Cycle of Life - Oreo Cookie

Everybody’s gearing up for kitten season. This early, things seem calm and manageable – a steady stream of kittens are moving through the process, with a reasonable balance of hopeful adopters and adorable adoptees.

There’s been a big push to get our wonderful older cats into good homes too. I won’t try to dissuade anybody who’s heart is set on bringing up a kitten. But for anyone who asks, I’ll honestly state my own preference for adopting cats who are fully grown, and settled into their personalities.

Ten year old Oreo Cookie is one of my current favorite mature kitties. She’s black and white, of course, sweet and friendly, with a perky attitude and strong head butt. Her cute face has an off center stripe, and she makes good eye contact. She jumps down to rub and purr as soon as I arrive, and does well at trotting to her door to check out people in the hall.

Someone looking for a younger adult couldn’t go wrong with newly arrived MacKenzie, a 3 year old tabby Scottish Fold. Her bent little ears give her an expression of permanent concern, but she seems sweet, hopping on and off my lap and even reaching up to give little kisses. I can see she hasn’t been eating much, but she’s willing to have a couple bites if I lean over the dish with her, petting her gently.

A hippie-ish mom and high school age daughter ask to meet Mambo, a super friendly young "personal assistant." They’re having a cat break before shopping for a prom dress. The daughter has a good time interacting with the cat, but the mom waits in the hall. She’s afraid she’ll get attached, and isn’t ready for a new cat quite yet. Both of them seem to like cat shopping better than dress shopping, but what can you do, prom’s a big deal.

An older couple is taking their time, really studying the cats and write ups. They’ve lost two older cats, and are almost ready to take someone new. They like big two tone males, so we have lots of possibilities. I show them Achilles, Tank and Cedrick, all of whom are awesome and show well. The couple aren’t in any hurry to choose though. They’re probably retired, and don’t mind spending lots of time here.

Next, a mom and adolescent son want to check out little Millicent, a super soft young cutie. They’ve also recently lost an elderly cat. The loss is clearly weighing on the woman, and as we sit and chat, I can see that the boy misses his cat terribly too. We talk about how long is enough time to wait, and I give my usual spiel about how any new cat just won’t feel right immediately, that you have to give the new relationship time to grow.

And it hits me again – as it did earlier talking to friends who lost a wonderful former Maddie’s resident quite suddenly and far too soon – that a nice aspect of my volunteer job is that I’m here for the happy first dates. I get to introduce the precious kitties, and see the joy of the family’s homecoming, but miss the heartbreaking end of their journey together.

It’s all part of the life cycle though. Pet people take it all on, from the homecoming to the final farewell. I think any one of us would tell you it’s worth it.

(heading back east for a family wedding… back in a couple weeks)