Dedication - Rusty

Well, it’s a gala celebration weekend over at the SF SPCA. They’re dedicating the new Leanne Roberts Center with a bunch of gatherings, ceremonies and incumbent PR (www.sfspca.org/about-us/events/lbracc-openhouse.html). After many years effort, it’s a great step forward for animal care.

However, being more into cats than crowds, I decide to come in a day early. Turns out there are a bunch of other volunteers around, so potential customers are inundated with offers of help.

This gives me some quiet time with my faves. Among them, Rusty, a big 6 year old reddish brown tabby with luxuriously long hair and a funny square face. Really, you should see this guy’s fur – it’s thick and multihued across his back, lighter, fluffy and wavy on his belly, and sprouting in dark little tufts from his feet. His tail seems yards long and super full.

Rusty’s a bit nervous at first, and greets anyone who opens his door with a loud distinctive cry. But then he chills, and comes out to be petted, and rolls around on the floor, paws flailing, purring happily. He’s classified as an "Executive" – so he’s fairly independent, with his own schedule to keep, and he lets me know when it’s time to switch gears and snack on some kibble.

A quite young couple ask about visiting Baby, a precious 12 year old lap girl. Actually it’s really the young woman who wants to meet her, and she explains that they want to adopt either an old or very young cat, that they’re still working this out.

Despite this contradiction, the pair get along well and have a good time walking around the shelter. I also show them Lorena, a lithe young orange tabby, who’s got a completely different personality than Baby. They both seem to like her – well they’re both into cats, that’s obvious. And into each other, dedicated to making the relationship work. So hopefully whatever compromise is struck will work out for everybody involved.

On the Edge - Summer

A dressed up staff member nabs me right off the bat to help a waiting older man. (Ok, that’s relative, probably he’s my age but just rougher ridden.) He wants to see his old friend Stubby, a former feral that he had been feeding, who’s now come in from the cold.

Stubby has been rated a Secret Admirer, ie she’s shy, and she’s hidden, rump side out, in her climbing structure. Doesn’t matter, the dude is delighted to see her and reaches in to pet and coo at her. She’s a chubby black and white Manx (hence her less than flattering name), and she squirms around purring with the attention although nervous about coming out of hiding.

I tell the guy that’s normal shelter behavior, especially for a shy cat. He tells me she was part of a group of cats he feeds out near the ballpark, saying he has three cats home in his room and another 40 he feeds, this being his main occupation. We stay for awhile, chatting about cats, petting Stubby and encouraging her to eat and roam around.

He asks whether someone could take her picture, so he can remember her. I start to talk about the website but realize from things he’s said that this is not someone with a home computer and internet access. He resides in a room and lives check to check on SSI. And while he’s clean and reasonably articulate, this is surely someone living on the edge.

The man takes off, saying he’ll come back again to visit. And I’m left thinking about the huge number of people, local and nationwide, who are just barely making it. Which brings me to the thrilling inauguration earlier this week. I do think President Obama (OMG, yay! President Obama!) is well suited in both temperament and philosophy to take on the myriad challenges facing the nation just now. But it’s going to be a rough ride. I worry about homeless people as well as homeless animals.

Hallway 5 has some other hard luck stories. There’s newly arrived Meow-Meow (gorgeous long hair with patches of fur shaved who hasn’t been eating), Morgan (10, FIV positive, and only one eye), and sweet little Summer, who’s been here for awhile now.

Summer is a 10 year old orange tabby and white girl, a cheerful lap cat, with a lame hind leg. She gets around ok, and it’s the kind of thing you’d get used to if you saw her every day, but it can be startling when you first see her move around. She claims my lap right away, nudging my hand with her little head to keep me petting her. She watches me swish a toy around, but she’d rather sit and purr.

A pair of adorable five month olds across the hall scrutinize our every move. They capture the attention of everyone walking by. They’ll be fine, gone by the end of the weekend, I’d bet. It’s these marginal creatures who need extra attention – they need somebody to step up.

check out the spca's updated website: www.sfspca.org

Beam Me Up - Trudy

The staff at Maddie’s had a clean up day earlier in the week. It’s hard to put a finger on the particulars, but the whole place seems neater and cleaner. They’ve also moved a lot of the cats around. Apparently that can help prompt the longer term residents out of their shells. (Sometimes they rename the cats too, this presumably more for the human visitors.)

Trudy is now in a nice big space, with a TV and main hallway window. She’s a pretty little five year old, gray with faint tabby markings and large wide set eyes. She has a sad story – her former owner died, she’s had some trouble adjusting to being at the shelter, and she’s been here for several months.

Trudy can be shy, with a tail twitching wariness, but she loves laps. Her preference is to crouch on one leg at a time. (My Muppy was like that, and would only sit on my left leg as I sat cross-legged. The boyfriend’s cats won’t do laps at all, though Allie will press up against someone sitting. My Montana will sprawl any which way on whatever part of a body he can access.)

Anyway, she settles happily while I pet her, paws splayed on either side of my knee, tail barely moving. When I stop she turns her head back with a tiny cry of protest. She shares a window with a frantic and undignified nine month old calico named Wanda. As Wanda scrambles around, Trudy’s eyes narrow and her tail starts switching faster.

But lucky Wanda’s gone before I’m done with my shift – turns out she was a runaway tracked down by her people.

A pair of older men who have been going carefully through the hallways for at least an hour approach. They’re interested in meeting a group of four active young cats who are housed together. At a glance, I’d type these guys as mid-western farmers by their appearance and demeanor. But I gather they’re a local couple once we’ve gotten acquainted.

