I was greeting by lots of meows and yeowls when I entered the Cat Room, with little Bluebell the loudest of them all. After a few weeks away, I found a v. different set of cats now that I've returned. Following the adoptions of Munro, Lilliand, and Tulip & Daffodil, that left just EMMA THE TERROR as the only hold-over from the cats I'd seen last time (on May 6th). The current cat-list is EMMA, SAHARA, BUTTERCUP, BLOSSOM, and BLUEBELL. Whoever named these kittens was clearly a fan of THE POWERPUFF GIRLS (though that doesn't explain why one is named 'Bluebell' rather than 'Bubbles').
THE KITTENS FROM OMAN: For those who haven't seen them yet, these are four five-month-old strays found as v. small kittens in Oman, on the Persian Gulf, flown back eight thousand miles to be put up for adoption. I gather that not only do they have a better chance of finding a home here than there, but their exoticism drew a lot of attention to the cat room. Here's hoping that Miss Emma benefits from that extra traffic to finally find a new person and home of her own.
I started with a walk for EMMA, who enjoyed being petted one-on-one without kittens about more than actual walking. Still, she did make it all the way to Banfield, where she looked wistfully out the glass door at the great outdoors. Once we had her back in the room I let all the kittens out, and shortly thereafter set up the 'catio'. The kittens pretty much ignored me, except as a source of games and attention, and amused themselves all morning, exploring and playing and playing and exploring. They're happy to report that string games, fresh catnip, laser pointers, feather dusters, and the ostrich feather have lost none of their appeal. The most dedicated hunter was little red-collar (BLUEBELL), who dug out the ostrich feather and pounced on it repeatedly, each time sinking her teeth in and carrying it away proudly as a trophy back to her lair. The others gladly played with it, but she was the only one who carried it about; v. cute.
SAHARA, on the other hand, is our Escape Artist. Despite my keeping an eye on them, there were a few escapes and attempted escapes -- for the most part I was able to keep them distracted and entertained so they'd rather stay in the room and catio where the games were. But finally Sahara got so single-minded about slipping out of the fenced area that I made him and everyone else come back inside. Luckily it was nearing noon by the time, so they wd have had to come in soon anyway. As for the rest, they were playful and bouncy and pouncy like only overgrown kittens can be. Emma I must say bore it remarkably well: she settled herself atop the cat-stand near the door and let the kittens have the floor below as all their own. I moved her cat-stand out onto the catio, where she enjoyed the fresh air and attention from by-passers.
There were indeed a lot of visitors, attracted by the lure of kittens; several appreciated the contrast that calm, above-the-fray Emma offered. One woman who had very recently and unexpectedly lost her cat was particularly taken with little red-collar, who struck up a conversation with her; hope she comes back to get better acquainted. Also, Moreo's owner dropped by, with the report that he's still doing well; she was accompanied by poor Bugle Boy (Boogieman)'s owner. One visitor thought the Oman cats looked rather like Abyssinians (the long, sleek body and those ears); another woman said the kittens reminded her of the Ankara cats they have back in Turkey (looking these up online, I don't really see it). But there's no doubt that they're striking in appearance and appealing in behavior, much admired by visitors and by-passers alike. Here's hoping they soon find homes, and Emma too.
--John R.
P.S.: And now there's a sixth cat I have not met yet who arrived yesterday after I'd left: Chessa, who's almost totally blind. I've only known one blind cat before, who could navigate around his house remarkably well.
P. P. S.: And many thanks to Cher for covering for me while I was in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Illinois.
--John R.
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