Orange Friday – Pollyanna

Well, even the SPCA is on the Giant’s bandwagon, with a "playoffs special" on orange and black cats [http://www.sfspca.org/adoptions/cats/adopt-giants-fan]. They even came up with a Maddie’s kitties roster. (Good news already – there’s an adoption pending sign on orange tabby Spike’s door.)

Which gives me a chance to pitch a recently renamed favorite who’s listed as the pitcher on the team, now known as Pollyanna. She’s pretty, she’s bright, she’s soft, she has ball-gripping extra toes, and I’m puzzled as to why she’s been here so long. Pollyanna’s an 8 year old all black girl who was quite shy at first, but these days she sometimes waits at her door for company. She needs a mellow human to step up to the plate!

Another would be player down the hall is her personality opposite. Turtle is a 7 year old super cuddly, drooly, and outgoing "personal assistant" tortie girl who’s anxious for attention. I sit quietly with her, stroking gently, while she wriggles around before settling onto my lap, purring. Predictably, she does everything she can to prevent me from later standing up, curling on one leg while I twist yoga moves with the other.

A woman who recently adopted a youngster is showing an out of town friend around, and we visit a group of bouncy energetic kittens, all of us marveling at how tiny and feisty they are. I show the same group to a young man, who decides maybe an older cat would be a better match.

When things quiet down, I check in on Fog, a sweet and very cautious little tabby girl. First I just sit and whisper to her while she stays hidden, but gradually her head and paws emerge for petting and playing. Finally she hops down for some kibble – she’s dainty and sweet and has perfect little cat feet. But a pair of woman with a noisy kid (cute, but they all think it’s funny when she play roars at the cats) scare her back into hiding.

Next, a trio of young people have some questions about cats and cat behavior. Basic stuff, like why do their tails twitch and how to tell if they’re purring or growling. But I’m suddenly reminded of trying to explain what an inning is to a friend who grew up in Europe – some things are so much simpler if you grew up with them.