Giving Thanks – Alexandria

Happy Thanksgiving! Ate a lot and stayed up late, but managed not to seriously overdo it. My gang of friends have been doing this for so long that homes have downsized. Former babies are debating Marx in high school or grown and living on their own. This year’s hosts’ resident dog made lots of new friends and scampered around licking the floor. The cat managed one peak into the crowded kitchen and fled, appalled.

Personally, I’m more like a cat, but have learned to be dog-like sometimes – it’s how you turn strangers into friends and new acquaintances into the people you raise a glass to in your toasts, giving thanks for being part of their lives.

Volunteering at Maddie’s makes us cat people be more outgoing and social. Black Friday is as usual packed. Right off the bat I make a nice match of a shy kitten and a likable young couple who take the time to get to know her.

I manage half a visit with pretty and playful Alexandria, a young gray and white long hair sweetie. She goes from shy to paws on your knees friendly fast, and she’s learning to interact with people passing by - so hopefully she'll be headed to a new home soon.

In quick succession, I facilitate visits with several sets of people and cats. A mom and gentle little boy see several kittens. A woman who has two cats and is only contemplating a third falls under the spell of an adorable tabby. An older woman with her adult son looks for a replacement for her beloved and recently departed cat. She says her house is too lonely now, and I recall with her the pain of coming home and not being greeted by a kitty. I’m pleased that she chooses Faun, a beautiful shy long hair sweetie.

Toward the end of my shift I help a girl and her grandmother, who are there to choose a new kitten. We go in with a trio of mostly black kittens, all similar in looks and frisky personalities. The grandmother seems tired, but she patiently gives the girl time and space to pick out her favorite.

Finally, she decides, and skips off toward the front desk to complete the adoption. The girl is just excited about her new kitten today. But years from now, I bet she’ll look back on this day with gratitude toward grandma too.

Shelter from the Storm – Chavo

Maddie’s feels welcoming and warm, and I start out my shift with Pooky, who’s all about lap cuddling. It’s clear he longs for someone to spend whole days with, but he’ll take what attention he can get these days.

A trio of people come into the hallway, and at my inquiry, one of them explains that he’s an architect getting ideas for shelter design. As we stand and discuss the place’s layout and features, little Precious Pie paws at her door, a fine advertisement of a well adjusted resident.

It’s not easy contentment for a lot of cats, though. Pretty orange and white boy Chavo is still nervous about his surroundings. He’s a big 4 year old, a gentle giant who needs a slow approach. He stays at the top of his climbing structure, but sniffs my hand and allows himself to be petted. He rolls to his side, blinking and purring loudly. But he makes me stand on tip toe to reach him, not quite ready to try out my lap.

Chavo is rooming with a cheerful and sweet black and white stubby tailed girl named Francine. Presumably her perky and outgoing nature will make him feel comfortable or be a good role model, but they act more like co-workers than pals. She’s making the best of things anyway, happy to bat at a toy while I stretch up to reach him. Even the best design doesn’t tackle the sad circumstances that lead to homelessness (the cats’ and otherwise).

I show Spirit, a lovely calico with a super-sized personality, to a friendly young woman. Spirit almost dances between us, purring and moving from lap to lap. Soon the woman confesses that she’s about to move back in with her parents, so actually her mom will have the final say about any new pets.

It’s not exactly good news, but at least I can tell her that we’ll have plenty more cats available to adopt when she finally gets a place of her own.

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Cat Fix – Cricket

Hello winter. The dreary drippy day is ideal for curling up with a good book, a warm kitty, or both. I’m glad to see a few people there as Maddie’s opens. Although the first guy I talk to, a burly tattooed dude on his knees flirting with a pair of kittens, tells me he’s actually thinking of adopting a dog. Another group of people is cooing at almost every window, but when I ask if they have a cat in mind to meet, a woman exclaims, "all of them." We agree that they’ll try to narrow it down.

My attention is drawn to Cricket, an adorable 3 year old calico. She’s super chatty, hence the name, sweet and alert and anxious for my full attention. She rubs, purrs, chirps, and winds her way all around. After awhile leans next to me, more subdued but still purring.

Across the hall, gentle Carmelita eyes us both. She’s a mellower, quieter, older girl, of the same physical type, a tortie with white feet. She can be quite shy but does like to cuddle, and she settles contentedly next to my legs. I’m not sure which of these pretty kitties I’d choose if I had to, but I can certainly recommend them both.

I find a young woman sitting and interacting with a cute little tabby. In a charming accent, she explains that she can’t get a cat but misses hers back home, who looks like this one. I ask if she’d like to come in and help socialize this friendly threesome of cats – it’s nice to have a second person with more than two cats in a room, and she clearly loves cats and wants to pet little Simone.

Glad she does, as it turns out we have friends in common. Which seem odd and yet isn’t; after awhile SF really does feel like a big small town. We sit and talk and pet the two bolder young male cats. And slowly, she’s able to draw out the little tabby, who is hesitant at first but then leans into the gentle hand petting her, blinking in satisfaction.

We stand to leave, and she thanks me. And I tell her the obvious, that the cats enjoyed her company as much as she did theirs. But I can remember being in a foreign place, needing my cat fix. It’s a simple thing, nice to be able to help someone else with it.

Occupy 16th Street! – Willhard

My office costume party had two 1%s, a Mayor Quan, and just one of the 99% (me, any excuse to wear tattered clothes downtown). Our modest nonprofit happens to rent space near the Wells HQ, so we’ve been reluctantly hearing a lot of chanting.

Friends’ and colleagues’ reactions to the movement have run the gamut from 100% support to querying how camping in city parks helps the poor. I’m all for drawing attention to the inequities and hypocrisy; like to back it up with less mindless consumerism (credit card purchased Starbucks drinks on the way to the protest, just for example).

My volunteer day takes me away from the political debates, and the robo calls. Nice to quietly commune with some affectionate felines. Willhard is a sweet 2 year old black and white dude with a cute splotchy face and the shelter’s loudest purr. He greets me with an eager squeak then revs up the motor, rubbing around in every direction and tilting his head to make sure I keep petting him.

A guy in the hall pauses to look in. Willhard leans toward the door, purring like an engine. The guy continues along, but I tell him he’s a good boy to catch people’s attention. Joseph, a lovely snowshoe mix who shares a window, perches there to watch us too.

A woman asks to meet Lulu, who’s bestirred herself and is practically prancing at her door. She says she has a mellow older dog already. I’m not sure that would be Lulu’s first choice in pet siblings, but I’d love to see her find a home. We pet her for a bit, then the woman wanders off, seeming not fully committed to going through with any adoptions just yet.

I’m in with a set of shy youngsters at the end of the hall, just coaxing a scared tabby out, when a super excited little girl comes in, accompanied by her mom and grandma. They gently shush her, but the girl is delighted and squeals at the sight of each cat. Some cower, others march boldly to their doors to interact. Can’t deny that it’s a way to get their attention.