A Psychologist with a Knack for Cats
Feb 16, 2022
In August 2017, Julie Nesheim became a PAWS Chicago foster, and since then, she’s changed the lives of 14 homeless cats, many with behavior issues.
And, as it turns out, her background as a school psychologist has come in pretty handy.
“Some of the behavioral strategies I learned in grad school, I applied to the cats. Like reinforcing the positive behaviors that you want to see. Providing a lot of structure. Planned ignoring. Setting boundaries,” said Julie.
For the past two months, Julie has been fostering a unique duo—Caspian and Pancake.
“I had been told that Caspian was extraordinarily shy and fearful, and that he had been in a home before and just kind of lived under the bed. He spent a lot of time hiding under the sofa at first. But as he got more comfortable, he started coming out while I was around. Now, he rarely hides. I think he likes me. He follows me around a lot, and he lets me tickle his nose or tickle his forehead.”
Caspian and shy, 10-month-old Pancake were paired up at PAWS to help each other build confidence and come out of their shells.
“Pancake was fearful the first couple of days and has a tiny bit of anxiety. But he likes to play, and he loves to be petted. Because Pankake was so comfortable with me and would let me pet him and would play with me, I'm sure that helped Caspian get more comfortable.”
These days, Pancake can most likely be found snuggling with Caspian or going bananas over a wand toy.
“He just goes crazy. He plays at like 125%. And he does all these jumps that are just gravity-defying.”
Though Caspian was initially fearful, he has recently started joining the fun.
“It’s really sweet to see because he’s a little bit chubby and a little bit awkward. He’ll get batting at the wand toy and fall off the chair. He doesn’t have that balance and agility that Pancake has, but he’s getting there and certainly looking for relaxed when he’s playing, so that’s awesome,” said Julie.
Caspian and Pancake have come a long way in the last couple of months, and their transformation wouldn’t have been possible without Julie or our incredible foster network.
Right now, there are 163 active fosters for PAWS Chicago giving 230 homeless pets a break from shelter life and allowing us to bring in that many more pets who need our help. Fosters truly make our No Kill mission possible.
Interested in becoming a part of this life-changing community? Become a PAWS Chicago foster parent:
Interested in meeting Caspian and Pancake, aka “the sweetest and best-behaved little guys?”