Their stories are important. Even more important are the stories that they will generate in their new homes.
Once a month I meet a few new kitties in the Frederick shelter and share one of those stories. I suppose it's really my story, not theirs. But it is all about what these wonderful creatures stir in me. What can I see in their eyes, their posture, their play that tells me something about who they are. So many people adopt pets based on what they look like. How stupid is that? It's basically discrimination. Sure, these cats are cute or regal, petite or chunky, But look a little deeper. And look beyond the obvious behaviors. 'Shy' is a word that is WAY oversused when it comes to cats. What's behind that reserved behavior? Aloofness? I can respsect that. Or are they just 'chill'? Who couldn't use a little of that in their lives?! |
ADOPTED!!
Billie Jean
Billie Jean is a talkative gal. I imagine her as a young woman of the 1950's talking on the phone to all her girlfriends for as many hours as she could get away with. I woke her from her cat nap and she roused with a string of vocalizations I wish I could understand. After all these years, I am still not fluent in cat!
I don't think she had been visited all day so she was extra eager to come right over and await the opening of the cage door. I had a little trouble with the lock. Apparently, she thought she could help. "Oh, human, Come on already." She reached through to my hand and took hold. OK, she wasn't so much trying to help as she was trying to pull my hand into the cage with her.
I finally unlocked the lock and started to open the latch. "What's taking you so long? Get on in here and pet me!". She was ever so happy for the attention, letting me know with the occasional approving meow.
Billie Jean has plenty of energy, evident by the pacing to show her enthusiasm. She also quite enjoyed playing with my pen. Though she did that while laying down during a little 'lazy play' time after she snacked on the kibble that was left in her dish.
This little lady knows what she wants. When I told her it was time for me move along and pulled away from her, she leaned in and stayed connected to my hand. I obliged her nonverbal plea for me to stay a while longer. But eventually I really did have to go! She stepped up her game and just flat out grabbed my hand.
Billie Jean needs a real cat person to be HER person. She will love you and demand love in return, A real cat person will not only be OK with that but will appreciate that she has a mind of her own and will stand up for what she wants. I have nothing but respect for this lovely, charcoal gray kitty. Chatty. Grabby. And authentic.
ADOPTED!!
Lilo
Oh, Lilo!! She will entice you. She will draw you in with her innocence face and friendly "Hello! I sure would like to spend some time with you!". The first time I met Lilo she was not on my list to visit with. Other cats had been in the shelter longer or had special circumstances. My commitment was to write bios for the cats who needed the P.R. But that Lilo seduced me.
I ended up spending a lot of time with her. I even held her. I didn't hold any of the other cats that day, but she was so friendly and seemed to be reaching out specifically to ME. "She likes me, she really likes me!" I thought. Oh, that Lilo. Turns out she likes everybody. But I don't hold that against her.
She wanted attention. And got lots of it from me. She tried to nuzzle up with me, pressing her forehead to mine. I nuzzled right back. She wanted to play with my pen. So much for taking notes. We spent some real quality time. I had to laugh out loud because during all of this she would take her own personal breaks. She stopped to thoroughly clean her little creamy white paws. She took a snack break. It was kind of hilarious. She gets an idea in her head and vroom, she is off to do it for as long as that thing takes then vroom, right back to pick up where she left off.
I think she must be quite the explorer. No fear. She kept trying to use my shoulder as a means of escape. "Oh, she wants to climb on my shoulder" I thought. Ha! My shoulder was her ticket out of that cage.
Lilo is a crafty one with her own ideas. She makes quick decisions, changes her mind frequently, and expects you to pay enough attention to her whims and roll with it. You just might get your hand slapped for not paying attention. Use your intuition to be in sync with her many moods. She is a true cat person's cat. No rookies for Lilo! She can outsmart and outmaneuver a rookie. She will entertain and delight you a hundred times a day.
Oh, Lilo!! She will entice you. She will draw you in with her innocence face and friendly "Hello! I sure would like to spend some time with you!". The first time I met Lilo she was not on my list to visit with. Other cats had been in the shelter longer or had special circumstances. My commitment was to write bios for the cats who needed the P.R. But that Lilo seduced me.
I ended up spending a lot of time with her. I even held her. I didn't hold any of the other cats that day, but she was so friendly and seemed to be reaching out specifically to ME. "She likes me, she really likes me!" I thought. Oh, that Lilo. Turns out she likes everybody. But I don't hold that against her.
She wanted attention. And got lots of it from me. She tried to nuzzle up with me, pressing her forehead to mine. I nuzzled right back. She wanted to play with my pen. So much for taking notes. We spent some real quality time. I had to laugh out loud because during all of this she would take her own personal breaks. She stopped to thoroughly clean her little creamy white paws. She took a snack break. It was kind of hilarious. She gets an idea in her head and vroom, she is off to do it for as long as that thing takes then vroom, right back to pick up where she left off.
