Panther has always been quite the scaredy cat ever since I rescued her as a kitten almost 3 years ago, habitually cautiously observing everything from a distance and very quick on her feet at even the slightest hint of motion towards her. This is probably also why she's deeply attached to my room, to me, and to the other cats from my first batch of rescues -- not too many things in this world make her feel safe, but we do. She's been even more elusive ever since the construction around the space I've been renting began. What used to be a space shared by just a few families surrounded by greenery has become surrounded by homes, and businesses, and construction. The number of threats surrounding our home have been drastically increasing making it riskier for them to get around, and even more difficult getting back home. Most nights my presence walking back towards our room is enough to have her darting out of one of her hiding spots mostly keeping pace with my feet, but also alternatingly staying back on the lookout for our neighbors dogs who also welcome me home, and dashing forward once she deems the coast to be clear. Some nights no trace of her can be seen.

The other day when I went home to feed them in the afternoon she was nowhere in sight but as I was leaving to return to school I caught a glimpse of her peeking out and dashing back in between the canvas tarpaulin and the galvanised iron sheets bordering the neighboring construction site. It took a bit of coaxing to get her to approach but eventually she let me carry her home to join the rest who were already pretty close to finishing off their food.

I've been urgently trying to acquire and develop property to create a permanent, safe, and loving environment for Panther and the rest of my furrmily here in El Nido. That still is the goal, the establishment of the El Nido Cat Sanctuary -- the first entity that will be performing the operations of an animal shelter in this remote rural island paradise, where the closest vet clinic used to be 5 hours away.

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El Nido Cat Sanctuary