You could roam every street in Paris, and you’d never find a beauty to rival tiny Cecille.

Alas, alongside her loveliness, Cecille’s other standout trait is her anxiety around humans.

Little Cecille comes by her shyness honestly; her past is not so pretty. Before coming to Tabby’s Place, Cecille was simply abandoned in a Manhattan apartment. As if this weren’t tragic enough, our beautiful girl already faced formidable challenges. In addition to being deaf, Cecille is somewhat visually impaired.

We were thrilled when we were able to embrace Cecille into the Tabby’s Place family. But we quickly learned that we wouldn’t be physically embracing her any time soon. As is perfectly understandable, Cecille was angry — and she had no intention of letting humans back into her heart. Although she had learned how to survive, the tiny white cat had also learned that people could not be trusted.

Cecille has lived at Tabby’s Place for three years now (as of 2014), and while she’s made brave progress towards letting us love her, she still needs patience and empathy. Fortunately, she’s finding both of those in spades at Tabby’s Place. As one of the cats in our socialization program, Cecille is paired up with trained volunteers, who take time to visit her, interact with her gently, and love her in the ways she can appreciate. Cecille has also become a staff favorite, as we can’t help but admire her unsinkable spark. Occasionally, she’ll return our affection by unexpectedly rubbing her pretty head against our hands or legs.

As we help Cecille continue to blossom and to trust us, you can sweeten her life as her monthly sponsor. Will you please give your love to our petit chat?