I think she must be quite the explorer. No fear. She kept trying to use my shoulder as a means of escape. "Oh, she wants to climb on my shoulder" I thought. Ha! My shoulder was her ticket out of that cage.
Lilo is a crafty one with her own ideas. She makes quick decisions, changes her mind frequently, and expects you to pay enough attention to her whims and roll with it. You just might get your hand slapped for not paying attention. Use your intuition to be in sync with her many moods. She is a true cat person's cat. No rookies for Lilo! She can outsmart and outmaneuver a rookie. She will entertain and delight you a hundred times a day.
Iden
This is one chill cat. She is not going to run around with her tail in the air overexcited to see you like, well, a dog. She is pure cat. She likes her personal space. She doesn't need to be the center of attention. She enjoys a little peace and quiet. She sounds a lot like me! Like so many cat people that I know.
She warmly welcomes your attention the way a massage client responds to a massage. She just breathes into it with the appreciation that she is on the receiving end of something that that is a pure 'feel good' experience. But she isn't going to demand it or plant her body onto yours. I think that she thinks that would be pushy and just a tad rude. No need to be up in anyone's face. No need to try so hard. Just be.
Who couldn't use a little more of that in their life?
She reminds me of a 1970's era lounge cat. With her shiny, black coat and her slim physique, she exudes a laid-back, 'cool cat' persona. She is there to peacefully oversee 'the crib' and all its comings and goings. She's not the greeter. She's not the bouncer. And she's definitely not the server! She is the eyes and ears of the establishment. Observing without you even knowing that she's aware of you. "Let them other cats run around and entertain the crowd." Iden is totally chill. And don't be fooled; she is aware of you. And she welcomes your love and affection. If not in this very moment, no worries -- she'll catch you 'on the flip-side'.
And by flip-side I mean upside down. After kneading some biscuits in her pink blanket, she leaned into me, rolled over and eased herself down, and presented me with her chin. She loves chin scratches! She just sinks deeper and deeper into a trance. She has a beautiful, longish face which gives her plenty of chin for scratching.
Lila Grace
Lila Grace is the classic cat. She's the kind of cat you would see sitting on the garden wall in the sunshine watching butterflies while her person does some gardening. She the kind of cat that would sit in the window for hours like everything that is happening on the other side of the glass is her own personal television programming.
She was impatient for me to get her cage open. Because just like a true classic cat, she was ready and waiting for attention. I imagine that if that cage door had been a front door to her home, that she would be pacing and rubbing up against the hall table leg impatiently waiting for her person to get that door open and step on in to be greeted by her.
She's a nuzzler for sure. And she likes to get close. I think this little lady is ready to attach herself to a kind human who will provide her with things to look at and things to look forward to and of course chin scratches. Lots and lots of chin scratches.
Lila Grace is a confident little lady. She knows she's a cat and she's quite happy to be a cat! And she's more than ready to be in a home, following the sunshine as it moves from room to room throughout the day while she waits for her person to come home.
Cassidy
Cassidy is a little doll. The first time I met her, she was just recovering from her spay surgery. She was delightful. Who is delightful after surgery? She got up from her cat nap and came to the front of her cage to say hello. She was not on my list to visit that day, but I couldn't resist.
As I opened up her caged, she paced a little; I could see that she was getting excited for the attention she knew was coming her way. I was gentle with her given her recent surgery but she never flinched. She even played with my pen, she was in such a good mood.
Cassidy is nuzzler. A face sniffer who wants to get close. She likes to be engaged and included. I just think she prefers that one-one-one time to be a little more light and sweet than her young and age and youthful appearance suggest.
With her all-American beauty and demeanor, she attracted the attention of a mom and her teen daughter who had recently lost one of their cats and were considering adopting a friend for the cat they have. Cassidy loved the daughter! (The mom was just getting over a cold so she didn’t want to pet her and risk getting her sick.) They were both totally falling in love with her. I thought for sure Lila Grace was headed for a trip to her forever home.
It wasn't a match made in heaven though. The dad, also a cat lover, joined the ladies and reached in to play with her. "Too rough!" Turns out she is not a rough housing, tom boy kind of girl. She's sweet & petite. She's got that girl-next-door charm and innocent confidence that deserves a little self-restraint from her over-excited admirers. I happen to think that makes for a pretty great cat. And I think a lot of people could learn a lot from little Cassidy.
Cassidy is a little doll. The first time I met her, she was just recovering from her spay surgery. She was delightful. Who is delightful after surgery? She got up from her cat nap and came to the front of her cage to say hello. She was not on my list to visit that day, but I couldn't resist.
