body. Pick up was not attempted at this time to limit FAS.

ENRICHMENT NOTES:: 4/23/25 FB61 Lying in litterbox, body and face tense and pupils dilated. He avoids eye contact when I open the kennel door and when I give him a valerian root scented toy he growls and hisses. I slow-blink a few moments, remove the toy and end the session. Not a fan of valerian. Doesn’t show interest in treats today. 4/30/25 FB61 In cat den upon approach, tense with head lowered and pupils dilated. He raises his head and hisses when I open the kennel door and he remains focused on me as I offer treats, ears flattening completely. I speak to him softly and slow-blink before I close the kennel door again. He does not eat the treats during or after our session. 5/2/25 FB79 Inside of his den, Silva is curled up with soft eyes, forward ears and a wrapped tail; he has no reaction when i speak and immediately swats at the tool when i slowly bring it into the den. He strikes the tool multiple times with force as he sits up watching closely for any more movement - his eyes are now dilated and when the tool was used to attempt contact once again he strikes multiple times and harshly hisses. 5/5/25 Vol. Silva was lying down in his den. I put my hand inside and he hissed at me. I placed Squeeze Up outside the den and he walked out to eat it. He allowed me to pet him as he ate. I gave him some more Squeeze Up. When he finished, he went back into the den and I saw him looking out at me. 5/11/25 Vol. Silva was soliciting attention from various people in the room, rubbing against the kennel door whenever anyone looked in his direction. When I went over to begin interacting with him, Silva was curled up in his bed. I put Squeeze Up and Temptations near him, which he ate. He allowed me to pet him as he snacked. When he finished eating, he gave my hand a couple of taps with his paw. He didn’t try to scratch me, but I decided to use a pipe cleaner to interact with him. I waved it around and he swatted it playfully. Potential adopters should be aware that they should avoid letting Silva play with their hands. 5/16/25 FB79 Today, Silva displayed the same as the previous enrichment note. 6/22/25 Vol. Silva Before I went to see Silva, he was knocking on the glass door, as if he were running in place or on a treadmill. He stopped and went to lie down in his bed. Later on, I opened the door and put a tray of Squeeze Up inside. He ate it all and then made gently swatting movements towards me. I ended the interaction so as not to escalate his possible over stimulation. I tied a pipe cleaner to his door and he swatted and played with that. He is a very playful cat who just needs to be monitored for over stimulation. 7/17/25 FB79 Behind his box, Silva pokes his head up when i open the kennel door and speak, he quickly runs forward with a high tail and attempted to jump out - after stopping hi with my arm he head bunts and leans into my body enjoying all pets as he moved back and forth soliciting more attention with wide eyes.

ACTIVITY LEVEL:: Energetic

VOCAL:: Somewhat chatty

CHARACTER TYPE: : Social,Demanding,Playful,People oriented,Curious,Independent

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

Potential challenges comments:: Silva would rarely defecate outside of the litterbox, maybe twice in the past 2 years. He would regularly spray around the home. There is one litter box in the home located in the living room. The litterbox is uncovered with scented litter. Silva does not see outside cats and there are no other cats in the home. The litterbox was scooped every 2-3 days. He had not seen the vet for the litter box issues and nothing was modified to fix accidents. Please note as well that Silva’s previous living situation may have contributed to that. We cannot be sure whether this behavior will continue in a different home environment, but we recommend that potential adopters be comfortable with management and modification techniques for elimination outside the litter box should this behavior continue in a home environment. 5/13/25 Upon re-assessment, it appears that Silva is unsure/wary of the scratcher tool and may be more reactive to it (swatting), and also shows signs of over stimulation (pilo-erect base of tail) and will reach up to swat at the assessor's hand or lightly nip when pet too long. 6/10/25 Silva's previous owner reports that he likes to play rough- these behaviors have been notice in shelter and are likely exacerbated by his high energy level as well as length of stay in shelter as he has been here since April. Since warming up, he has been observed somersaulting to the front of the cage and standing and pawing incessantly to get attention. He appears to be a very social cat and may have a shorter threshold for interactions/petting due to an excess of energy. He may have previously been played with using hands as he appears to hyper focus on them. The Feline Behavior Team feels that if he is given the chance to decompress in a larger space where he is played with multiple times a day with long distance toys, his reactivity will likely decrease. Clients should still be counselled and be capable of taking on his rough play and potential for overstimulation. Scratch incident in shelter 7/2/25: Browsing client was with her daughter in the cat adoption rooms. Adoption counselor heard the child crying and went to see what happened. The parent, stated that her daughter was placing her fingers inside of the kennels and the cat Silva 223512 playfully swatted at the child's finger. The cat's nail punctured the daughter's skin on her right-hand index finger. The parent washed her daughter's hand with soap and water and was provided a Band-Aid by adoption staff. Upon evaluation (7/9/25) required before Silva is released from his DOH hold, he appears to be deteriorating and is now New Hope Only. The Behavior Team feels it is important to note that this determination is due to his deterioration likely due to his length of stay and not the scratch incident itself. Silva now no longer is tolerant of prolonged touch/petting and escalates past soft swats without nails.

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

BEHAVIOR SUMMARY:: 5/13/25 Upon re-eval, Silva is laying in his bed with a neutral face and body - he stands and approaches the front of the cage with his tail raised but backs away when the cage door is opened and the scratcher tool is offered out. He flinches and jumps back when the tool is slowly moved closer and uses both front paws to swat at the tool (without nails). He then begins to lean into the tool and accept pets on his head and cheeks before again jumping back and swatting at the tool with both front paws. The assessor give him a moment to settle down and when they return with bite gloves on, he is again laying curled up in his bed. When he notices the assessor, he stands and stretches forward, again approaching the front. He sniffs the hand offered out to him and accepts pets along his head and cheeks with his tail raised and the base piloerect. He leans into the touch and accepts the touch along his head and body for a minute or two before he begins to get overstimulated and raised his paws to begin to swat and nip at the gloved hand. Pick up was not attempted. 6/10/25 Upon re-eval, Silva is at the front of the cage and pawing at the glass, he comes over to the front of the cubby and sniffs the hand offered to him, accepting all pets and appearing to be sensitive to noises and movements in the room. He leans into touch and allows some pets along his back before he steps out of the cage and allows the assessor to pick him up and hold him before placing him in the cage. When they open the main cage door, he again sniff their hand and accepts some pets before he quickly turns to grab their arm with both front paws and bites their hand with mild pressure, holding for a second. The bite does not break skin but leave a small imprint for a moment. At times he will swipe at their arm with nails but again does not break skin, all of this appears to be play or high energy motivated. 7/9/25 Vocalizes on approach, sniffs hand and accepts cheek pets as he leans in for a moment before tensing and turning to swat without nails and hissing. He jumps on the shelf and eats treats offered, swatting at the assessor's hand again - they are able to make contact with the tool and he escalates to swatting at the tool multiple times and hissing. With the bite glove, when petting attempted - he again swats and nips at hand, as assessor waits and observes, he settles and moves forward but is startled and growls when they shift. He swats and holds their hand, pulling it towards him and nipping. Pick up not attempted. Silva is displaying behaviors that preclude placement in the adoptions room and/or may require further investigation before placement in a home. He has tried to swat, bite, is 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.