Penelope

Penelope has done a fair bit of waiting. This one-year-old black-and-white girl arrived at the shelter as a very young mother, worn thin from raising a litter, and she's been holding out for a home of her own ever since. She comes straight to the kennel door when someone stops by, leans her head into their hands and purrs, and cheek scratches are the way to her heart. She is also sensitive, and her tail tells the story: once it starts to swish, she has had enough, and a slow, easy pace keeps things sweet. Kennel life and noisy neighbors wear on her, and she's tense around other cats, so she'd do best as an only cat, or with very slow introductions, with adopters who know how to read her cues. She tends to eat too fast and does well with a slow-feeder bowl and the sensitive-stomach diet she's been on. A few suitors have come calling, but she's still waiting for the one who takes her home.