Two Hours is Too Short

Over the past week I've had dreams about the pair of cat brothers Ethan and Joel. The first dream I was having this adventure where I was on a giant building in New York City, and I really wanted to photograph the setting sun, so I darted to my home in Drummond, Wisconsin to grab my camera. While I was waiting for my boyfriend to get ready, I saw the two cats in a laundry basket in the living room. The dream ended as I sat on the floor petting them. (Perhaps my parents should adopt them?) I had another dream where I was at the shelter, and I checked in on them and they were sharing a cage with a tiny pug puppy. All three seemed terrified.

At the shelter, the first thing I did was to check on Ethan and Joel. I hurried over to their little side room across from the supply room. Their names were no longer on the door. I peered inside just to make sure. Not in there. I hurried over to the large whiteboard with all of the shelter cats names on it. Both Ethan and Joel's names where on there still. There was only one room left to check. As I walked in I prepped myself- if they've been adopted that's wonderful for them and I should be happy they are in a loving home. But I knew the real problem was that I wouldn't have gotten a chance to say goodbye.

As I peer inside, sure enough, Ethan and Joel were in the large back room, where about eight cats roam freely, and another three are in cages. I spotted Joel right away. He was sniffing around, happy to no longer be in a cage and given the freedom to stroll around. I bent down and he came over for some petting. I spotted Ethan curled up in an open cage. This is what he did when I went to pet him:

(Perhaps I should adopt them?)

Ethan poked his head out of the cage and I picked him up and sat in a chair cuddling with him until I realized how much time was passing and I needed to get to work.

Joel wanting to help out

After another volunteer and I cleaned out the entire back room there wasn't a lot left to do, so we were given the instructions from the Shift Manager to go around and give the cats attention. Gladly!

Taormina was the queen of the large back room. All of the cats seemed awed and frightened of her:

A lot of cats in the back room have similar markings- calico and gray tabby. I kept having to refer back to their tags to get their names straight, but even the sometimes I wasn't certain. This is Bon Bon... I think:

This is Annabelle, a tiny, round, soft and sweet cat. She shares a room with Huey:

I stopped back in the front to say hi to some of the cats I'm more familiar with. Licorice, the black cat pictured below, is normally very timid and jumpy, but today he rubbed against my hand and purred and purred:

Licorice (black) with his mother Mama Lu watching from behind.

As I was petting Licorice and Mama Lu I heard a familiar mew. I looked over and there was Mason back in her cage. I opened her door and snuggled for a little bit. Why was she back?

I met a new cat, Ole, in the cage where Ethan and Joel had been. Part Siamese, part fluffball, Ole was very happy to lay and be petted.

I ended my night by snuggling with Flute. She practically climbed into my arms, so I picked her up and she curled up in my arms, nuzzling my nose and chin and playing with my earrings. I think she's getting adopted this week, so I'm glad I had the chance to cuddle with her before she's gone.

My shift is from 6pm-8pm, but I always end up leaving late. Two hours isn't nearly long enough to spend quality time with all of the cats.