Misty's Shelter Diaries

[mistytail]

Howdy!

So, for those who don't know, I'm home this semester for college. Financial things and whatnot. I take only night classes and was working at a paying job five days a week with my dad, but that got to be so exhausting I just hated it. Tried looking for a job somewhere else and couldn't find one, so my schedule's been altered to 2 days a week.

In the meantime, I'm taking up something I did over the summer again: volunteering at my local animal shelter.

Now, legally I can't post pictures, tell you where it is, or give names of anyone else on staff. However, I could always talk about the cats. So I am going to do that because it's really, really great and I love it.

A little about the shelter first: It's a small town shelter. We have tons of animals though. Four full hallways of dogs, constantly moving them in and out (and by that I usually mean euthanize... We don't really have a choice because no one will take them Everyone wants puppies, nobody takes old dogs.) We also have a whole huge chicken coop, three peacocks that roam the property and scream so unbelievably loud. My god. Do you know how loud peacocks are? They are so loud that some people have them instead of burglar alarms. And we also just got a pig. His name is Rhino and he is very cute, he's a huge potbelly pig.

And of course, we have cats. Tons and tons and tons of cats. We have a main room for the cats, which is comprised of a small room with six cages for new arrivals and sick cats, a bigger room with a fishtank, some cat beds, and the cabinets where we keep the food, bedding, and toys, and what's really neat is that we have an outside patio for them too. There's a door in the fishtank room that has a cat flap that the cats can go in and out on the patio, which has a picnic table and a few plastic playthings you'd put in a playground for preschoolers for them to sit on. The patio's enclosed in bars and chicken wire, so nothing gets in or out except maybe the occasional very small bird.

We also have three to four cages in the hallways filled with kittens. Those are constantly coming in and out, the kittens get adopted so fast hardly anyone gets to know them. We have had to turn people down as adoptive parents though, because sometimes people say they want the kittens declawed and we're not having any of that.

Then in the back, where the general public isn't allowed and volunteers are only allowed in on Wednesdays and Thursdays, we have another room for the cats. This room is where we have two cages for TNR cats, a bathtub (not sure what that's for but it's there), a washer and dryer for soiled bedding, food, tons of medicine, and a few cats that either have disabilities or are in that awkward stage where they're too young to be kittens but not old enough to fit in with the regular cats. Unfortunately this is also the room where unwanted or sick animals that can't be helped are taken to be euthanized.

I'm a little disappointed in what's become of the fishtank room since I left. It used to be full of chairs, beds, scratching posts, and cat trees for them to climb and play. Now it's mostly empty save for maybe two or three cat trees and one scratching post. The cats still like this room though, it gives them lots of space and the carpets on the floor are nice for them to scratch up and sun on. There's also two chairs for them to sleep in, whether it's claiming the whole chair or letting a volunteer sit with them and sleep in their lap. The first room's gotten better though, it used to be really cluttered but now there's room for the cats to breathe. This is also really good because we have three new arrivals that are all not used to people so it gives them some breathing room in their cages. We have two new dilute torties, named Sassy and Dot, and a little female tuxedo named Daisy. I'm not sure how she's in the main room because she's only seven months old and she apparently "abandoned her colony," but she looks very sweet and doesn't appear to be aggressive at all so she might have a shot of getting adopted.

The shelter's also really good about not euthanizing our cats unless they're really in trouble though. We have over 60 cats in total if you count the kittens and back room, and yet there are cats that have been there for over four years now. I'm just very sad that so many of them have yet to be adopted because aside from one genuinely awful, terrible beast of a cat, they're all good pets in need of loving homes.

This post is getting obscenely long, I think, so I'll end the introduction here. I'll be talking about some individual cats if you guys want to hear that, or if you guys want to hear more about me dealing with obnoxious people I can talk about that. I just don't wanna clog up the thread with meandering thoughts (which is basically what this post is, d'oh).

[Lady Ten]

Oct 5, 2012 13:53:50 GMT -6 @mistytail said:

We have had to turn people down as adoptive parents though, because sometimes people say they want the kittens declawed and we're not having any of that.

Thank goodness.

May we hear more about your favorite cats?

[mistytail]

Sure thing! C:

My absolute favorite cat would have to be Shy Boy. He's a small tomcat, mostly white but with a black tail, a bunch of big black markings on his head, and a little black circle on his left side. He's got really gorgeous green eyes and he's always dirty, he never bothers to clean himself. He's also really, really skinny. He also has a neurological disorder (not sure what kind) that makes him walk flat-footed in his hindlegs, so he waddles wherever he goes, and his tail is permanently kinked at the tip, and it doesn't move right. It just sort of... twitches a lot when he wants to move it.

And let me tell you: He is the. Cutest. Thing. Ever.

My god, this is honestly the sweetest cat I've ever met. He comes right up to strangers, but will run away if you come down to his level too fast, but then he comes right back once you're seated and still. He never likes to go right into a lap, he mostly stands with his forepaws on you if he decides he wants to try it out, but he's usually too shy for that. He is, however, incredibly snuggly, and will lean up against your leg and purr like a motorboat if you pet him. He likes belly rubs, and if he decides he doesn't like it anymore, he doesn't violently attack you. He just puts his paws on you with his claws out a little bit and puts his teeth very gently on your hand, so it's not a "Hey! Get off!" but more like a "Oh, please don't do this anymore, I don't like this very much, but I still like you a lot."

