KNOWN HISTORY:: Ginger Tea was brought in with limited information on his behavior history in a home environment. Ginger Tea lived with 20+ other cats in his previous home.

ENRICHMENT NOTES:: 4/5/26 PRIOR EVAL Ginger Tea is sitting upright at the back of his den, eyes wide, pupils dilated, and body tense as the assessor approaches. When the kennel door is opened and the den cover is lifted, he turns around, scrambling as if to flee. The assessor gives him a few moments to settle before attempting interaction again. When he is softly spoken to and petting is attempted with the scratcher tool, he is initially tolerant of all petting before attempting to flee again. Interaction is ended to reduce FAS. 4/10/26 Vol. In hidey box, able to see his side. Changed bedding - it looks like he peed outside of litter box. Put in treat bowl, no movement or reaction. Approached hidey box entry with hard treat on scratcher tool - no movement or response. Let rest, removed. Sweet talked a bit and left Feliway square. Ended interaction 4/17/26 Vol. In hidey box, could not see. Put in treat bowl, no movement or reaction. Approached with hard treat on scratcher tool, no movement or reaction. Let treat drop and tool rest, no reaction. Ended interaction. 4/18/26 Vol. In den, hissed when lifted cover. Offered dry treats on scratcher tool, left inside den opening. Ignored treats. Offered lickable treat on scratcher tool. Sniffed, swatted and hiss, closed door. Peered part of head out of den. Hissed again.  4/21/26 Vol. Hiding in his privacy den. Lunged at me when I tried to put a toy into his den. No interest in eating Squeeze-ups. Poked his head out of the den for a second and I tried to sweet-talk to him. Not interested in playing with the laser. Did swat a bit at the cat dancer. Never came out of the den. 4/24/26 Vol. Ginger tea was curled up inside den. When approached, he looked up with wide, partly dilated eyes. After a few moments, he retreated further into the den, out of sight. He did not respond when offered treats or toys, remaining silent and out of sight. 4/25/26 Vol. Curled up in den looking forward and slightly down. Changed water. Hissed. Offered dry treats on scratcher tool and left them inside den. Ignored treats. Offered lickable treat on scratcher tool. Moved back a little bit. I left a tray with a little bit of lickable treat. Stepped away momentarily to replace litterbox. Was at front of kennel eating lickable treat. Hissed when I lifted the shoreline, looking at me then went into den. I put in litterbox. Left tray with a little more lickable treat. 5/1/26 FB20 Ginger Tea is in his cubby laying sprawled out. When the door he squints his eyes and then begins slow blinking at handler who slow blinks back. Ginger Tea 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. He 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:: Moderate

VOCAL:: Quiet

CHARACTER TYPE: : Shy ,Timid,Skittish,Independent

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

Potential challenges comments:: Ginger Tea is an adult cat that may not have had many interactions with humans from an early age. He is very apprehensive of people and while showing no aggressive behaviors, he does attempt to flee and avoid human contact. It is difficult to predict if he 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. Ginger Tea has displayed fearful behavior during their stay in the care center and has displayed distance-increasing behavior with extended handling. Fear aggression can occur when a cat perceives a threat and may escalate if they cannot escape. A fearful cat will feel more relaxed when given options, so provide him with the chance to move closer, investigate, or interact with you. Be sure to offer incentive such as treats or play time whenever the cat makes a small positive step. Please speak to an adoption counselor for additional information on methods to desensitize your cat to their fear stimulus. Ginger Tea should be given a slow introduction to the home, one room at a time starting in a small room like a bathroom with food, litter and water because behaviors seen at the Care Center [shy, skittish, fearful, hides in den, will flee to avoid contact] strongly suggest that he will hide if allowed. Interact with him in this room until he seems sufficiently confident that you feel you can introduce him to the next part of the home without running the risk that he will hide. Please speak to an adoption counselor for additional information on methods to help introduce your cat to the home.

BEHAVIOR DETERMINATION: : Level 3

RECOMMENDATIONS:: No young children

Recommendations comments:: Ginger Tea has been very fearful and skittish during his stay at the care center and may be intimidated by very young children. No children under age 13, respectful older children only. Counselor discretion.

BEHAVIOR SUMMARY:: Ginger Tea is in the cubby, facing out, and immediately hissed when the kennel door was opened. When approached with treats and spoken to gently, he hissed again and hissed a third time when approached with a squeeze. During this time, he remained in place and appeared tense and stressed. Ginger Tea tolerates attention and petting but appears fearful or stressed in the shelter. He may be a little more independent and may need time to warm up to his new home. We recommend this cat go to a home with experienced cat parents. Due to the behavior shown, he may not be a great fit for young children. Any home with older children prepared to adopt this cat should conduct a thorough interaction and endeavor to monitor this cat around their children to prevent these behaviors from being reinforced.