SHEENA is big, black, and placid and wants to be left alone by the other cats so she can enjoy her favorite place, a blanket atop the bins just outside her cage. She's what I call a lazy predator in that later on she rolled onto her back and enjoyed a game of laser pointer, happy as a clam so long as she didn't have to actually get up and move around.
Little HELENA looks almost like an ocelot cat and is amazingly small for a full grown three-year-old cat. She enjoyed the catnip and played all the games I offered with enthusiasm.
Mid-way through my shift two new cats arrived from the shelter: PEETIE (a chunky black-and-white cat with half-mast tail and a love of attention) and Old Man HANK (back from the clinic and demanding to be put back in charge of the cat-room). It turns out that Helena hates boy-cats. She'd been fine with Sheena over in her corner but got very wound up after the arrival of the two boy-cats, and let fly the hisses when they approached her cat-stand (which by that point she very obviously considered her cat-stand).
Even though it was already fairly late in my shift, I went ahead and welcomed Mr. Hank back by taking him for a walk;; think he enjoyed the chance to stretch his legs and have a bit of a walkaround after being in the carrier.
As for this week (Wedn. the 4th), I was a little late arriving this morning but nonetheless was able to walk all four cats for twenty to thirty minutes each, ranging all over the store.
HELENA went first, because I figured she was the one most likely to get wound up by the other cats the longer we waited.
Then it was SHEENA OPRIA’s turn, followed by PEETIE TEK. Last came HANK, who was inclined to grumble over having had to wait but enjoyed his time out. I think Peetie got the most attention (people like his tail) but pretty much all got noticed and had a chance to explore.
We had one man in visitiing the cats and asking lots of questions about adopting a single cat or two cats at the same time; he had concerns that one would be lonely but two might not get along. I encouraged him to come back in the evenings and talk to an adoption councilor; hope he does some follow-up.
We wrapped up the morning with some games for Peetie and Helena: mouse-on-a-stick, catnip bubbles, bootlace, laser pointer (the last by far their favorite). Helena discovered the catnip in the bottom of my bag just as I was putting them in their cages, so each had to have a pinch.
So: Hank considers all the other cats his minions, Helena is v. territorial; Sheena wants to enjoy her spot and Peetie wants to play.
Health concerns: Hank seems fine, but I noticed he sneezed several time immediately upon coming back into the room from his walk. Think his ears might need clearing but noticed this too late to do so today.
N.B.: Hank likes to steal Peetie’s food.
--John R.
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