Sales Pitch – Cheddar & Nugget

It’s an auspicious start to the big adoption push weekend – the first thing I see is paperwork for my buddy Mago’s adoption. There’s a high volunteer to potential adopter ratio on hand, plus the summer camp is in full swing.

I meet new bonded dudes Cheddar and Nugget, both friendly outgoing kitties who are 9 and 5 respectively. Cheddar’s a long hair cream colored Balinese mix with dilated blue eyes. Nugget’s all gray, a trim short hair, who rubs eagerly around to be petted. They both purr as I pet them, one hand per cat. They deign to play for a bit, but then curl up happily side by side, all three of us competing for the square of sunlight from their south facing window.

A young couple ask to meet Becky, a sweet young all black kitty. Little Becky weaves between us adorably, and the pair seem enamoured. They don’t say a lot though, and I’m not sure whether they’re really interested or are just testing things out, the way you might check out open houses for fun before you can afford a mortgage. I’m not really into pushing the hard sell here – my feeling is the cats sell themselves much of the time.

Across the hall, shy and pretty Bonnie isn’t loving the summer camp sessions. She’s a lovely gray 2 year old who unfortunately tends to hide in her box unless it’s quiet and she’s been expressly invited out. I sit with her and coax her out to be petted. She loves to be stroked, and leans gently against my leg. But the voices and commotion in the hall soon send her scooting back to her safe spot.

Peaking back in at Cheddar and Nugget, I watch a pair of kids interacting with them, and it’s totally adorable. The cats and the children behave so well together that it’s hard to resist going in to pat all four of their sweet little heads.

An older woman making her way around asks about all the children, and I explain about the summer camp. Another cute little girl, who’s visiting a small tabby cat, spots us and holds up her hand made Adopt A Shelter Cat pillow. Talk about a sales pitch.

Towards the end of my shift, I find that Becky’s gone – good for her! A new kitty has already been brought down from upstairs and is exploring the condo. She’s a cute and frisky tabby. The way things are going, I expect she’ll be on her way home before the weekend’s over.