This lovely little lady is one of two cats discarded by their human carer along with their combined litters of seven kittens. Shelley was a bit luckier than her friend/sister as she was seen by an elderly lady who took pity on her and gave her food, without a doubt this being literally a lifeline for that wee family. The other cat's kittens were a bit younger than Shelley's so it does look like Shelley was lucky enough to have found that source of food first. It took three attempts to bring Shelley's wee family together with Shelley herself not being taken from the area until I could be sure I had all three of her babies; taking their mother away and leaving them alone to cope in what was bitterly cold and very wet weather could have ended in disaster for her kittens. When I first brought her home with the third and last kitten I had to keep them in a large cage as all other foster places were full and she really was a frightened and confused wee soul who just wanted to protect her kittens from someone who might have wanted to harm them, so it took her a week or two to realise I wasn't a monster and begin to relax, but it was still a very frustrating situation for her with three lively kittens desperate to run and climb in a confined space. 
Shelley and her kittens are now in a better foster situation with much more room (i.e. an actual room!) to allow the kittens, in particular, to race around and have lots of fun. Shelley's had enough of motherhood, though, and would be perfectly happy to be homed alone with no wee hangers-on to cope with. The vet thinks she's probably around four years old and it's known that her owner had been selling kittens, so who knows how many litters this poor wee soul, and her friend/sister had had to produce since they started breeding at around five or six months old.
Shelley's foster mum, Linda, says she's now just full of fun and very affectionate, preferring to lie near her rather than on her knee. She can play a bit 'rough' and I quote: "She plays a bit rough but it's no big deal and doesn't hurt - treating my arm like a giant rat to be wrestled with!".
We do think Shelley is enjoying this wonderful individual attention so much and as we aren't sure how she would be with other cats or dogs (or even children, given what we know of her past life) that it would suit her very well to be the only animal in the house. She absolutely deserves to be able to leave all 'that' behind her and to settle in a loving home where she will be treated like the little (she's quite big actually, but you get my drift..) princess she is. A home away from busy roads that would allow her access to the outdoors once she's very well settled would be just perfect. Shelley has now been spayed (no more weans!!), will be fully vaccinated by 27th February, and is microchipped so will be ready to pack her bags as soon as the right people come along.