Cat Whispering

Han Solo posing happily

After I signed in at the shelter I peeked my head into the rooms in the front to see what kitties were around. One in the corner room caught my eye with his cute face and energy. Han Solo, a soft and gray tabby boy meowed out from his cage. The shift manager opened the door to his cage and he gracefully bounded out and leapt upon some shelving to scope out the room. Curious, I checked his info tag to see where he came from. "Thrown out the side of a car" is all the information given. "Oh, poor baby," I cooed. He let me sweep him up into his arms without a struggle. We cuddled for several more minutes with his head resting against my neck, and I made the decision to clean that room.

Besides Han Solo there were three other male cats in the room. Jigsaw has a fluffy face that always made me laugh. Two brothers- Grayson and Mickey- are shy and handsome young cats. I met them once- three weeks ago I think- and they had just come back from having tests to see if they were FIV or Feline Leukemia positive. (They weren't) Both were tired and timid, and didn't want to be petted.

While hesitant at first, both were very happy to have me pet them. Mickey spent the first half of me cleaning curled up in the corner, so after awhile I knelt down, whispered that he's a very wonderful cat, and petted him for awhile. After half a dozen strokes he decided he was comfortable enough with me and began to purr. Shortly after, he stretched out on his side and rolled over, revealing the ever elusive cat belly. "Can I take your picture?" I asked. I really didn't expect an answer, but before I had the chance to take one he darted under some cages.

Jigsaw is a pro at cute poses.

Grayson grabbed at my wrist so I would keep petting him.

Mickey allowed me to take this one photo of him.

Despite that, Mickey followed me around the room the rest of the time I cleaned, rubbing against my legs and demanding to be petted.

Once I completed this room I headed into the FIV+ room. Hamburger was happy to have some hands to wash. Edna was back in her box in the top corner of the room. I've been told that once she's up there it's hard to get her to come down. I decided to give it a try anyway. "Come on down," I told her when I saw her looking down at me. "I'd really like to see you." She didn't budge, so I turned to pet Olivia Benson. A creak and a pitter patter later told me Edna was listening to me after all. Once she made her way down I petted her for awhile, telling her I was very happy she came down to see me, and that I thought she was a very wonderful cat.

I accidentally disturbed Hamburger's spot as I wiped down the area around him, and he made his way over to where Edna lay curled up. He made himself comfortable and spent the next several minutes just washing her.

Hamburger washing Edna.

The shift manager was surprised that  Edna had come down. It turned out that both Hamburger and I saw her desire for attention and acted on it. Moments like these are just more reasons why coming to the shelter each week is so rewarding.

A Rather Sad Monday

Last Monday night I had to leave the shelter early, and when I returned home I had a facebook message from one of the shelter volunteers. She warned me that a family had been in, and were seriously considering adopting my favorites- Ethan and Joel. I knew that I probably only had a few hours to decide whether or not to adopt them. Whether or not to skip work and rush into the shelter right away in the morning and swoop in ahead of the family. Under the weight of the day, the thought of losing them, and the stress of the situation, I cried for about half an hour, unsure of what to do. Due to certain circumstances I didn't want to have to decide right then and there. I didn't have a good way, nor enough time, to acquire cat food, litter and boxes, bowls, toys, nor the permission from my apartment management.

I held my breath every day, hoping that they would still be there on Monday, and all week Ethan and Joel's names remained on the website as adoptable cats. Friday night I decided that the next Monday I would go in and state my interest, fill out a form, and ask questions about their history, health, etc.

Saturday morning they were gone.

The shelter was lonely without them. Even the other cats seemed less playful and more subdued. I didn't want to clean the back room- it felt too empty without them- but as I was in there saying hello to the cats I was asked to stay and warn people about Nipper.

Nipper, watching the world from the corner.

Oh, poor Nipper. True to her name, she'll nip or swat at you if you try to pet her. She originally came from the shelter, years ago, but her owner passed away recently and she was brought back to the shelter. She has not been a happy girl since. She had her own private room for a couple weeks, but this week she was allowed to roam about the large, back room. We just had to make sure that no one pets her- even if she sniffs or rubs against anyone's legs.

"Our next goal is to get you to adopt Hamburger and Olivia Benson," one of the volunteers told me. When she had seen that Ethan and Joel were adopted over the weekend she had excitedly texted the volunteer who had warned me of the interested family, asking if it was I who had adopted them.

"Hamburger and Olivia Benson were adopted," I informed her. "Almost two weeks ago."

She shook her head sadly. They'd been returned. All the ex-adoptee said was that it just wasn't the right time. No one asked anymore questions. Feline Rescue tries to be as non-judgmental and open as possible so people are comfortable returning their cats if need be. 

Hamburger (front) and Olivia Benson, curled up infinity-cat style.

I visited Hamburger and Olivia Benson before I left. Hamburger was washing Olivia Benson as they lay curled up in infinity-cat style (lying next to each other, but facing opposite directions so when you pet them you can continue from the tail of one cat to the head of the next and never have to stop). Poor kitties.

In better news, Mama Lu and her children, Tux T and Licorice were all adopted... together! I was thrilled to hear that they were able to stick together, even if I was sad to not say goodbye, or see them curled up with each other in the large, side room.

Tawret and Benita found my paper towel very amusing.

Tawret playing with my paper towel.

