KNOWN HISTORY:: Lived Indoors Previously lived with: 2 Adults, 1 Child Behavior toward strangers: known to be fearful and timid for a couple of minutes, he is not known to be playful. Behavior toward children: has lived with a 15 y/o and was known to be relaxed and affectionate, will play softly. Behavior toward cats: Unknown Behavior toward dogs: Unknown Bite or Scratch history: Chester bit his owner on 10.07.24, the owner stated that they were trying to feed him some treats and when they squatted to the floor, Chester scratched and bit them. Both drew blood and Chester frequently attacked the previous owner. Litter box training: Yes, He uses an uncovered litterbox with clumping litter. Energy level/descriptors: Low Energy Level Other notes: Chester is an independent and distant cat. He has low energy and enjoys following family around the home. He can often be found sitting nearby as well. He enjoys playing with balls and stuffed animals. He is an indoor only cat who is fed twice a day, eating both wet and dry foods. He sleeps in his bed normally. He will scratch on couches/curtains and his scratching post made of rope. Chester is known to scratch or bite the previous owner, often times surrounding feeding times or after being pet. Does scratch the couch and cries a lot on car rides. Fearful during baths, isn't bothered during brushing. Enjoys being picked up and held. Upon intake, Chester was meowing loudly. His pupils were dilated and the maintained a close body. Counselors were able to pick him up and place him into cat den. Once in the den, he began low growling at sounds in the room and he hissed at the sight of the den cover being put on.

ENRICHMENT NOTES:: 10/14/24 FB79 Inside his den, Chester peaks his head out when he hears me speak; he has soft neutral eyes and forward ears. He steps out and his with his tail loosely wrapping around his leg and he watches and listens to me speak. I don't attempt touch atm but I toss in a few treats which he slowly makes his wat over to and begins to enjoy. 10/17/24 FB79 Super cute today! Sitting in front by his cubby door, Chester greets me with a low meow and harsh head bunt; he leans in and lays on his side enjoying the cheekie rubs as well as some pets on his side. He wasn't really interested in treaties i offered but i left them and a few toys for later. 10/19/24 FB79 Watching from the top of his kennel on the shelf, Chester has a neutral face/body with forward eyes and almond eyes. Didn't really have any interest in treats or pets and remained still when i tried to coax him down - he tolerated pets with the tool with no reaction. I left some toys and treats that i later see he steps down to enjoy. 10/23/24 FB58 Laying next to his den with a neutral face and body and watching me with ears forward. When I open the cage door, he approaches the front with his tail raised and sniffs the hand offered to him before he ducks his head and accepts pets. He leans his head and cheeks into my hand and sniffs the toy I offer him before he eats the treats placed down in front of him and continues to allow pets even in front of the treats. Later, he begins to play with the toy as well. 10/29/24 FB1261 Lying in cubby, face neutral with head resting on floor. He is pretty lethargic it appears and he has an under the weather sign on his kennel. He is not interested in the treats I offer today (might not have much of an appetite) and when I attempt petting with the scratcher tool he tilts his ears and squints his eyes. I keep the interaction brief at this time and I cannot be certain how much his URI is currently affecting his behavior. 10/31/21 FB79 Inside his kennel, Chester has a neutral face/body and he stands with a mid level tail when i approach. He sticks his head through the cubby door opening and has soft almond eyes as he head bunts my hand for some pets on his head and on his cheek that he leans into as his tail slightly raises. He sniffs and enjoys the treats that i place down and goes back to trying to solicit attention by leaning in and head bunting. Really sweet boy. 11/4/24 FB79 So silly boy! Chester is sitting a the front of his kennel with a neutral face/body watching as i interact with neighboring cats. When i approach his kennel she stands and meets in with his head poking through the cubby opening when when i open the cubby door he sticks his head out head bunting and accepting lots of cheek rubs. With wide eyes he scans the room some more and then begins to enjoy the treats that i place down for him.

