Part of the Solution - Meimei

I’m disappointed to see that Mitten, the sweet faced 10 year old tabby, is back after a few months. (There were problems with the resident cat.) And pretty orange Sharyn, another 10 year old, just got returned. At least both of them are perky and attentive to visitors, good get-adopted behavior.

Speaking of – new kitties Seal (lanky gray and white) and Chloe (soft plump dil tortie), a non-bonded pair, are super happy to have a human in their condo. Chloe has about the loudest sustained purring I’ve heard from a cat; the two of them have a purring contest and she wins. He squirms around on my lap for petting while she flops beside me, paws in the air, still purring like a jet liner.

There’s a rush of people, singles and couples, mostly interested in kittens. Fortunately there are several volunteers today. An older fellow has just lost his companion – he’s not ready to adopt but just wants to see who’s around. He clearly needs to be around some cats, and his grief is palpable.

I help a young woman who has a toddler and another cat at home. She checks out several youngsters, and I’m relieved that she decides on a gentle 4 month old rather than a younger and more hyper pair.

The crowd thins as suddenly as it appeared, and I’m back to socializing visits. I hang out with Meimei, a delightful 4 year old tortie "love bug" (shy but extra affectionate). She hides for about thirty seconds before diving into my lap, kneading and purring and pushing her nose into my hand for faster pets. She’s distinctive and pretty, green eyed with lots of tannish orange mottled fur on her back and little white spots on her chest and one set of toes.

Sitting quietly here, as other volunteers and staff go about their business, I reflect for a moment on the recent investigative piece that was so critical of the changes in SF SPCA policies. I’m glad, first off, for journalists researching and digging into a story… our city would certainly be worse off without an active media presence. The focus seemed mostly to be dogs, and I have little first hand knowledge of the dogs coming and going (or not) at Maddie’s. Count me in as someone who was proud of SF’s no kill policy and wishes it was a current and universal thing.

But coming here weekly, I can say definitively that nobody ‘s hankering to put down any animal. And I’m pretty sure that the board members years back didn’t factor in the biggest economic downturn in half a century in their timeline for launching a grand new animal hospital.

Guess I would hope that anyone quick to condemn decisions made is also on the front lines giving time or money or both to better the situation for homeless animals. (Don’t have money because the job’s gone, have to work extra hours because the younger kid’s college expenses are through the roof? Maybe we all would have made some different decisions with foresight.) Anyway, there are a couple of sweet ten year olds here who need people with extra dedication to animals.