Game Face On - Morrison

Happy day after Thanksgiving. Here’s a holiday I really like – good food and friends, no shopping or songs or explosives, and a nice four day weekend.

Half the town’s at Maddie’s though – a diverse rainbow of San Francisco families and singles are making the rounds. Many are just entertaining themselves and out of town guests, and power to them; it’s better (and cheaper) than mindless consumerism. There are several cute multi-generational groups cooing at the cats. But quite a few others are ready to commit.

Right off the bat, I help a couple who say they’re looking for a pair of kittens after having lost their elderly cats. They have a couple small dogs in the house (properly trained by the prior cats), and one of the guy’s mom lives downstairs and wants a young female. But feisty and friendly eight year old Dante catches their eye, and pretty soon they’re talking about adopting him along with a similarly outgoing kitten.

The brave and bold of the cats have the advantage at the shelter. Talkative Louie has been adopted, as has personality super star Miss Lady. A nd today’s a particularly good day for kitties not bothered by voices and footsteps and kids’ noses pressed up against their windows.

The shelter was closed on Thanksgiving itself, which must have been a break for the shy guys. Morrison is one of these, a pretty seven year old blue point Siamese mix. He’s got lovely blue eyes and a wise expression, but he’s slow to warm up, and tends to stay hidden.

Once he gets comfortable, though, he’s really sweet and eager to please. I visit with him for a bit between helping customers, hoping either someone will notice him on my lap or he’ll stay out by his door and catch people’s eyes.

"You gotta be assertive," I tell him. "I know lots of noise and people can be tiring, but try to make the extra effort." Probably there’s a little lesson here for us quiet cat people.

Sometimes it Takes Awhile - Sprinkles

My volunteer shift starts out slowly. I take a young couple in to see a kitten that they've already met and pretty much already decided on.
The little tabby behaves adorably, and they agree to take her.

Then another young woman asks to see Nikita, a sweet, soft and outgoing tabby. She confesses that she can't have a cat in her apartment but she just really misses having a cat around. She's fairly new in town, maybe a bit lonely too, and we sit and chat and swap cat stories, while little Nikita slithers between us, purring and batting at her toys.

There are a bunch of cats who need socializing visits, and I move condo to condo, spending quiet lap time with a series of shy girls. Ten year old orange and white Sprinkles is finally starting to come out of her shell. She's a big, kind of chunky girl, who usually stays in constant nervous motion – she kneads, rolls around, hides and reappears, kneads some more.

Today, though, she makes it into my lap, and once there forgets her dignity in a big way. She curls into a feet up ball, and starts washing her paws and face, then grabs my had with both her paws to give it a wash. She's so cute but no potential adopters are around to see her.

Toward the end of my shift it gets busier, though. A couple who have been making the rounds have a list of several cats to meet. We start with Evie and Nikita, both young friendly adult females. The women are dressed alike, both with longish blond hair. They are clearly cat people, and explain they had to put down their last cat after he got ill.

As we sit with one then another cat, talking quietly, noting their special characteristics, I discover they only lost their cat a week ago. I realize they are not so much stoic as still numb. The taller of the pair seems the move vulnerable or in need; she's also calling the shots as far as naming the qualities they're seeking and deciding who to visit next.

A delicate but important part of my role involves assessing a potential adopter's fit and readiness to take on the responsibility of a new cat. And while I have no doubt these women would make great kitty parents, I have to gently suggest that it may be too early to get another cat yet.

I avoid telling them how they should feel, but speak about my own experience, of how there was such a huge gap and the strong need to fill it, yet that time of mourning was part of the healing process too. They kind of hear me. But kind of get lost in stroking the cats too, speaking in low voices to each other about how much they like them.

They're leaning toward a gorgeous four month old orange tabby boy. I was hoping they would want an older cat, then I could at least say it would probably still be available in another week. Instead I leave them still thinking things over; the best I can say is that I'm sure whichever and whenever they choose, the cat will be lucky to go home with them. And I take off, reminding myself to be glad I'm almost a year past that immediate and painful period of grief.

Second Chances - Miss Lady

I take at look at the paperwork for long term cats who’ve gone home, and am happy to see that someone finally adopted Adobe. I wouldn’t have thought it would take so long. It’s often hard to predict which adult cats will get scooped up right away and which will languish, especially amongst the so called mature ones.

By happy coincidence, I meet another former long time resident’s adoptive moms. These two very young and kind of androgynous women ask to see little Tabitha. As we pet the shy squirming girl, I ask my usual questions about have they had cats before, and they answer yes, they have two quiet ones at home. They’re a boy and a girl, both gray, and both from Maddie’s.

