The status of MARA* was

last posted on 01/31/26 by

Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter

Female Cat, Domestic Short Hair

Domestic Short Hair (Medium Coat)

Description:

Mara is a snuggly adult cat who came to the shelter as a stray with a nasty wound on her back that just wasn’t healing right. The clinic team at the shelter took to action, treating her wound and making her feel comfortable during her extended stay. In the process, they’ve become totally smitten!At 7 years old, Mara is confident and mature. She is chirpy, flirty, and thrives on affection. She’s an excellent cuddler, and one of the all-around friendliest cats you may ever meet – you can even pet her belly! This is a cat you can literally have a conversation with, and she has done very well with small dogs she’s met during her time in the clinic. Now that she’s feeling better she’s starting to play more: she loves feather toys, bouncy balls, and cat tunnels.Mara’s wound treatment required multiple revisions, in part due to its complexity, and in part because Mara is “FIV positive.” FIV is an immune disease that can spread from cat-to-cat, usually through a bite. Due to her FIV status, Mara should either be the only feline in the household, or join another cat who is also FIV positive, after a slow introduction. Finally, Mara needs to be kept indoors only for the remainder of her life. This will prevent the risk of FIV infection spreading to other neighborhood cats and prevent the risk to Mara of additional injury or illness. Living the indoor lifestyle has been no problem for her so far – she’s litterbox trained, doesn’t dart out the door, and loves to lounge around on various beds and/or laps. While the clinic staff will be sad to see her go, her adoption comes with a complimentary discussion with a clinic staff member (or two) about her medical record, personality, hopes, and dreams. Now that Mara’s wound has almost healed, she’s the up-and-coming star of our adoption program, so if you’re interested, act now!Please note: Our Santa Cruz location’s Shelter hours are 11-6pm, 7 days a week! Although clients can walk through and see any animals in their kennels during open hours, we end “meet and greets” (aka meeting an animal out of the kennel) at 4:30pm every day. If you’d like to meet an animal out of the kennel, please arrive before 4:00pm to allow for time to discuss individual animals and meet them.