cat - Best Friends' Kitties (LONG)

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Best Friends' Kitties (LONG)

I got carried away and wrote up reams of pages on our trip to Best
Friends. I have to pare it down to be of interest to you - about the
cats, of course! I'm a little hesitant to "tell all" since it may
start out as a bit of a downer but, in truth, it's quite heartwarming.

Chris and I had signed up as "socializers" petting, cuddling, playing
with kitties to ready them for future adoption. There are nine
buildings housing 756 (at last count) cats. Since volunteers were in
short supply at the time, we could choose which group. The name Kitty
Motel sounded like fun. But we learned the vast majority of cats are
handicapped in some way. The buildings are octagons with a different
set of kitties in each pod. We were assigned to the Geriatrics room.

Mornings are spent cleaning the rooms - an indoor room and a large
porch extending from it. A daily routine which took us over three
hours the first day but we finally got it down to about an hour and a
half. Yes, we could choose a different building each day but we had
fallen madly in love with "our" oldsters and gravitated back, ending
up spending the entire tour with them.

There were 21 cats in Geriatrics. In the end, it was hard to say
goodbye to KoKo and JoJo, George and Sam, Audrey and Callie.
Especially Peanut Butter, a saucy, sassy little old lady who stole my
heart; she thrived on mischief and loved to play tricks on the unwary.
She liked to grab your hand and give it a love-bite, then lick away
the "hurt." Didn't matter to her that there were no teeth to bite
with!! I'd pretend she'd inflicted an ouchie and she'd look so
pleased with herself.

Cedric is a lovely old cat, blind in one eye, and a first-class
lovebug. Finnegan is even more aggressive in looking for loving and
he and Cedric would vie with each other for the attention, seeing who
could squeeze in to push the other away. Lucy is aloof and it was
only on the last day that she condescended to put both feet up on my
face. Grayla, Curry, Kimmie, and Morgan (who was new to the
Sanctuary and still frightened) didn't like human contact at all but
were adorable as is.

The other separated pods contained the FeLeuk, FIV, the Incontinental
Suite, the quarantined, and the Lobby Cats. I spent a *lot* of time
with the Lobbies who had neurological problems. There were eight of
them; Valentino, blind in one eye, had to drag his back legs to the
side behind him. Thumper had been attacked by dogs hurting her spine
and also had to slither around. She got to know us and would rush up
to the door when she saw us coming, loved attention, would grab any
leg going by to get some petting. Got a lot of acupuncture from
Thumper.

Pokey had difficulty with all four legs; Little Bit was too, too thin,
unable to assimilate nourishment. Scooter, an absolute delight, was
born without a tail and back legs which didn't stop her from scooting
here, there, and yon and back again! Weeble, a *beautiful* cat,
walked with a sort of goose-step stride, falling over several times
before she got where she was going, but she'd get there! She had to
be fed with the food dish held up to her face where her head bobbed up
and down uncontrollably like a duck bobbing for corn. She would brace
herself against a wall; at first I thought she was "stuck" and tried
to free her but was told that she'd learned on her own to find a good
spot and steady herself. Smart kitty!!!

Last but not least was Bobby. All of these cats got a raw deal but I
thought Bobby was dealt the harshest hand. He's a cat with an
*attitude*. He's entitled. He's bedridden. Born with his short back
legs facing upward, one front leg only about 2-3 inches long. He's a
most lovable kitty - - on *his* terms! He has his own wooden bed with
"Bobby" painted on the headboard - and wants no other cat within three
feet of it. The staff calls him "Sir Robert". Once I found he'd
pooped and got him out to replace with fresh bedding. Back in his
clean quarters, he promptly peed on it. Same routine - Bobby was
*furious*. To be disturbed twice within a few minutes! He threw one
big temper tantrum, useless little feet and one good leg flailing as
fast as they could go, yowling, teeth bared. One very angry cat!! He
got mad pretty often. He liked to be petted and tummy-rubbed but only
when *he* wanted it for as long as *he* liked. He's my favorite.

When we started working there, I felt deep pity and sorrow for these
poor creatures. The staffer told me not to feel sorry for them, they
didn't know they were handicapped, and were happy. Hard to believe
but by the time we left, I knew it was true. Absolutely!! There is
no self-pity - - they embraced life the way it is.

Jeanne

"JBHajos" wrote
gentle snip

When we started working there, I felt deep pity and sorrow for these
poor creatures. The staffer told me not to feel sorry for them, they
didn't know they were handicapped, and were happy. Hard to believe
but by the time we left, I knew it was true. Absolutely!! There is
no self-pity - - they embraced life the way it is.

It does sound like a wonderful experience. I remember my ex-boss saying once
that animals heal from illnesses so much quicker than humans because animals
don't feel sorry for themselves. I think there's a lot of truth in that.
I've tried to learn that from all the cats I've lived with.

--
Marina, Frank and Nikki
Email marina (dot) kurten (at) pp (dot) inet (dot) fi
Pics at http://uk.f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/frankiennikki

On Wed, 09 Jun 2004 19:30:54 -0600, CATherine
wrote:

Thanks for posting about your trip and the wonderful cats. I enjoyed
reading it very much.

I'm so glad you enjoyed it. It was a rewarding and gratifying time
working and playing with such remarkable kitties. There were many
more, like Baby, Oscar, Twisty, that I'll always remember; though I
don't like to post unless I feel it's interesting to the Group, the
entire experience, with the Sanctuary, its staff and workers (who are
*saints) and all the animals, was terrific.

I had planned a one-day side trip to the Grand Canyon while we were
there. Son Chris was OK with the idea - - but eventually vetoed it
as "it would take too much time away from the cats." Imagine turning
down the Grand Canyon to be with the kitties! I was so proud of him!!

Jeanne
Jeanne Hajos
spamguard:( u is i, and not is net)
===
"Anger improves nothing except the arch of a cat's back."
--- Coleman Cox
My SETI team:
http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/s...am_125874.html

On Thu, 10 Jun 2004 05:34:39 +0300, "Marina"
wrote:

It does sound like a wonderful experience. I remember my ex-boss saying once
that animals heal from illnesses so much quicker than humans because animals
don't feel sorry for themselves. I think there's a lot of truth in that.

Indeed. These kitties taught *me* a lesson or two. They'll never
be well - their disabilities are too severe - but they are happy,
adjusted, loving. They do a lot better than I think I'd do in their
situation. I'm afraid I'd be in a permanent "poor me" mode.

Jeanne