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A couple of weeks before Christmas, we noticed a little kitty darting under our house. This kitty was extremely skittish and would not let us come near but would gobble up the food and water we left out.

When the forecast called for very cold weather, we contacted a shelter and a wonderful woman from there brought us a trap. After bringing our little "Cassie" to the vet to be spayed, we brought her home and put her in our spare room so she could be warm and quiet while she recovered.

KITTEN. PHOTO: ADOBE STOCK / RAI

At first, she wanted nothing to do with any human contact, and I worried that she would never come out from under the bed. My husband told me to be patient and she would come around. We eventually started letting one of the other kitties (we nicknamed him the ambassador) in with her.

When he was in the room, she would come out with us in the room. After a few weeks of this, she would let us touch her if we moved very slowly. She also became very fond of our lab/malamute dog, and would follow him out of her room for short trips.

Now after almost three months, she spends her days playing with our other cats and dogs, and not only tolerates being pet, but seeks us out. We are guessing that she must have been abandoned at a very young age, with no interaction with humans or other animals.

PHOTO: PATRICIA FROM PARKS, AZ

At almost a year old now, she plays like a kitten and is very small but has the heart of a lion. We love her little polydactyl paws and calico coloring. She is a perfect example of what love and a lot of patience will do. Although we were not looking to add to our number of four cats and two dogs, we are so happy to have Cassie be part of our family.

Story submitted by Patricia from Parks, Arizona.

This story was originally shared on The Animal Rescue Site. Share your very own rescue story here!