[pwaxen@yahoo.com]
I first saw Pearl at a pet store where the local shelter was running a weekend adoption clinic. I held her for a while, but we just didn't bond. Two weeks later, I went to the shelter and she was there. It was near the end of September and I was told that they did not adopt out black cats in October (to avoid Halloween abuses that might befall a black cat). I wanted a black cat and she was the only one so I took her.
For some time I had my doubts. She had been in a home with other cats and the report said that she didn't get along with them. Grace and Dill sniffed her over, hissed and when Pearl didn't hiss back, decided she was probably alright. She was very evasive - not so much afraid as aloof. It took nearly a year for Pearl to decide that I might be useful as her own personal back scratcher. Now, she helps me brush my teeth in the morning.
She likes visitors, but prefers to observe them from a safe distance.