Mothers & Sons – Mel

I missed not seeing the shelter kitties last week, and am glad to see lots of potential adopters there at Maddies at the start of my shift. The first woman I help takes about five minutes to locate her ideal kitten, and hurries off, happy and excited about bringing her home.

Next I show JoJo to a group of girls in some kind of uniform – do they still have Blue Birds? – anyway, they’re polite and know how to act around cats. While they’re trying to tempt her with a dangle toy, Mel, the cat next door, watches and bats at the window separating us.

I slip away for some quality time with darling Mel, an affectionate 9 year old "love bug." He’s an orange tabby with a freckled nose, a lanky body and massive paws. He’s got an adorable near silent meow that he mouths at the girls as they cluster around his door. Once I’m in the condo at lap level, he climbs on, kneading and pressing his wet nose into my hand.

It must be orange tabby day, because I’m also drawn to Laurel, a lovely jade eyed fellow with super soft fur and extra toes. He’s cautious, but friendly. We’re just getting acquainted when more customers come looking for help.

A mom and her young son are seeking an outgoing kitty to join a household that also includes a dog and a baby. We test out a newly arrived confident tabby named Ruby, who lets the boy pet her and isn’t fazed by his somewhat loud voice. The mom is patient and encouraging with him as he excitedly tells stories about cats he knows.

They move off to look at more possible matches, and I spend awhile with another mom and son. In this case the son is middle aged, and super patient with his mom, who is quite particular and a bit critical about the cats we see. After meeting several, a staffer helps locate a precious kitty who seems ideal.

I can see that it’s a good match. So can the son, who says as much. The woman isn’t sure though. She wonders aloud how one can really tell if a cat likes her and whether this one is right for her. I agree that this is a big commitment and she should take the time she needs to make the decision. The kitty, meanwhile, rubs happily between us, making the case better than anyone else can.

They decide to go get something to eat and discuss the situation further. The son is wonderfully patient. I can’t help but see the parallel from the earlier mother son pair – that’s the kind of behavior you learn growing up. Makes me think of the boyfriend, who’s been the kind of man any mom would be proud of during a rough couple weeks. Guys raised well.

Instant Celebrities - MacKenzie

So many instant celebrities recently – the cougar/reality TV woman taking on HP, everybody’s favorite flight attendant with his public meltdown (why didn’t someone catch that on film??), and Maddie’s own Jack Daniels, the vision impaired kitten who was stolen then inexplicably found in New York http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/08/11/BA631ES37U.DTL

I do see the silliness of flying him back (on JetBlue, no less!) just to be homeless here. But we need our symbols. Mr. Slater unites all of our frustrations with modern air travel – I mean, who hasn’t wanted to grab a beer and pull the slide chute after hours wedged in on an overcrowded flight?

Of course there have been dozens of inquiries about our famously found cat, and a special application system has been created. Prominently mentioned, I assume, is the fact that we have a shelter full of other adoptable cats.

Anyone looking for a shy black kitty with a hard luck story should check out sweet little MacKenzie. She came from a hoarder house that had over 200 cats, and she’s still a bit skittish around people. She’s 2, mostly black with a white bit on her chest, with a cute squeaky meow. She watches me, purring and rubbing but scared of my hand at first. Then the petting commences, and she loves it. She’s also playful, though she plays by dragging the toy away to her safe spot. She starts and squeaks in protest when I finally stand to leave.

Poor old Lukey is still here, and now closely shaven. He wears it well, though looks less than dignified. More comfortable, at least. He enjoys our visit, and later gamely tolerates a pair of summer campers who attempt to get him to chase a toy.

I spend much of my shift showing kittens. Two young couples in a row make their selections fairly quickly. I help a pair of sisters, who adore kittens. They fall in love with frisky all black Baby Bear, a goofy attention seeking missile of a kitten. But it’s revealed that they still live with their mom, who may not be as enamoured. We discuss strategies for winning her over.

A trio of young people decide on Batgirl, another charming and pretty kitten. They head to the front desk, pleased about their choice. She’s no doubt destined to be the new celebrity at least on their facebook circle.

Good News/Bad News – Mr. Woods

Interesting week of news… happy to hear the Gulf oil gusher is finally plugged, yet know there are untold environmental consequences. Hooray for overturning Prop 8 – but oops, there’s a stay and it’ll probably end up in the Supreme Court. Here at Maddie’s there were dozens of adoptions (yay, and glad to see my girl Sassy finally went home). Yet the condos are still packed full of homeless kitties.

First kitty I meet is Mr. Woods, a 6 year old "personal assistant," who’s still getting adjusted to his new condo. He’s mostly white with tabby bits on his head and tail, and a sweet, anxious expression. He’s been pretty severely shaved, and I can see how skinny he is, but his tuft of a tail shows he’s a long hair. Each paw has extra toes, giving him even more of a big footed look.

He purrs and rubs and stares up at me, tail still swishing when he hears noises in the hall. He hasn’t been eating well, but lets me feed him individual pieces of kibble, though he likes to head butt the hand that feeds him. He’s cuter than his picture, but I imagine he’s a challenge to photograph – no doubt tries to butt the camera too.

Unlike last week, most of the people here early on are just wandering around for entertainment. A couple different young families cruise through, one dad alternating between chatting on his phone and rapping on the cats’ doors. Another little girl squats, enthralled, at each door, while her sister whines to go look at dogs.

But later, a pair of dream potential adoptees appear, asking specifically for senior cats. I immediately direct them to 14 year old Lukey, who’s newly arrived from the Sido program. He’s a friendly plump long hair, also mostly white with orange on his head and tail, and a few areas of matting clipped away.

He seems to be adjusting pretty well, but at one point when I sat with him earlier, he just wandered around meowing, pretty much asking for his person, before settling on a cushion covered by an old sweater. He does will with the young couple, although as I assure them that he likes to play he instead flops directly onto his toy for more petting.

They want to look around some more, so I don’t know the end of the story yet. But it seems like it could be a good news ending to Lukey’s bad news situation.