Saving Sable

Preface/Foreword

Hello, and thank you for choosing to read this.

This book is about a Clan of cats who live in a boreal forest. The main character is Dawnclaw, the mother of a kit who has Reactive Attachment Disorder.

(Note: In this book, medicine cats are not only trained in medicine and healing, but are also similar to psychiatrists.)

What is Reactive Attachment Disorder?

This is a disorder that usually presents itself before the age of five, and can continue on into adulthood if not treated. It occurs when children are neglected (Although not many neglected children develop this disorder.) It is rare/uncommon (as are most attachment disorders) and it can be a serious/severe condition, where children cannot connect with a nurturing parent or caregiver.

There are two types of RAD, inhibited and disinhibited. (Sablekit has inhibited)

Common symptoms of inhibited RAD are:

•Not smiling
• Failure to react/reach out when picked up
• Avoiding eye contact
• Excessively holding back emotions
• Not seeking/responding/being resistant to comfort.
• Avoiding physical contact
• Detaching self from others.
• Preferring to play alone.

Common symptoms of disinhibited RAD are:

• Not having the natural anxiety towards strangers, will readily interact with them.
• Being highly selective.
• Unnaturally seeking comfort from strangers
• Exaggerating the need for help doing basic, everyday tasks
• Appearing overly anxious.
• Partaking in inappropriately childish behavior.

Please note that real cats cannot develop this disorder, at least to our knowledge. This is a strictly human mental illness, but since these cats are pretty heavily anthropomorphized, it's fine!

Please do not self-diagnose yourself with this, even if you fit the symptoms. (However, if you truly believe you have this disorder, than talk to an adult to help get you diagnosed.)