Paprika the cat can’t believe her good fortune. It’s almost like she’s found a new favorite treat, except this is so much better. She has discovered what it’s like to be on the receiving end of a back scratch. And now she’ll never be the same!
For anybody familiar with Paprika, this new outlook on life is kinda different for her. Something like the before and after when Ebenezer Scrooge spent an evening with some meddling ghosts.

Putting it gently, Paprika was a rather … spirited gal. She’s from Best Friends’ Great Kitty Rescue in Pahrump, Nevada. This girl had lived through who-knows-what and she was clear about one thing: People were not her friends. Not by a long shot. For months, her caregivers had to feed her using a welding glove and grab stick for holding the food dish. (Paprika lived in a space all her own, because she also didn’t much care for other cats!)

She was not content to cast glares from a distance, either. No, she’d lunge at anybody who came close enough. She’d been let down before, so she wasn’t about to sit still and trust people. Sound like prime college material? You bet! Paprika’s turn came up for admission to Best Friends’ Miss Sherry’s Finishing School for Felines. No cat is too grouchy or too scared or too anything else to enter this fine establishment for higher learning. A true equal-opportunity education system. And Paprika has risen through the ranks with the best of them.

She was making progress at her own pace (slowly!), which is OK with the caregivers. These cats have been through enough. Using all their tricks and techniques, however, the caregivers were finally able to convince Paprika that not all people are mortal enemies. Things were coming along nice and steady, until The Day, one magical day that changed Paprika’s life forever. On The Day, she let somebody pet her for the first time.

Holy cow! It was like a floodlight switched on inside her brain. "What the.… What have I been missing all this time?!" She arched her body into the petting, and ever since then has been a new cat. Now, in fact, she’s nothing but a lap cat trying to make up for lost time. Anybody want to spend an afternoon with a reformed bad girl? She promises to love you forever!

Story by David Dickson
Photo by Sarah Ause

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