The Highlight of My Monday

Jigsaw and Polar Bear

Once I hung up my coat I spotted Polar Bear peering through the window in the front corner room, sending mind messages for me to come in and pet him. Gladly! He definitely seemed happier to be out of his small cage and loose in the room. As I petted him, I felt a small soft kitty rub against my arm. It was Mickey! The shy black and white stray. He rubbed back and forth and back and forth and as I felt him head butt me once again I turned to look at him, but it was his brother Grayson. After giving him some attention I tracked down Jigsaw.

"Please pet my belly, Kaitlin!" -Polar Bear

Jigsaw, Mickey and Grayson hang out by the cage.

When I visited Jigsaw later in my shift she wanted me to stop taking photos and pet her instead.

"Stop taking photos and pet me!"

"That's better!"

I close to clean the large, back room, as it had been a few weeks since I've been back there. In all, there weren't many new cats throughout the building, but there were a few I wasn't so familiar with. Colorado and his brother Red I had seen two weeks ago very briefly, but hadn't had very much time to give them attention. This night I picked Colorado up and snuggled with him, carrying him around the room as I walked saying hello to all of the cats. He was very curious and wanted to touch every thing that I cleaned.

Handsome Colorado.

Taomina, the queen of the back room watches all of the cats as they eat.

Nipper sniffed my hand a few times and instead of batting it away instantly, she calmly pulled back her head and returned to her stoic position.

Nipper didn't nip today!

Another cat in need of extra love and patience is Bailey. She was a stray, out on her own for most of her life. She must have had owners at one point, as she is declawed. Imagine living as a stray- fending for herself, avoiding predators, and catching her own food without any claws. It's no wonder she doesn't trust anyone.

Bailey is the queen of snuggling into cozy places. Yes, there's a cat in that box.

The building was quiet and the cats were calm in comparison to the chaos of all of the visitors and adoptions last week. There were fewer volunteers than normal, but I had enough time to take it slow and eventually visit all of the rooms.

I poked my head into Jaeda's cage- a rambunctious, black, kitty, and one of my consistent favorites. In fact, I'm surprised she hasn't been adopted yet, given her youth, energy, and charm.

Jaeda was happy to be petted.

One of the volunteers during my shift is looking to become an adoption coordinator, and she said she was reading through the papers and was surprised to learn that black cats aren't adopted out during the entire month of October. Apparently this is a common thing amongst shelters, and it's to protect cats from essentially becoming just a Halloween decoration.

As the days have warmed, the sun lingers later and later every day. Once my shift is over I've been waiting for a bus that picks me up directly outside of the shelter. Monday, it was light late enough for me to take a couple photos of the cats cozy and warm, watching me from inside.

Grayson watches from his perch in his room.