I should change the title to “Living with SEVEN cats”…yes we added to our circus. Lots of things have happened. I’m no longer working in financial services. I work at the animal shelter, which is good and bad. Good because I love the animals and I love being around them and helping them find good homes. Bad because I want to save them all AND I see the worst of the worst. More on that later.
Our latest addition, Squirt, was supposed to be a ‘long term foster’…hahahaha. He was left in a box, by the front door. He was about 6 weeks old and had a broken/dislocated ankle bone. (Worst of the worst) We don’t know for SURE but we THINK someone probably stepped on his leg. The leg may require additional treatment at some point. This fact must be disclosed to potential adopters. No one wants a handicapped kitten, lots of people looked at him. I was a little protective though, no kids, NO outside, not sure about other cats either. He was in a cage in front of me in the lobby. So I’d look up and he’d be on his back, looking at me. I worried that when the healthy kittens started coming in he’d really be passed over. The shelter manager told me to take him home as a foster, to see how our other cats received him. Pippi was NOT happy, she spent the first week growling almost non stop. He just walked around in her in a big circle. Herbie welcomed him, he taught him to wrestle and let Squirt chase him around. After about 10 days I caught Pippi playing with him, she saw me and instantly started growling again. Once Pippi gave her stamp of approval it was official, Squirt was far too comfortable here for me to take him back to the shelter. He would have been heart broken.
Squirt fit right in and made himself right at home. We were worried about the stairs. He stepped off the first stair, lost his balance and did this ass-over-tea kettle roll down the stairs. You could hear his claws trying to grip the carpet. We stood at the top of the stairs, stunned. I thought for SURE he broke something. He got to the bottom of the stairs, legs all spread out and shook his head and took off. His leg does NOT slow him down, he’s all over everything.
The biggest change is that I’m not working at the animal shelter. My responsibilities are to keep the shelter running. I do the deposit, dog licensing, answer the phones, process adoptions, etc. However, we’re short staffed and I can’t let the cats sit and wait for one of the kennel techs to clean. So every morning, except Tues & Sat, when we have volunteers come in and clean, I clean. If done correctly it’s a LOT of work, but I don’t mind it. It’s satisfying to know I’ve done something worthwhile and it gives me the opportunity to get to know the cats. From 9 to 10:30-11:00 I clean. I go to lunch around 11:40ish, I need to be back to open the shelter at 1. Then from 1-6 I sit up at the front and greet people and answer the phones. Everyday brings something new and I always think I’ve heard it all….
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