Meet Your Match - Timmie

Maybe you've read about the new "feline-alities" cat personality testing

 http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080514/ap_on_re_us/cat_personality_l .  

The idea is cats are variously measured on how they interact with people, 

and assigned to one of 9 categories in a matrix of low to high sociability

and low to high braveness (with clever names such as Party Animal or 

Personal Assistant).  And then potential pet owners can be quizzed about 

their preference in feline companions, in order to make the most 

accurate matches.

I thought it was kind of cute to read about, but I'm a little disappointed 

to see that the SF SPCA has suddenly embraced this new system.  It 

seems like kind of a solution in search of a problem at Maddie's.  

Perceptive staff behaviorists already assess the cats, and up till now 

have written charming individualized descriptions of the animals' personalities.

I think we can all agree that while cat personalities, like people's, 

can be typed, there are surely more than just 9 suitable descriptions

of cats.  Not to mention that the cat in the shelter will behave 

differently than the cat in a secure home.  (Think about it – how 

would your personality differ from normal were you tested 

during a bad week at a homeless shelter or when you had checked 

into a rehab facility following surgery?)

It's not a big deal, I know that.  The average cat adopter visits 

the shelter, what, once or maybe twice a decade.  Maybe the 

new canned text classifications bring a bit more clarity than the 

whimsical descriptions, though I think many people still judge 

by a combo of appearance and that intangible falling for the 

kitty's charms face to furry face.

But for the volunteers who come week to week and watch cats 

cycle in and out, it's a bit of a let down.  Kind of analogous to 

teachers forced to evaluate by standardized tests instead of dealing 

with the individual kids.  There is talk amongst the volunteers.


Anyway, a couple, youngish, kind of stylishly dressed, tell 

me they're looking for a friendly active cat.  I point them toward 

Timmie, a current favorite.  He's a Ragdoll/lynx point mix, 

very friendly and sweet, with brilliant blue eyes and lovely tabby 

points.  He's ten years old, though, and the woman tells me that's 

far too old.  In fact, they may just look at kittens.

Well, setting people up with my favorites often doesn't work, any 

more than setting up single friends.  You can take the quiz on 

match.com, but it's hard to fight others' initial biases, and there's 

no accounting for chemistry.  Jury's still out on "Meet Your Match."

Not long later, another even younger couple show up with

 a list of cats to see – they're specifically interested in adopting 

a senior kitty.  And they are clearly caring attentive cat people, 

the best sort of people we see here.  I exchange info with 

another volunteer later, who says he thinks they've narrowed 

it down to two, Harry and Morley (yea, go guys!).  However it 

came about – another match to be made.