Familiar story – they had two cats, and the older one died. They want a companion for younger one (who replaced the older one’s companion when he died). He sounds easygoing and active, so I’m confident that any of these barely grown kitties would work out. And both guys are into cats, so it’s pretty sweet to watch them all interact.

After awhile they decide they need to think it over some more. Clearly they’ve got all day to spend here, and I think it’s nice to take a good long time before adding a new creature to your home. As I’m leaving, I see them at the front counter. They’ve chosen Spock, a charming little black and white guy. I’m tempted to flash them the Vulcan hand sign, but instead just whisper "live long and prosper" to the men and cat both.

Special Day - Sao Sao Mao

I’ve just signed in when my first customers approach, a young, heavyset couple who are looking for a pair of cats. They laughingly explain that he likes boisterous active cats and she prefers quieter ones – and I can see that their own personalities match their preferences. But they are easy and comfortable together, and both relate will to cats.

After a couple visits, they opt for a pair of half grown kittens who are already housed together. Both are mellow, but they are still kittens, and I’d guess the guy will get his fix of feline activity.

I check the back of hallway 4 and find both Powder and Buster gone, and an adorable pair of orange tabby brothers, Gordie and Franco, in their place. Gordie’s got one of those wide flexible protective collars on, and he’s doing his best to scrape it off as he explores the condo. A guy in a motorized wheelchair making the rounds startles them both. Gordie, arching up with a low growl while still in his big blue collar is more comic than threatening.

Another cute couple approach, these two kind of young post hippie California. They have an adorable and precocious little girl, maybe three, who is keenly interested in the whole world around her. They’re looking for a somewhat independent older kitten who’s good with kids.

We go in and check out a number of the older kitten condos. The girl is gentle with the kittens. Along with stroking and waving a toy for them, she peppers me and the parents with questions and funny observations. And she comes up with alternative names for several of the kittens (my favorite is "Over").

Although the girl seems to have the most fun with the younger kittens, I can see the mom leaning toward a lovely and mellow seven month old. I stick a "somebody’s interested in adopting me" tag on her door while they head off for one more look around.

Although there are several people wandering the hallways, I manage a quiet interlude with Sao Sao Mao, a ten year old talkative all black sweetie. She’s a bit shy, one of those gals who warms up slowly but then gets very affectionate and even a little bit demanding. She doesn’t want to play but just lolls around on the floor next to me, rubbing and purring and issuing occasional squawky meows.

As I’m getting ready to leave, I spot the little family, who have decided on the seven month old and are just waiting for her to be boxed up. The girl looks serious in the weight of the occasion. "This is a special day," I tell her, "the day your new cat comes home!"

I’m surprisingly moved by that thought, but it’s true, what an amazing day for the little child and the little cat. I take a quick look back at Sao Sao, hoping her day will come soon.

Safe and Warm - Powder

Maddie’s feels nice compared to the blustery day outside. (I know, it’s nothing like the ice storms or three feet of snow elsewhere, but it’s no California Dreamin’ out there either.)

For whatever else is going on in the economy, things are ok here: donations were arriving up to the last minute New Year’s Eve and cats are coming and going at a pretty good clip, between the Macy’s windows and holiday shoppers.

There are a bunch of new kitties, but I have little time for socializing visits even with several other volunteers around. I help a woman and her teenage son, who are looking for a kitten to join a bossy four year old cat at home. The boy is all slouchy in his baggy pants, but quite sensitive and articulate about cats, and the mom and son are nicely comfortable with each other.

Next I spend awhile with a nice quiet middle aged woman who’s just venturing out after having lost her 18 year old kitty a couple months back. She seems like a fine cat companion, with a quiet house, a host of cat accouterment, and a preference for organic wet cat food. We visit three young guys each for awhile, and she has a hard time choosing. She says she feels funny about getting the same kind of cat, an orange marmalade, but she is very much drawn to one named Leon, who’s newly arrived. And she seems a bit guilty about adopting a young cutie when there are needier cats – but he’s a real winner, spunky, affectionate and adorable, and I encourage the match.

Then a fellow asks for help locating a friendly three to five year old female. It takes a minute to place his accent – then I realize it reminds me of Inspector Clouseau of Pink Panther fame. So when he says, "Is she cuddly," well, I don’t laugh outwardly but in my head admonish myself to stop being juvenile. It turns out he’s picking the cat for himself and his wife, who didn’t think she could handle seeing all the homeless kitties. He decides he’ll take Sarah, a big friendly tortie, though only the second cat he meets. It’s more like he’s gone out to shop for a scarf than a pet, but he seems satisfied and heads for the front.

Hallway 5 is loaded with people. Three little girls are pressed up against the door of the back condo, and the two cats are right there rubbing toward them. I ask the nearest adult if they’re interested in adopting. She says they were actually just dropping off some donations, but maybe her little girl could pet the cats?

The cats, Buster and Powder, are big friendly guys who don’t seem at all bothered by kids, so I usher them in. The other two girls immediately want to come too; the mom’s confer and then in we all go. The girls need to shed their rain boots, and one of them is really more interested in the cats’ toys. But the other two pat the cats as best they can. One of them even hugs Powder, who politely ducks away but then spins around to rub around some more.

Soon the kids have to put their rain gear back on and head out, and I’ve got other cats and customers to attend to. But it’s a sweet little visit for all of us.