In with the New – Lulu (still)

The boyfriend gave me the cat update from his mom’s house: she’d lost her precious Persian girl earlier in the year, and decided to "just look" at the local Humane Society. She generally has fancy breeds. But this one particular cat just grabbed her attention, a regular black long hair fellow. And guess what – he’s the sweetest cat ever, an immediate favorite to everyone he meets.

No surprise to me, of course, a big fan of ordinary shelter kitties. Friday before New Years is hopping at Maddie’s, crowded like a weekend. I have customer after customer. I spend awhile with one woman who still misses the dear cat she got here as a kitten a decade back, who recently died. Mostly she’s ready for a new cat, but part of her longs to talk about her boy. We swap cranky kitty stories. I’m pleased that while she starts visiting kittens, she ends up leaning toward a frisky and outgoing adult cat.

I show several more kitties in quick succession, including an adorable kitten who, unfortunately, is timid and mostly hides. She’ll dart out to chase a toy, but dart back at a hand looming over her. One couple stay patiently and lure her out. But the man starts sneezing, as if from allergies. Both say that he’s not allergic to cats though. We move on to another less shy kitten. The woman is pretty smitten, the guys soon sniffling, and they clearly wish they could debate the matter alone.

Meantime another group is hovering, gazing in at the kitten. Situations like this can get awkward, but the first woman lets us all know they think they’d better check her husband’s allergy situation before committing to a new cat. So a mom and two older teens crowd in. The kitten – who’s super cuddly, and just likes to be held – is passed between them.

The younger girl holds the kitten close, whispering that she’s perfect. The older girl tells me she’s headed to college next year, so it’s not really up to her. And I observe to the mom that she should be sure, after all both girls will be gone before too long and it will probably end up being hers. She looks taken aback. But what’s three or four years in a cat’s life time?

Finally, I squeeze in time to visit Lulu, who’s freshly moved to a new, larger condo. She’s checking the place out, sniffing everything. Here’s hoping for a fresh start for this sweet old gal too.