Shy Kitties at the shelter

As you know I love Wednesdays because that is the day that Lewis and I go to the pound to give TLC to the animals there who are waiting for their forever homes. Yesterday we spent time with 3 kitties. One who wants to hide behind a structure, one who is choosing to live inside a fabric igloo and one who just needed a warm lap and some kindness.

Dede is in Suite one. She is very stressed and wants to hide behind  a shelf structure. Last week I was able to coax her out with treats but this week she was not willing to come out. I moved the structure and got behind it with her . She enjoyed the company and allowed me to comfort her. Dede likes other kitties and often will have one or two others in her hidy place with her for snuggles.

Bella is the igloo kitty who has claimed a fabric igloo as her safe place. I could not coax Bella out of her igloo so I picked the entire thing up and set it and her on my lap on the floor. I slowly peeled down the side to expose her and she allowed me to pet her for a few minutes but had the kind of nervous purr a cat gets when they are very stressed. She let me know when she had enough and I set her down. I stayed in the suite and in a few minutes she emerged from her igloo to get some additional love and a few treats I had in my pocket. Progress is such a heart warming thing to experience.

Millie is a sweet little fuzzball. Just look at the length of the fur on her cheeks! Millie had a rough start at the pound with another kitty attacking her when she came in. She is clearly traumatized from her  changes in her life and just needed a kind lap. She allowed me to groom her with a glove that has a rubber side. She enjoyed the petting, and buried her head in the crook of my elbow as if she just wanted to forget where she was, and if she didn't see it, maybe it was a bad dream. I think she would have stayed in my arms indefinitely if I had more time.

Lewis spent time playing with the kitties that  were more outgoing. He managed to give every cat in the 3 suites at least a few minutes. I also met another volunteer who is willing to coordinate efforts with me in regard to the shy kitties. I am so loving the experience of comforting these little underdogs (or undercats as the case may be). I am also enjoying making new friends who share my values regarding animals. I love that  I have the time to share myself with these shy shelter kitties

Cats will get equal time with trainers at Capital Area Humane Society

Like most shelters CAHS is over filled and understaffed. The staff and volunteers work very hard but at the end of the day there is just not enough time to work with each animal each day. That is where the volunteers become a key part of the shelter dynamic. Typically in shelters dogs get the majority of rehab because there is always the underlying fear of dog bites. Dogs at the shelter are involved in behavior training, and many volunteers come in each day to walk dog on the nice trail out behind the building. The goal is for each dog to get walked 3 times a day and there is a system to indicate when you have walked a dog that involves putting a card with a 1,2, or 3 on the cage door. It is an awesome program that gives the dogs at least some normalcy, and really helps dogs become more desirable as adopties. Many dogs move in and out of the shelter rather quickly in this system.

Cats mean while often linger for weeks on end, sometimes months. There is a definite over fill in the cattery, always. Often when people come in to look for a cat they are overwhelmed with how many there are and have such a difficult time figuring out which cat will be a good match for their house, that some times they leave with out anyone. CAHS recognised this as an area of concern and has taken a step to help cat adopters narrow down which kitties might be a good match for them.

Yesterday I was trained in a program that evaluates a cat's personality. Each kitty will now get a personality evaluation that will result in a color coded card being placed on the cage front or on their spec card in the cat suites. When potential cat adopters come in they will be given a survey to evaluate what type of kitty they are looking for. The survey will produce a color ticket for them to bring into the cattery. They can then look for the cards that match their color and thus narrow down Their  choices to say 10 kitties rather than trying to look at 50. This program has shown good results in other shelters and we have high hopes for it at CAHS. I will be one of the cat evaluators which I am very pleased about.

I am also helping to start an intervention program for the very shy kitties who hide, or are afraid. They have very little chance of being adopted if they are crouched in the corner while other kitties are interacting with visitors  trying to schmooze their way out of the shelter.

Here is one kitty that I have taken on as a project along with another volunteer. I will document progress and what we do as her program evolves. Like many shelter cats she is clearly terrified and has zero chance of being adopted at this point. She was looking like this just getting her picture snapped.