Pirania

Pirania is a creature who went through one of the biggest transformations ever seen at the shelter. She was a feral cat when she first turned up on the shelter grounds asking for food. Her name (Polish for 'piranha') came from the way she ate – she took huge bites with quick, startled movements. She was afraid of people, ran away at the slightest movement they made, and every sound was an alarm to her.

Yet from the very beginning, somewhere deep inside her, there was a need to trust people. The process took years and she made progress in tiny little steps. Despite her worries and fear, she would sit for hours looking through the window into the room where there were always lots of people. Everyone at the shelter got used to Pirania always watching but never wanting to come inside, and running away whenever someone got too close. It was hard not to notice that Pirania wanted to trust – she was just very afraid of it.

I couldn't leave it at that, so I sat near her for hours, talking to her softly, making no sudden movements and holding out my hand so she could come up to it as soon as she dared. And so, little by little, Pirania began to trust me. At first she came up to my hand for a single stroke and then ran off. Later she stayed by my outstretched hand, asking for lots of touch. Until one day, almost by accident, she climbed onto my lap, only to realise straight away what she had done and run off.

Others also tried to show her that nothing would harm her and that she was safe. All those hours spent taming Pirania paid off. Today she is the cat at the shelter who loves human touch more than any other. She climbs onto your lap the moment you sit down, rubs against your face and tenderly licks your hands, purring all the while.

It turned out that her name has a second meaning too, because when she is really enjoying herself she likes to nibble gently on your fingers. When we come to the shelter she often follows us everywhere and visits the other animals with us. As she runs after us, she makes dignified, vibrato-like purring sounds. She is as white as snow with a few black patches and, just to be contrary, she loves rolling around in dark soil and sand. Amazingly, in the end she always returns to her spotless white.

She loves open space and fresh air – I think it reminds her of the sense of safety she once had. After all, back then she only felt relatively safe when she had somewhere to run. Her story shows that sometimes all it takes is plenty of patience and empathy, and a little of your time, for someone's life to change completely and suddenly be full of love.

- Jola

Favourite treat: the ham from your sandwich

Best scratching spot: on the cheeks