We’re off to a great start with the newly reopened Adoption Room, with four out of seven cats finding new homes in the first week: charismatic TOM TOM, bonded pair JULIETTE and ROMEO, and sweet LUCY Grey. That just leaves three cats: ever-affectionate ELLIE (white calico) and the bonded pair of half-grown kittens CLEO (black and white) and MIGHTY MO (brown tabby).
I let everyone out right away. Ellie made herself right at home, dividing her time between the two rooms. The kittens were soon out and exploring (they love the cat-tree). What a difference a week makes. Cleo let me pet her, as long as I didn’t overdo it. Mighty Mo is shy but allowed a little respectfull petting by the end of the shift.
Ellie largely kept to herself so far as the kittens went, but asked for a good deal of attention, alternating between being petted and playing games. I ran a damp paper towel along her back and sides to take care of any loose fur, which she seems to like, grooming my hands in return (she loves to lick you). She even groomed the laser pointer. Her favorite way of playing with it is to have that little red dot sneak right up next to her, whereupon she does a kind of little hop and lands on it.
The highpoint of Ellie’s activity was her walk (about half an hour). She went along the fish tanks and past the crickets, till she chose a spot with a good view of the front door and sat down the watch the comings and goings. I got the sense she was casing the joint and encouraged her to explore elsewhere. She also wanted to go into the warehouse, which again I discouraged. I think she’s making a mental map of the store and is wondering what’s behind the closed doors.
The kittens are a load of fun, as only kittens can be. They’ve worked out how close they can get to Ellie without provoking a reaction telling them to back off. They enjoyed the string game, the feather-duster, the laser pointer, the mouse-under-the-cover game, the bite-able toy on the end of a stick, the chopstick, and the peacock feather. Especially the peacock feather, which Mighty Mo decapitated in ten minutes. Mo revealed his inner predator. While Cleo loves to play with toys, Mo carries them off to over beneath the cat stand, where he gnaws on them.
Rather to my surprise, Cleo loves to be petted, once she gets to know you —she even accepted some tummy rubs, purring all the while. She’s a bit curious about Outside, so keeping her in while bringing Ellie back in from her walk was tricky. I thought it’s a bit soon to try to walk the kittens, thinking it’d be better to wait till they knew (and trusted) me better. Mo is interested in the leash, but in smelling it, not wearing it; Cleo just thinks it’s another toy.
There were a lot of people who swung by to look at the cats, so I think word will quickly spread about adoptable cats once again being available.
—John R.
P.S.: That’s a picture of Ellie, taken by Janice through the glass. I had altogether forgotten that Ellie had been in our cat-room before, back in December of last year. No wonder she’s familiar with the layout of the store: she must be remembering from before. I even found some old note saying that she was a good walker. Sorry her previous adoption didn’t work out: hope things turn out better for her this time.
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