As I opened up her caged, she paced a little; I could see that she was getting excited for the attention she knew was coming her way. I was gentle with her given her recent surgery but she never flinched. She even played with my pen, she was in such a good mood.
Cassidy is nuzzler. A face sniffer who wants to get close. She likes to be engaged and included. I just think she prefers that one-one-one time to be a little more light and sweet than her young and age and youthful appearance suggest.
With her all-American beauty and demeanor, she attracted the attention of a mom and her teen daughter who had recently lost one of their cats and were considering adopting a friend for the cat they have. Cassidy loved the daughter! (The mom was just getting over a cold so she didn’t want to pet her and risk getting her sick.) They were both totally falling in love with her. I thought for sure Lila Grace was headed for a trip to her forever home.
It wasn't a match made in heaven though. The dad, also a cat lover, joined the ladies and reached in to play with her. "Too rough!" Turns out she is not a rough housing, tom boy kind of girl. She's sweet & petite. She's got that girl-next-door charm and innocent confidence that deserves a little self-restraint from her over-excited admirers. I happen to think that makes for a pretty great cat. And I think a lot of people could learn a lot from little Cassidy.
Simba
When I first saw Simba, I didn’t actually SEE Simba. I thought that he must be with a vet tech in another part of the shelter or otherwise engaged. But the lock was still on his cage so that didn’t make much sense. I looked. And looked again. Seriously, the cage is not that big. Had I been at the shelter a little too long? Maybe I was coming down with something. There was no cat in this cage.
I decided to open up the lock. And the gate. I reached in and I stood on my toes and I peered this way and that. "I think I see an ear," I said aloud. I cautiously started raising up the upholstered cat bed to reveal the most glorious tawny fellow I have ever seen.
If ever there was a cat who knew that he didn't belong in a cage, it was Simba. But he handled it like a gentleman. He simply chose to cover his face – and head and entire body – with the big pillow of a cat bed. "I don't belong here," he seemed to be saying.
And I know he is right.
Not being sure of how he felt about a stranger reaching into his shiny abode to touch him, I approached cautiously. As my hand eased toward his head, he looked straight into my own eyes with his big, yellow diamonds. And he was so grateful! He loves attention. And I believe he loved the connection we made as I discovered him as if he was the treasure of an archeological dig. At least, that's what I want to believe.
And then the purring started. A true motorboat! The rumble of whatever part of a cat's body that makes that glorious sound was in full gear. Once his background music began, I knew it was OK to lift the bed away from him completely. What a beautiful cat!
He seemed so very grateful. To have a little genuine love, if only for a few minutes.
OK, truth be told, I stayed with him for way more than a few minutes. I just couldn't break away. He is really quite captivating if you are still enough to really see him.
He is buff color all over, including his sweet, tawny nose. And he has white whiskers all except for the one solitary half black and half white whisker above his right eye.
Once the staff at the shelter made the announcement that it was almost closing time – yes, I was with him for that long! -- I bid him farewell, picked up my pad of paper and pen, and reached for the padlock. He looked right into my eyes as if to say, "Please, not yet." OMG. It was that moment that he stole my heart. Well, it was that moment that I realized that he had stolen my heart. It probably happened a lot earlier than that.
I stayed with him a while longer.
He is such a gentle soul. I half believe that he is some kind of reincarnated philosopher put on this earth to make us think deep thoughts. No really, he looks you straight in the eye and speaks without words.
He doesn't belong in the shelter. Everyone there is so wonderful and so caring. And still, I know that he can never thrive within the confines of that stainless steel compartment.
Simba will make any soulful human with a need for peace and serenity very, very happy! Daily, he will remind you how to be grateful. How to slow down and appreciate the best that there is to appreciate in that very moment. What a beautiful soul, you are, Simba.
I decided to open up the lock. And the gate. I reached in and I stood on my toes and I peered this way and that. "I think I see an ear," I said aloud. I cautiously started raising up the upholstered cat bed to reveal the most glorious tawny fellow I have ever seen.
If ever there was a cat who knew that he didn't belong in a cage, it was Simba. But he handled it like a gentleman. He simply chose to cover his face – and head and entire body – with the big pillow of a cat bed. "I don't belong here," he seemed to be saying.
And I know he is right.
Not being sure of how he felt about a stranger reaching into his shiny abode to touch him, I approached cautiously. As my hand eased toward his head, he looked straight into my own eyes with his big, yellow diamonds. And he was so grateful! He loves attention. And I believe he loved the connection we made as I discovered him as if he was the treasure of an archeological dig. At least, that's what I want to believe.
And then the purring started. A true motorboat! The rumble of whatever part of a cat's body that makes that glorious sound was in full gear. Once his background music began, I knew it was OK to lift the bed away from him completely. What a beautiful cat!
He seemed so very grateful. To have a little genuine love, if only for a few minutes.