The cutest thing though is that when you stand up, he reaches up at you with his paw and sticks his claws out to beg for attention. He's like the little five year old that wants the teacher to pick him in class. It's so cute and I love him and if my mom liked cats I would have taken him home a long time ago, but unfortunately my house is not cat-friendly.

Then we have Samantha, who's a really big gray and white female. I mentioned her in a thread about scent-spraying and such in the feline genetics section, but she's so sweet I have to talk about her here. She's an adorably affectionate cat, and if she decides she likes you, the moment you sit down she will literally run over to you and climb in your lap. She'll then look up at you with those adorable greenish-yellow eyes before rubbing her face against yours and knead your tummy with her claws. She's a pretty dominant cat when she's not snuggling with you though, and sometimes she chases the shier cats away from the platters of wet food at mealtime. She's currently sick right now, but I hope she feels better soon, because I miss her :C

Then there's Cami, who's one of my favorites because she's such a misunderstood baby. I'm gonna guess she's around four or five, she's pretty grown-up but not really old, and she's a pretty tortoiseshell with lots of little ginger lines and ticks all over her body. She has really pale gold eyes, and she's gorgeous to look at. Until she decides she hates you and hisses and paws at you to get away. The problem is, she's the only declawed cat in the whole group of about 50 in the main room, so I completely understand her aggression. She actually really likes getting attention from people and likes to take naps in my lap. Recently she decided she likes me enough to rub my face and knead my chest and belly... which made me sad because, for a cat, she seemed really self-conscious in that moment, like she wanted to do it properly but felt bad she didn't have claws. She's very insecure and unsure of herself, but she's mellowed out now. I think she's just beat up the other cats enough that they give her the space she needs to feel safe. She's a really sweet girl when you get her by herself, but she needs time to open up. I think she'd make a great pet, but I wouldn't put her in a house with children or other pets. I'd take her home if I could, but alas. :C

Also, there's Rock. I'm not sure why he's named Rock because he's a cream-colored tabby tom with a white diamond on his forehead and a white chest and paws. He's a cat of many names - he's also called Rocko, Coffee Cat, and Starbucks. He's really silly but that gives him a reputation of being a "bad" cat, but he's really not bad. We call him Coffee Cat and Starbucks because whenever one of the volunteers - we'll call her K - comes in with morning coffee, he hangs around it and even sniffs at the empty cup with gusto. He just really, really likes it, and we're not sure why. He also likes getting into the food cabinet at lunchtime when we feed them wet food, and then claws at anyone who tries to get past him. It's play aggression so it doesn't bother me, and most of the time he just whacks you with his paw, he generally doesn't have his claws out. He's really, really, really passionate about food. That's his thing. On a side note, he's really cute when he curls up and puts his face in his paws in your lap when he decides it's naptime. And he really likes chewing your hair if he happens to be on the windowsill behind you and someone else is napping on you.

And we also have Wilma, who you generally don't see much of until lunchtime, but let me tell you: This is the most beautiful cat I've ever seen, and I think every cat is gorgeous and beautiful. She's a shorthair but it's just long enough to give her this flowy look, and she has this gorgeous pale gray fur with strips that just fade in and out all around her. She looks like she's made out of mist, swear to god. And to top that all of, she has these brilliant green eyes. My goodness. I could look at this cat all day and never get bored. But she does make me wonder, and I hope this isn't offensive because it's genuinely not meant to be, but she sort of makes me wonder if cats can also have autism. She gets very peeved by weird things, like certain items in the cat room like a basket or a toy, and sort of just walks over everything. She doesn't socialize with any of the other cats, and it really seems like she only half-understands what's going on at the time, like she's in her own little world. On her petfinder page, the shelter says she has some type of neurological disorder, so that might be it, but I just don't understand how she works. That's probably why I like her so much though, aside from the back that she's just absolutely stunning.

There's also tons of solid black cats at the shelter, let me just put that fact out there. We have so many, everyone who works there has a hard time telling who's who. Except for the gentle giant, Scooter, who acts more like a dog than a cat. He loves getting into trouble and doing all sorts of stereotypical cat things, and it always looks really funny when he does them because he's just so massive. People who visit say he looks like "the Godfather of cats." When he sits in your lap, he becomes your lap. He's just huge. But gosh, I've never seen such a friendly cat. He'll hop right up and start pawing at your thighs the minute you walk in the door to say hello. (A pair of jeans I own still has a pulled thread from the last time he did that to me.) He's an absolute sweetheart and I really hope he gets a home soon, because I think he could even be good with kids if they were taught how to be gentle with cats.

Wow gosh, I actually have more but I think this might be long enough or I'll look like a maniac. @.@

[mistytail]

As a quick add-on post, since I haven't been to the shelter in a few days but am going tomorrow, I wanted to add: We have a very shy, skittish, easily frightened cat that looks exactly like Ravenpaw. He makes my day.

