Today was the first day I was "officially" a volunteer at our local shelter. I've been going there for years, off and on, donating food or litter, taking photos and videos, etc.
First, they let me take all the cats into their "play room," which is actually a large restroom, and play with them if they wanted to, brush them if they'd tolerate it, and snuggle with them if they were in the mood.
But first things first. There was a woman waiting to come in when the door opened. She rushed in and adopted "Puddin'," of whom I have posted videos. He's long-haired, cream-colored, with faint yellow spots. He was also neutered and declawed, and he looked a little "rough," like he wasn't grooming very well. Not that I blame him. And he has had trouble with the areas around his eyes looking "dirty," but oh, what gorgeous blue eyes he had. The lady said she knew he needed to be away from the small cage and stress. She said she saw him there about a week ago, and hadn't been able to get him out of her mind. And she said she needed to think of a Gaelic name for him. What's Gaelic for "pudding?"
Most of the cats wanted to climb into my lap and be brushed. They have one orange tabby boy who looks like a cross between a cat and a panther; he stands almost 18 inches high at the shoulder! It's spring, and all the cats are shedding their undercoats. I got enough fur off him to knit a couple more kittens.
It's really odd to see the difference in personality in cats, even in kittens. We have two cages of two identical pairs of kittens, an orange tabby boy and a tortie girl in each cage. One set are gregarious, wanted to be cuddled and to play. The other set were cautious, not unfriendly, just not seeming to know how to play or what to make of me.
Two cats show signs of being abused. They would flinch every time I moved my hand toward them. The little calico girl, especially, was perfectly content to be in my lap and get petted and brushed, but if she got down, she was very skittish about me picking her back up again.
Then, after all the kitty cuddling was over, I took a little screech owl someone brought in over to the wild bird rehabilitation center.
First, they let me take all the cats into their "play room," which is actually a large restroom, and play with them if they wanted to, brush them if they'd tolerate it, and snuggle with them if they were in the mood.
But first things first. There was a woman waiting to come in when the door opened. She rushed in and adopted "Puddin'," of whom I have posted videos. He's long-haired, cream-colored, with faint yellow spots. He was also neutered and declawed, and he looked a little "rough," like he wasn't grooming very well. Not that I blame him. And he has had trouble with the areas around his eyes looking "dirty," but oh, what gorgeous blue eyes he had. The lady said she knew he needed to be away from the small cage and stress. She said she saw him there about a week ago, and hadn't been able to get him out of her mind. And she said she needed to think of a Gaelic name for him. What's Gaelic for "pudding?"
Most of the cats wanted to climb into my lap and be brushed. They have one orange tabby boy who looks like a cross between a cat and a panther; he stands almost 18 inches high at the shoulder! It's spring, and all the cats are shedding their undercoats. I got enough fur off him to knit a couple more kittens.
It's really odd to see the difference in personality in cats, even in kittens. We have two cages of two identical pairs of kittens, an orange tabby boy and a tortie girl in each cage. One set are gregarious, wanted to be cuddled and to play. The other set were cautious, not unfriendly, just not seeming to know how to play or what to make of me.
Two cats show signs of being abused. They would flinch every time I moved my hand toward them. The little calico girl, especially, was perfectly content to be in my lap and get petted and brushed, but if she got down, she was very skittish about me picking her back up again.
Then, after all the kitty cuddling was over, I took a little screech owl someone brought in over to the wild bird rehabilitation center.
