Just two cats today: no-longer-so-shy MOUSEY and newcomer BELLA. Both were alert when I arrived, thanks to my fellow volunteers from the preceding shift: Mousey relaxed and Bella on edge. Over the course of two hours Bella went from crouching behind her litter box to sprawling on her blankets, happily sniffing up catnip. It turns out Bella loves catnip. She let me pet her, scratch under her collar, rub her chin, so long as I was petting her with a little bag stuffed with catnip. She ended the morning blissed out on her blankets. Didn’t play any games for me (most of them just seemed to put her on edge), but did watch the laser pointer with interest, so think she’ll enjoy that once she settles in. Which I don’t think will take that long.
MOUSEY had a long walk (the better part of an hour), during which he showed that he’s a smart cat: he now has the layout of the entire store in his head, and mapped out the routes he wanted to follows. He did get stymied at one point, when he wanted to get from the far side of the store over back towards the cat-room but there was a large dog barking in the way (nr Banfield); he took a lot of time trying to figure out a detour. He did slip under the shelves at one point but was quickly recovered: he’d only just ducked out of sight. I think it’s a good sign that the mewing has pretty much stopped: he’s a lot more confident on the leash now.
Not long before the shift ended, my fellow volunteer took a call from a potential adopter who’s interested in Mr. Mousey and said he plans to drop by while an adoption councilor is there this evening. I really hope this is Mr. Mousey’s time and that it’s a good match. I’ll be really glad if he goes home, though I’ll also really miss him.
—John R.
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