OK, truth be told, I stayed with him for way more than a few minutes. I just couldn't break away. He is really quite captivating if you are still enough to really see him.
He is buff color all over, including his sweet, tawny nose. And he has white whiskers all except for the one solitary half black and half white whisker above his right eye.
Once the staff at the shelter made the announcement that it was almost closing time – yes, I was with him for that long! -- I bid him farewell, picked up my pad of paper and pen, and reached for the padlock. He looked right into my eyes as if to say, "Please, not yet." OMG. It was that moment that he stole my heart. Well, it was that moment that I realized that he had stolen my heart. It probably happened a lot earlier than that.
I stayed with him a while longer.
He is such a gentle soul. I half believe that he is some kind of reincarnated philosopher put on this earth to make us think deep thoughts. No really, he looks you straight in the eye and speaks without words.
He doesn't belong in the shelter. Everyone there is so wonderful and so caring. And still, I know that he can never thrive within the confines of that stainless steel compartment.
Simba will make any soulful human with a need for peace and serenity very, very happy! Daily, he will remind you how to be grateful. How to slow down and appreciate the best that there is to appreciate in that very moment. What a beautiful soul, you are, Simba.
Baby
I approached baby's cage assuming that I would see a 17 year old cat. I suppose she is a 17 year old cat, but what I saw was something altogether different.
She was sleeping at the back corner of her cage. The shine of the stainless steel gleaming around her. She looked like some kind of 1920s sophisticated lady, lounging poolside or in some fancy ballroom with metallic painted walls. She was elegant and refined.
If she wasn't a cat, I would see her with a Greyhound on a satin leash, posed like a glamorous muse for Erte.
Yes, I know. She was asleep. But I saw what I saw. An elegance and "I was born with it" kind of air. No pride. Just an honest representation of all that she is and all that she has seen in her time here.
I decided not to wake her because she was just that perfect just as she was.
When I made my way back to her I decided to gently awaken the lady. And she was just as delightful! Just as refined and confident as her sleeping self. After opening her eyes in thanks for the head and chin rubs she proceeded to her post-nap bath. Cleanliness is important for a lady. She even let me – a total stranger reaching into her cage – clean the rather embarrassing 'yuck' from the corner of her right eye. She knew I was there to be kind. And she most certainly didn't want to be walking around with 'yuck' in her eye!
She seemed so sincerely appreciative of the affection. Not desperate for it. Not sad that her circumstances have changed so dramatically. Just genuinely thankful for the visit. What a lady. I wish I had half of her grace.
Later, when a family came through with three young boys, I thought the worst. The youngest was especially loud. And grabby. That lovely lady, by now moved to the sitting room of her two-room shiny apartment, simply sat at the front gate and watched. She was entirely unfazed.
I wasn't. I may have darted a few unapproving looks in their general direction. And I was most certainly distracted form the cat that I was with at the time. But she was just as elegant and calm as she was when she was asleep. Amazing. What a dear, dear, cat. I think any cat lover would be honored to have her in their household as she lives out her days with old world dignity and unparalleled grace.
She was sleeping at the back corner of her cage. The shine of the stainless steel gleaming around her. She looked like some kind of 1920s sophisticated lady, lounging poolside or in some fancy ballroom with metallic painted walls. She was elegant and refined.
If she wasn't a cat, I would see her with a Greyhound on a satin leash, posed like a glamorous muse for Erte.
Yes, I know. She was asleep. But I saw what I saw. An elegance and "I was born with it" kind of air. No pride. Just an honest representation of all that she is and all that she has seen in her time here.
I decided not to wake her because she was just that perfect just as she was.
When I made my way back to her I decided to gently awaken the lady. And she was just as delightful! Just as refined and confident as her sleeping self. After opening her eyes in thanks for the head and chin rubs she proceeded to her post-nap bath. Cleanliness is important for a lady. She even let me – a total stranger reaching into her cage – clean the rather embarrassing 'yuck' from the corner of her right eye. She knew I was there to be kind. And she most certainly didn't want to be walking around with 'yuck' in her eye!
She seemed so sincerely appreciative of the affection. Not desperate for it. Not sad that her circumstances have changed so dramatically. Just genuinely thankful for the visit. What a lady. I wish I had half of her grace.
Later, when a family came through with three young boys, I thought the worst. The youngest was especially loud. And grabby. That lovely lady, by now moved to the sitting room of her two-room shiny apartment, simply sat at the front gate and watched. She was entirely unfazed.
I wasn't. I may have darted a few unapproving looks in their general direction. And I was most certainly distracted form the cat that I was with at the time. But she was just as elegant and calm as she was when she was asleep. Amazing. What a dear, dear, cat. I think any cat lover would be honored to have her in their household as she lives out her days with old world dignity and unparalleled grace.