[mistytail]

Good news! Scooter, Cami, and a cat I hadn't mentioned before, Augie, all got adopted while I was gone! I'm really happy, they're all great cats. Apparently we have to keep our ears open in case Cami gets tossed back but I don't think that will happen. She's a very sweet cat at heart, really.

Bad news: my poor Shy Boy is sick, and the staff won't take care of him. He's lethargic, he shakes, and he won't eat or drink. The staff are saying, "Oh, he's fine, he just has a neurological disorder," but he's not fine. He's skin and bones. He's not the cat I knew a few weeks ago. I can't make them do anything, I'm just a volunteer, but I'm praying he gets better soon. I'm gonna check on him tomorrow to see how he's doing. If you guys wouldn't mind, would you keep him in your thoughts for me? :c

[cloudbat]

Poor Shy Boy...I'll be thinking of him. :C

[mistytail]

Thank you, Cloudie ;w; I'm going to stop by tomorrow to check on him and help with feeding the cats for the weekend (they don't get wet food on Sundays because the shelter closes and they weren't fed for the last two days because we ran out of food but thankfully a volunteer I will call J brought in a ton for us). He'll appreciate it even if he's not feeling good. He's a really nice cat. uwu

[mistytail]

Good news, everyone! Shy Boy is at the vet's. From what I've heard, he's hanging in there and being taken care of. Hopefully he'll be back with us soon. I hope they feed him well there, the poor baby was just skin and bones when I last saw him. :c

More good news: We have kittens in the main room! It's a litter of three in one of the cat cages, a brown tabby, a tuxedo, and a black cat with white paws. They all have the prettiest amber eyes uwu I'm gonna assume the tabby looks like their mom and the black and white cats look like their dad. They're very rambunctious little fellows and are constantly wrestling with each other and knocking their litter around in the process. It's messy but it's very cute. :3

I think my girl Samantha got adopted a while ago because I haven't seen her around and she was a very healthy young cat. I did find out the oldest cat we had there, Darla, got put down while I was gone. It's a shame, but in all honesty, she was very old, very grumpy, and very afraid all the time, so I think it might have been kinder to put her to sleep. She lived a long life and she had the best one we could give her while she was with us.

Also, if anyone might know, do calicos have a specific personality type, like how breeders will say tortoiseshell cats have a special "torti-tude?" I'm just wondering because all of our calico cats are very, very shy. Except for one very old lady who we call Sassy (who is now one of three Sassys... they come here with such awful names oh my goodness), our calicos always run from us unless we're feeding them. I got to pet poor shy Tina twice in the past couple of days though, so I think that's a good sign.

Also (I am abusing this word but these are just jumbles of thought and not really one cohesive point I'm trying to make), one of our cats that was sick got let out of his cage a while ago and he's getting used to walking around. His name is Cookie and he's a silver tabby with green eyes, and he's also a polydactyl cat (about 2 extra toes on each front paw, I think). He walks with a weird tilt in his head, and he always stinks to the high holy heavens, but he is an incredibly sweet and cuddly cat. He loves to be petted and snuggled. I don't know if anyone else at the shelter calls him this, but I've taken to calling him "Cookie Puss." (Like the Carvel cake? I thought it was funny.)

And then there's Cash. Cash is a brown tabby and white cat, and she's also a polydactyl. Cash is very skinny and I think she's starting to get on in years. She's incredibly sweet though. If you sit in a chair or on the floor, she bounds over and curls up in your lap. And when I say "curls up," I mean into a tiny spherical furball. She just loves to nap on people, and she loves being held like a baby while she does.

Cats, man. I just really love cats.

[mistytail]

Welp. Time for a not-so-happy write-up.

Shy Boy passed away this week. It turned out that he had feline leukemia in his back legs, that's what caused him to waddle and everything. He had to be put to sleep because there's no cure.

I also found out that Samantha, a cat I was extremely close with a few months ago, was unfairly euthanized in the time I was gone. I don't understand. She was a young, healthy, strong, friendly cat. I understand them having to put down some of the old or sick ones, but...

Eh. I'm not as much of a wreck as I thought I would be. I think I'm just numb to losses at this point. I tend to drag my grieving along with me rather than just dwelling in it.

At least I know Shy Boy isn't suffering and in pain anymore, and at least I know wherever Samantha is she's as happy as can be.

I guess it's a good thing I couldn't adopt Shy Boy after all. I would have spent all this time with him only to find out that he was sick and dying anyway.

I guess what I don't understand is why this had to happen to him. He was really an angel of a cat. He was like, I don't know, like a baby I guess. He meant everything in the world to me and what kills me is that the whole time I've known him, he's been in so much pain from the leukemia.

Chin up and carry on, I suppose, for the other cats, and he was never even my cat to begin with. Although a part of me hopes that he'll be waiting on the other side. (Whoever started that "animals don't have souls" garbage was an idiot.)

[Lady Ten]

Wow, that's really sad. I'm sorry to read about this, and I hope some good things come your way soon.