ACTIVITY LEVEL:: Moderate

VOCAL:: Somewhat chatty

CHARACTER TYPE: : Bold,Social,Sweet,Affectionate,People oriented,Curious,Timid,Independent

POTENTIAL CHALLENGES:: Overstimulation,Rough play,Fearful,Other,New home adjustment period

Potential challenges comments:: On 10.07.2024 1 pm Alma Lira was pouring food in Chester's food bowl in the kitchen. While she was crouched down Chester then suddenly without warning, scratched Lira's both of her forearms and then bite her right palm. Chester then continued to scratch her legs, and she was able to run away out of the room. Chester stayed in the kitchen and didn't follow her. All scratches and the bite broke skin and drew blood. Chester has scratched Alma Lira's son before for the same reasons. He was trying to feed the cat the same day, because Alma Lira was scared to feed the cat herself. There was a language barrier, and it is unsure if this scratch drawn blood or not. Client stated the incident with her was the only incident that drew blood. It appears that the common trigger for the bite/scratch incidents with his family is food and feeding time (additionally, he did not follow the client when she ran, he remained in the kitchen where his food was located). Some cats can exhibit Food Aggression which can be characterized by pronounced possessiveness and focus on food. It can involve; a close guarding of the food bowl, biting or hissing during meals, presenting warning signs to people and pets such as growling or puffing up, stealing food or breaking through food packaging, or persistently begging for food. Food aggression can have some medical causes as well as environmental/behavior causes (being weened too early, living with multiple cats and being feed closely together, a history of food insecurity, etc.). Behavior modification for these types of behaviors centers around mimicking a cat's instinctive eating behavior in a natural setting - both the "hunt, kill/eat, sleep" cycle as well as multiple smaller meals throughout the day, or use an automatic feeder that dispenses food at preprogrammed times allowing for the cat to have structure and security in when the food is being provided (as well as a hands off approach to providing dry food). Chester was previously fed twice a day, eating both wet and dry foods. Feeding multiple small portions of dry food throughout the day may help Chester to be less focused on food as a resource. Providing a feeding station in a calm and quiet space where the cat can eat away from any environmental stressors can also assist in remedying some potential causes or additional triggers. Chester is a cat that has a limited threshold for touch and pets and was reported by the client that he has a history of playing rough, and would swat/nip when played/pet for too long. Update 11/8/24: Chester has been on Gabapentin for almost a month (10/17/24) due to behavior and has improved greatly, having a much higher tolerance for petting, leaning into the touch and rolling onto his side to rest his head on the Behavior Staff's hand. He allows interactions while treats are present in the cage and allows to be lifted up and back down w/o issue. The Behavior Team highly recommends Chester remains on gabapentin in the future

BEHAVIOR DETERMINATION: : New Hope Only

RECOMMENDATIONS:: Adult only home

Recommendations comments:: Chester has previously lived with a 15-year-old child and was known to be relaxed and affectionate. However, due to the behavior/bite history and behavior seen in shelter, the Feline Behavior team feels Chester would do best in an adult-only home.

BEHAVIOR SUMMARY:: On approach, Chester is sitting at the front of his cage and hisses when he sees the assessor approach, eyes wide and dilated, tense face and body. When the cubby door is opened, he pokes his head into the cubby and sniffs the scratcher tool that is offered out. He tolerates pets on his head and leans into pets along his head and cheeks, turning to watch and tensing when pet past his shoulders. He shows some signs of overstimulation with his tail flicking and his fur rippling as well as watching the tool as he is pet. When the assessor places some treats down, he quickly begins to eat the treats but begins to growl, grumble, hiss and reach out with his paws to swipe the tool away. His fur again begins to twitch and ripple, and his tail flicks back and forth as he turns to look at the tool and hiss. Pick up is not attempted and the interaction is ended to prevent further escalation. After he is given a moment to settle down, the assessor approaches again and when the cubby door is opened and tool offered, he comes down from his perch on top of his den and approaches the tool curiously, ears forward and tail raised. He head bunts the tool and leans in for cheek rubs before turning and hissing at the tool, more signs of his regular threshold for touch without food or treats involved. While the behavior team continues to believe that Rescue placement is the best choice for Chester, due to being on behavior medication he has made improvements (please see Potential Challenges section for more details on the behavior medication). On approach, Chester is laying at the front of the cage with a neutral face and body, ears forward. When the cage door is opened, he accepts and leans into all pets with a relaxed face and body. Even when he is offered treats, he eats a few pieces before turning and continuing to solicit attention and lean into pets with his tail raised. He allows the assessor to lift him up and place him back down without issue. Although he has made these improvements, the information in the paragraph below still holds true. Due to prior owner history (see separate notes) and a bite/scratch history we feel that this cat will do best being made New Hope Only. The feline Behavior Team feels that along with overstimulation, Chester has food aggression which will require a significant commitment to behavior modification as well as a risk of future bite/scratches as the behavior team was provided with limited info regarding his feeding set up, any potential further environmental triggers. Chester is displaying behaviors that preclude placement in the adoptions room and/or may require further investigation before placement in a home. The behavior department feels that placement with a New Hope Partner is the best option at this time.