KNOWN HISTORY:: Indoor Cat Previously lived with: 2 adults Behavior toward strangers: She is reported to be curious. She will swat and hide initially but warms up before 2 weeks with strangers. Behavior toward children: No experience Behavior toward cats: No experience Behavior toward dogs: No experience Energy level/descriptors: High Bite or Scratch history: History of scratching/biting due to overstimulation (See potential challenges section) Other notes: Hazel is indoor only friendly, affectionate, very active and playful cat that prefers contact on her own terms. She spends most of her time by the window, kitchen, and garage. Hazel enjoys playing with bugs and will chase and pounce on toys. She also stalks and pounces on feet and will fetch items. She had access to cardboard and wood as a starching surface. Hazel previously had access to one uncovered litter box with scented litter located in the basement. They have never attempted to trim her nails or brush her coat so it's unsure how she'll react. When picked up and placed in a carrier she will struggle/squirm and stress meow. Upon intake, counselors were initially able to pet Hazel, scan for M/C, and place an ACC collar without issues. At that time, she displayed signs of FAS like dilated pupils and attempted to hide in the corners of the carrier. However, her behavior did not escalate further. Counselors then transported Hazel, while still in her carrier. After hearing the other cats in the room, Hazel began lunging inside the carrier, hissing, growling, and swatting. Due to her escalation and the carrier no longer being appropriate for safe handling, counselors returned to transfer her into a den. While in the carrier, Hazel continued to swat, bite, and lunge through the carrier when anything passed by. Given her level of escalation, Feline Behavior staff assisted with the transfer. They were able to safely net Hazel and place her into a den.

ENRICHMENT NOTES:: 6/26/26 FB79 Inside of the den, Hazel is perched with her paws straight out and when i lifted the den cover she hissed with her eyes wide and her ears titled. When i spoke to her she lip licked and when i tried to speak again she hissed again slightly lunging forward. I didnt attempt any contact today and spoke to her while slow blinking as she settled down and not further reaction. However, her body remained tense with her eyes wide and her her shoulders hunched in. 7/08/26 FB61 Loafed in front of kennel, body and face relaxed with her front paws folded neatly in front of her body and her expression soft. She begins vocalizing as she sees me and she stands up to greet me as the kennel door opens. She allows petting along her head and body while leaning in, arching her back and tilting her ears. She is currently displaying some conflicted behaviors; however she did not escalate further even with an extended petting session (using the tool). She may however not be escalating quickly due to a reduced energy level from her URI diagnosis. Will continue to monitor! She is very round and cute. 7/11/26 FB47 Hazel is asleep with her back to the kennel door. As I open the door she lifts her head, turns to look at me, meows and bobs her head hello. With some maneuvering she gets up. I baby talk to her as she walks across the front of the kennel rubbing her body against it making little chirps. She accepts face and body touch with the tool. I give her neck scritches and face rubs with my hand for a while. She seems like maybe a social eater, going towards her food repeatedly as we interact. 7/14/26 FB61 Standing in front of kennel, body and face relaxed with her ears forward and her tail raised. She steps forward to greet me as the kennel door opens and she allows petting along her head and body with the scratcher while leaning in, arching her back and keeping her tail high in the air as it becomes pilo-erect along the base. She's been doing well... she plays with the catnip toy offered by rolling over onto her side and bunny kicking it. So cute. So round. So playful. 7/14/26 Vol. She was in her den when I approached the kennel. Once she saw I had dried treats she came out to the front of her kennel. Her eyes were dilated but her ears were in a neutral position. She ate the treats right away. I ended up playing with her with a toy on a stick. She jumped around and tried to get the toys. She never went for my hand just the toy itself. We did this for about 2-4 minutes. Eventually, I took the toy away, left her some more dried treats, and she went back into her den. 7/17/26 FB79 While inside of her den, Hazel is out of sight but slowly walks out when she hears me greet her through the glass; she had a mid level tail as she entered the cubby and started to pace back and forth. She didnt tolerate any petting when i brought the tool in and jumped to the top of the kennel where she perched with a neutral face/body. Her tail stated GAN