Only an Hour

I had plans to go to a concert Monday night, but I figured if I packed a dinner I could still fit in an hour at the shelter. I rushed to the shelter straight from work as usual, and thanks to the train schedule being off, I grabbed an earlier one than usual.

Ethan enjoying some lap time.

Even with the extra few minutes, my hour+ flew by. I cleaned up the back room, and while I rushed I kept getting distracted by all of the wonderful cats in that room. The shelter was lacking in volunteers for once, so I know, not the best day to leave an hour early, but nevertheless I'm glad I made the decision to come in for at least that hour. The shelter was not lacking in potential cat adopters, however. I watched nervously as group after group noted what sweet cats Ethan and Joel were. I did a good job keeping my mouth shut, until the very end when I did let out to one couple that I'm considering adopting them. I did have Joel curled up in my arms during this particular moment.

Twice now, I've noticed Ethan's eye has been bothering him. It clears up during my shift, but I've learned that watering eyes is a sign of stress in cats. No matter how happy he seems at Feline Rescue, he is still stressed, and will hopefully soon have a home, whether that's mine or another trustworthy person.

Wyatt, the cat who was dropped off.

Some exciting news is that Wyatt- the large, playful cat who was dropped off at the front door about a month ago was adopted! And so was Bon Bon, an older, but very friendly girl.

I did manage to fit in some playtime with the cats:

Ice, Joel, and a glimpse of Ethan

Ethan, Ice and Joel

More Cats and More Adoptions

Shortly after I walked in to my shift at Feline Rescue, I was given the good news that two of the FIV+ cats, Hamburger and Olivia Benson have an adoption pending together! These are the two that when I first met them they were curled up together and I wished that they would be adopted together. If all goes according to plan, it looks like my wish will come true!

I spent some time near the end of my shift petting the two of them, just in case they are not there next week.
"I love that thing Olivia Benson does with her mouth when you pet her," a volunteer told me.
I petted her to see what the volunteer was talking about. Sure enough, she opens and closes her mouth very quickly, almost as if she's kissing the air.

I cleaned out the large, front room with another volunteer, visiting some of the cats I hung out with during my first couple of days there. Mama Lu and her children, Licorice and Tux T, are still there, along with Sadey and Goose. I miss Kia, Junius, Mason and Bryn, but many new cats take their places. A couple of older cats (I can't remember their names) lodge in the bottom left cage. Two young orange and white boys made it very hard to clean. One in particular followed me around and when I was cleaning the cages below, kept patting at my head.

Another new cat, Flax, was a young, sweet girl, already with an adoption pending!

I kept taking breaks from cleaning to pet and play with the cats, but all of the other volunteers must have been productive, since all of the rooms were clean earlier than normal. This gave me a good amount of time to meet some new cats, and snuggle with some familiar favorites.

This was Alexia's last day as one of the volunteers is adopting her!

Tux T found a good place to snuggle.

Cutie (yep, that's her name) enjoying some playtime.

This is Wyatt! He was the cat that the man dropped off three weeks ago. He's very friendly and playful.

Biggie Oliver is a sweet but shy cat.

Of course I gave myself time to snuggle with Ethan.

And Joel!

Cuddles, cuddles, and more cuddles

When I started volunteering five weeks ago I was hesitant when it came to petting any of the cats. Of course all I wanted to do was sit down and have all of them come up to me for two hours+ worth of snuggling. What I did instead was let each cat lightly sniff my hand, and if they didn't turn their head or walk away I'd lightly stroke the top of their head and their back a couple of times and that's it. All of the cats were cute and sweet, but we were strangers to each other. I watched enviously as the cats let the other volunteers pick them up. I'm sure I could have tried, but I wanted to be respectful.

Now, five weeks later I certainly no longer feel like a stranger. I have the names down of all of the cats that have been there those entire five weeks, and many more besides.

Ethan poses

I started my shift with Ethan climbing all over my lap, and Bon Bon rubbing against my leg. During my shift nearly every cat was happy for a hug and a kiss atop their heads. I was respectful of the handful of new cats, but the majority of them were happy for as much attention as they could get. I made sure to poke my head into every room. In the FIV pos. room I sat down on the chair and both Olivia Bensen and Hamburger approached me. They played a game of "Oh, you go up" "No, you go up" until Hamburger got impatient and leapt gracefully onto my lap.

Hamburger cuddled up in my lap

I ended the day with Ethan back in my arms. Five minutes stretched into ten, into twenty, until I was there well beyond the end of my shift. As you can tell, we were both in heaven.

Me and Ethan 

Two other volunteers hung out with me, cuddling their cat of choice. "Oh you have to adopt Ethan and Joel!" insited the volunteer who started the same day I did. "I'll sponsor you $20 for you to adopt them... that way I can come over and visit all the time!"

I'm certainly not ruling out the option of bringing them home. But I know that every week I wait, the less and less likely it will be that they will still be there. And the day I go into my shift without cuddles from Ethan will undoubtedly be a sad one.

I'm also aware that if they get adopted before I decided to or not to adopt them, no one really loses out. They'd be in a comfortable home, and I'd still be left with dozens of sweets cats that I could choose to bring home when the time is right.

Edna in her magic box

An update for those curious- of the kitties I've mentioned in the past, Winter, Kia, Junius, and Mason were all adopted within the last week!