Of course I inquire further, and learn that the girl is Maggie [http://catcounselor.blogspot.com/2008/05/window-on-world-maggie.html] , who was here for weeks last spring. One of the women whips out her phone to show me a photo, but I assure her I remember what shy Maggie looks like. It took awhile, she says, but Maggie has come fully out of her shell. She’s blossomed in the new home, she loves to be picked up and cuddled, and she runs around playing with the other guy.

I don’t think the young women quite get why I’m so delighted to hear about Maggie, but this is cat volunteer nirvana, the happy ending we hope for with each little visit to our homeless feline friends.

The women aren’t sure and head off to consult with the front desk, and I move on to other kitties. Playful Peter has got a new roomie named Mr. Gray. Peter’s a long hair tabby and white two year old, cheerful and oblivious to the consternation he’s causing Mr. Gray. The nervous gray tabby stays mostly hidden at the top of their climbing structure, poking his head out to be petted, but hissing when Peter hops up for a nose sniff.

Across the hall, I watch the grand entrance of Miss Lady, newly arrived to the adoptable cat area. Often cats freshly transferred by staff need some down time, but this girl confidently moves around her new space checking things out, and trots to the door when visitors enter the hallway.

I go across to meet her, and learn from her card that she’s 16 (!) and FIV+. And frankly she’s a little funny looking – she’s a long, hair tabby and white, with kind of an outsized head, an odd gray mouth, and the somewhat ruffled fur of an older cat.

But is she ever charming. Seriously, she’s a delight. She rubs gently, purring, making good eye contact and putting a soft paw on my arm when I pause in the petting. She chases a toy with mild interest – kind of going through the motions since it seems to be important to me. Then she settles next to me, leaning her top half affectionately on my leg, telling me in every way she can that she’s ready to go home.

Hope it’s a short stay.

Yes We Can! - Tony

What a week, wow. There was dancing on my quiet little street at 8:01 Tuesday night, along with joyous screams and honking horns. It was so fast and decisive! I admit I expected funky stuff in the swing states right up till the end.

Then came the let down the next day with the passage of Prop 8. I just don’t get the religious angle – I mean if you’re coming at it thinking gayness is a sin, wouldn’t you still want the sinners in committed loving partnerships? It’s been an odd, emotionally draining few days. Many people admit to feeling a bit adrift or even let down after all the anticipation. (But every time I hear "President-elect Obama," I feel myself smiling again.)

Good news for the animals, with Prop 2 passing handily. No politics at Maddie’s though, just lonely homeless pets. A woman and little boy are already waiting for a volunteer when I start my shift. She introduces herself as the nanny and explains they’re just testing things out as far as his family getting a cat.

He’s a sweet looking little boy, but I ask him if he knows how to act around animals. He answers yes very seriously, and the nanny explains they regularly visit her cat. (In my head I’m spinning out the movie – there’s such a closeness between these two, she’s got a great combo of affection and simple discipline… is the mom jealous? Will she put her foot down about getting a cat?)

Anyway, they’re interested in Monkey Boy, who’s housed with four other active young males in the large condo you first see upon entering the shelter. They put cats with good attitudes here, since they’re so much on display and have to cope with people and dogs walking by their window.

The five kitties swarm us when we enter. The youngest and sweetest, Cisco, hops onto my lap, the two brown tabbies rub around us vigorously, and all black Monkey Boy makes a beeline for the dangle toy. The kid behaves just fine, if anything he’s a bit intimidated by these confident cats. He circles the room a couple times, and soon frisky tabby Tony is trotting after him thinking it’s a chase game.

The nanny and I agree that these are the sort of cats who would do well in a household with a kid, and we watch them interact – cute on cute. She thanks me and ushers the boy out to go look at kittens. I reach up to pet Stanley, a lovely orange tabby who’s been watching from above. Tony doesn’t want me to forget him too, so he leaps up, practically bowling over Stanley, and they purr and rub for pets even as they start nipping at each other’s ears.

I can see people out in the lobby smiling, watching the show. These guys could entertain me all day, but there are definitely more needy kitties who need some company. Several other people are roaming the hallways, so I leave the boys and go make myself useful.

Oh yeah, President-elect Obama? Your speech rocked, it was so inspiring. Loved the bit about getting the girls a puppy. Why don’t you pick one from the local shelter?
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/11/08/ DDDP13VRPS.DTL&hw=obama+puppy&sn=003&sc=607