ACTIVITY LEVEL:: Moderate

VOCAL:: Somewhat chatty

CHARACTER TYPE: : Social,Affectionate,Playful,People oriented,Curious,Skittish

POTENTIAL CHALLENGES:: Overstimulation,Other,New home adjustment period

Potential challenges comments:: It's uncertain when Hazel’s last bite/scratch incident was, but it's mainly due to being overstimulated with pets. The client reported that Hazel could become overstimulated when petted for too long, mainly around her backside. The client stated that Hazel has scratched them in the past, resulting in broken skin, and has also nipped at them, though the nips have never broken skin. They were unable to provide the exact number of incidents but noted that there have not been any recent incidents, as they now avoid petting her for a long period of time and stated she is a very sweet cat. Hazel is social and affectionate but appears to be easily overstimulated. She was noted to display this consistently in her previous home and also presented clear signs during her evaluation at the shelter. As a result of this behavior, we recommend adopters who are familiar with signs of behavioral arousal and agitation in cats, so that interactions can be ended before Hazel becomes overstimulated. We also recommend fishing pole-type toys for play as they allow for interaction and vigorous, stimulating exercise while keeping human hands at a distance. 7/29/26 At the time of her re-evaluation, Hazel has returned from her foster stay after a week due to the foster parent having an emergency. She initially came to the front of the cage and would solicit and accept head and cheek pets, leaning into the touch before jumping back quickly. Or would then allow some pets along her back with the assessor's hand before repeating the same types of behaviors with no hissing or growling, and no further escalation. The assessor was wary of pushing her and switched to the scratcher tool and lured her into the cubby to add more linens to her cage (keeping the linens that smelled like her). When she was let back out, she was immediately tense and hissed before jumping up onto the shelf and continuing to hiss, not allowing any more touch and swatting at the tool when it attempted to make contact with her. At this time, due to her behaviors not being consistent and her switching from soliciting pets and leaning in with limited escalation to quickly escalating to hissing and swatting with a minor environmental change, the assessor has elected to make her NHO as we continue to observe her. 8/5/26 Her Foster Parent noted that during her 1 week stay, that she can resort to escalation when startled and overstimulated. She indicated that Hazel was "definitely not ready to be pet, but does enjoy scritchies from a little backscratcher we used. She did hiss if our hands got too close to her, but was always excited to play when we entered her spaces and curiously sniffed us.". Hazel will take time to adjust to her new environment and family, and will require adopters comfortable with a curious and social cat that has boundaries that need to be learned, managed and respected.

BEHAVIOR DETERMINATION: : New Hope Only

RECOMMENDATIONS:: No other cats OR multi-cat home with adopters experienced with introducing new cats,Adult only home

Recommendations comments:: Due to Hazel's reported history of escalating to scratching/nipping when overstimulated as well as her fearfulness in the shelter and no prior experience living with children, the feline behavior team recommends she is adopted into an adult only home. Hazel has not lived with other animals before and was noted to escalate to lunging/swatting/hissing when she heard other cats in a new room. However during her evaluation, there were other cats vocalizing around her and a neighboring cat hovering a paw very close to her, and she appeared completely unbothered. It is possible this was a stress response upon intake to the shelter, however any introductions with resident cats in the home should be done slowly and properly.

BEHAVIOR SUMMARY:: 6/24/26 Upon approach, Hazel is inside of her den. She emerges when the kennel door is opened and walks to the front, her eyes bright and alert and her ears forward. She is offered treats but doesn't take them, immediately beginning to rub her head on the assessor's scratcher tool. The assessor uses the tool to pet her head, the sides of her face and along her body. She walks back and forth, rubbing against it, purring and soliciting the attention. She is pet with it on her belly and shows no reaction. After a few seconds, her tail begins to flick at increasing speed. When the tool passes over her again, she whips her head and swats at it with her claws descended. After this, she sits down in a resting position at the front of the kennel. The assessor closes the door and tests her reaction to placing the scratcher back through the bars, and she instantly rubs her head into it, continuing to solicit petting, however her tail is thumping against the floor and her back is twitching slightly. Due to the signs of escalating overstimulation, pick up is not attempted. 7/29/26 On approach, she is sitting up on the shelf and eating her dry food, face and body neutral, with ears forward. She scratches at the cage door and comes down to the front of the cage on her own as the door is opened. The assessor offers her some dry treats and she begins to eat, accepting some pets along her head and cheeks with her tail raised, before she tenses and backs away with eyes wide and a wary face. She returns to the front and continues to accept touch/pets on her head and some pets along her back before tensing and stepping back seeming to be wary and unsure of the pets. She continues to eat treats and tolerates pets with the tool, tail raised and swishing somewhat- and is coaxed into the cubby with treats. The assessor quickly adjusts her cage so she has softer linens and also still has the linens that smell like her accessible. When she is let out of the cubby, she is immediately tense and hisses with eyes wide and dilated, sniffing the linens and jumps up onto the shelf. When the assessor offers the scratcher tool, she hisses and swats the tool as she remains avoidant of touch. When the assessor attempts to pet one more time, she again hisses and swats at the tool, and pick up is not attempted. Upon returning to the shelter after a short stay in a foster home, Hazel initially seems to be more open to interactions and touch - however, after a minor change to her cage (adding more linens while keeping linens that smell like her), her demeanor shifts quickly and she no longer tolerates touch - escalating to hissing and swatting. Due to Hazel now giving conflicting behaviors and limited warning signs, the behavior team has elected to make her New Hope Only and continue to monitor her reactivity to touch and her environment for improvement, and to ensure she displays behaviors that can be consistently understood and monitored by potential adopters.