Performance Anxiety - Oreo

There’s this angelic young man who sings and plays guitar in the Montgomery Street BART station. The songs are folksy, lyrical and sweet, and if I happen to catch him in his full throated chorus, it makes my morning. What’s remarkable, aside from his voice, is the way this guy can perform no matter what the distractions – commuters swirling around him, loud announcements, even other music.

Too bad so many kitties embody the opposite characteristics – they can be sweet and cuddly one moment but completely spooked the next. Except for friendly Maya, Maddie's hallway 4 seems lined with super shy felines.

I meet Oreo for the first time. He’s a slender 3 year old (no surprise) black and white fellow with a dainty pink nose, who stays fully hidden at first while I talk baby talk and try to lure him out. Finally he ventures into the open – he clearly likes to be petted – but he shivers like a little lap dog and cowers next to my leg while I try to sooth him.

It only takes a few minutes till he’s calm enough to stop shaking and investigate the rest of his temporary home. He even has a couple bites of food – they’ve left out the fancy wet stuff to tempt him. Then he’s back, slithering across my lap and even playing briefly with a dangle toy, a soft total sweetie.

Next door, Zoe exhibits a similar pattern. She’s an oddly marked tabby and white girl, about twice the size I expected when she emerges from her hiding box. She wants to be petted but she’s jumpy too, and keeps edging behind her scratching post, which is comically small as an actual hiding place.

Orange tabby boy Boomer down the hall is a bit braver. He likes petting and chasing around toys. But then a Russian speaking couple enter the hallway. They’re a bit loud, and the man taps on the windows to get the cats’ attention. Boomer immediately retreats and stays hidden, only his nose visible.

I wave the toy, trying to draw him out and demonstrate how pretty he is, but they’ve moved on. I don’t have to look to know that the others have made themselves invisible too.

We’re all waiting for some quiet and sympathetic people to come down the hall.