Kittens are Cute But Consider a Cat |
| | | | Saturday, June 17, 2006 | If I were a grocer, chances are right now Id be hawking the new, fresh crop of seasonal delectables sweet and wonderful, available now but gone soon. Well, Im not a grocer and, in fact, I have nothing to sell. Instead, Ive a shelter full of lives to save but, unlike the fruit section guy, my seasonal specials arent the biggest concerns.
This is kitten season. Yes, we worry about the adorable fluffballs who fill our shelter for several months, but those eight-to-twelve week old cuties, big-eyed and oh so much fun, will all find homes. Its not an easy challenge, but itll get done. The answer to this is obvious: adoptions plus spay/neuter, spay/neuter, spay/neuter.
But theres another group of kitties here right now who are worrying me even more, those wonderful mature cats (okay, some mature enough to more accurately be called old cats) in our care, some of them here for weeks or months prior to the parade of cute babies began.
The animals in my shelter as I write may not be the same by the time you read this since, with any luck, some here today will be adopted tomorrow. But for every cat that finds a home, at least one more homeless cat comes in the door.
Cats like Butterscotch and Ice Cream, a nine-year-old boy and four-year-old girl cat who, together, exhibit just about every color of pretty short hair youll in the feline world. They came to us when their owner went into a nursing home. Over the months theyve come out of initial shyness and are now far more outgoing and secure. Wed like them to stay together. With a combined age of 13, theyre ready for that cat mitzvah youve always wanted to give.
Cats like Flash, a personal favorite. My own two kitties, Tsimmes and Isabelle, are both big boned but they look like anorexics next to Flash. Through careful dieting, Flash has lost some weight and is now down to 23 pounds, 2 ounces. From above, hes about as wide as he is long, a silly black-and-white basketball of a cat. And oh what a bod it is, with not a single inch of him that doesnt enjoy hugging. This is one full sized love machine. If it wasnt for the fact that hes eleven years old, he would have found a home long ago.
Cats like Augie, who at fifteen years of age is the most senior of our special cats. Our volunteers describe her as someone who enjoys sitting peacefully beside or on the lap of a person, watching the playful antics of the young kitties who surround her, and perhaps silently reminiscing. Such a pretty grey and white long hair cat, she came to us as a stray, but clearly she has been loved. Her favorite petting spot is just below the chin. She, too, needs a home.
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