Look at Me! – Maximus

I head over to Maddie’s expecting crowds, but it’s fairly tame. Slow start to kitten season this year, plus no big adoption rush going into the long weekend.

I pay a visit to Maximus, a sweet young mostly black cat. He goes quickly from shy to cuddly and playful, batting at the toy I’ve brought before I’ve even moved it. He’s soft and rubs his pretty head around possessively, then goes back to pouncing clumsily at my feet.

Across the hall, there’s a new gal from Yolo, "party animal" Virginia, who’s right at her window and eager for interaction. A trio of young adults wander through the hall, admiring Mittens and Smurfet, the cats on either side of Virginia. She practically paws through her door, trying to get someone’s attention.

Moving on, I meet another new girl, Evelyn, a sweet little mottled gray and tan 2 year old with an adorable half sized tail. As I tempt her out for petting, we hear meowing. Human meowing: a pair of young women out in the hall. At first I figure they’re interacting with one of the chatty kitties. But no, one of them is just meowing loudly at each cat’s doorway. People-centered Mika meows back; other kitties look mildly annoyed.

I help a sophisticated looking middle aged couple who want a playmate for their older kitty at home. They want to check out a super active young cutie. I give my spiel about introducing a new cat to a household by keeping them separate at first, noting that this attention-demanding little girl would probably be the boss cat.

Back in hallway 5, another volunteer has a potential adopter in with Virginia. (Hopefully someone with a lot of time and affection to pour back to this outgoing girl.) But this is a challenging time of year for the young adult cats as more and more adorable kittens hit the adoption floor. So more power to her – wish I could get the others to strut their stuff so well.