8 Years

As I begin my 8th year as a volunteer photographer at Humane Colorado (animal shelter), I’m reflecting on what I have experienced, what I have learned and what I cherish.

Eight years ago, I walked into a situation as an introvert where I knew no one. That was scary enough; but add to that my sometimes crippling affinity for perfectionism and I was just a tad nervous. It was my love for animals, cats in particular, that gave me the courage to take that leap. 

I was happy to meet my supervisor, Emily, who could not have been more welcoming and kind. She trusted me and set me up for success. For that I am forever grateful.

Although I haven’t kept count I think I have probably met thousands of cats. And I have fallen in love a thousand times. I have saved the image of every cat and the occasional dog I have ever photographed; so yes, my hard drive is full. 

Blur the Manx cat (stubby tail) was the first shelter cat I photographed.

I have learned about FIV+ cats (and fallen in love with them countless times!). I will always remember the first FIV+ cat I met, Hans. He went home to join another FIV+ brother. 

I have learned about FeLV (Feline Leukemia Virus) cats like Buckie.

I have learned about CH (Cerebellar Hypoplasia) cats like Cassie.

I have learned about deaf cats like Sylvester.

I have learned about blind cats like Sassafras.

I have learned about little tripod cats (missing a limb) like Lovey.

I have learned about the working cats like Violet who came from outdoor environments and feel more comfortable living outdoors in a safe environment like a barn or a garden nursery.

I will always have a soft spot for the Seniors. They are settled and loving and oh so grateful just to have a sunny window or a warm lap to curl up in. They are my favorites, like Buddy, 18 years old. 

I have met exotic cats like Maine Coons and Persians and Lola the Bengal

I have met too many kittens to count. Omysweetgoodness, kittens. When they come, they come in droves! 

I’ve learned to communicate with cats by doing “soft eyes” and when I receive them in return I know they feel safe with me.

I have learned to go slow when I meet a frightened or timid cat. I know how to read an overly affectionate cat who, when venturing into overstimulated territory, it’s time for a break. 

I have grown as a photographer (practice, practice, practice). I have grown as a human. I always say the bonus I didn’t see coming was the like-minded, life-long human friends I would make. What a gift. They have educated me, held my hand, with hugs along the way, cheered me on and given me the confidence to do what I do. 

In closing, here is the most recent cat I photographed. This afternoon I met little 8 month old Scar and he was a purrfect model. 

I feel honored and blessed to do what I do; and grateful to have found my calling... my passion. 

What a journey. 

And I'm just getting started.

 

Life Is Fragile

 Opening one blurry eye to check the time my equally blurry brain began sorting through things I have to do today. First I have to crawl out of this comfortable cocoon and get my diabetic dog out to pee, feed her breakfast and get that 7:15 am shot of insulin in her.

Then I have to feed and medicate the cats and other dog. Then I have to wash a load of pee pads because the aforementioned other dog is incontinent. Then I have to clean the cats’ water fountains and feeders.

 As all of these things fell into categories in my still sleepy head I opened the Facebook app on my phone. And the first post I saw was from a blogger I follow who fosters pregnant cats and nurtures their kittens until Mom and babies are ready for adoption. It is a site full of joy and laughter and cuteness overload.

 But not today.

 Without my glasses I wasn’t quite sure what I was reading but when this came into focus “I’m heartbroken to tell you that in the early morning hours, Natalie passed away… she left behind one tiny, perfect brown tabby boy” – I knew. Thousands of us follow this amazing foster Mama and now thousands of us are grieving. But I promise you none so deeply as she is this morning.

 Life is so fragile…

 So after a few tears I realized – I don’t “have to” take my diabetic dog outside, feed her breakfast and give her that morning insulin jab. I get to.

 I don’t “have to” feed and medicate my other pets. I get to.

 I don’t “have to” wash the pee pads, clean the water fountains and feeders. I get to.

 Each day none of that is guaranteed. One day the diabetic dog will no longer need her insulin. One day there won’t be a clowder of cats to care for. One day the pee pads that I curse every morning won’t be necessary.

 

It sounds so trite, but it is so true. 

This thing we call life? It really is fragile. 

And we really do need to handle it with care.  

Welcome Home, Kukki

This photo is what made it happen.

On June 27, 2018 a notation popped up on my calendar "Take donations to Dumb Friends League." Periodically I go thru the toy boxes belonging to my cats and dogs, any food or treats that are perfectly fine but they've turned up their finicky noses at and donate to shelters and rescues.  

Seven weeks prior we had said farewell as our beloved Kia crossed over to the Rainbow Bridge. We missed her terribly (and always will). She is tucked in our hearts for safe keeping.

But knowing that our three year old, Kazz ~ just a big kitten himself ~ needed a playmate, we were slowly warming up to the idea of adopting another cat. 

No one could ever replace Kia but there are so, so many kitties in the world who need and deserve a loving home... well, we started dropping hints to each other.

Since I was planning to drop off donations at the shelter anyway, something made me click onto "Adoptable Cats" on the Dumb Friends League website. What the heck ~ I'll just look. Right. This is the photo that made me call the shelter. This is the photo I emailed to my Mister saying, "What do you think?" I mean... his name is CHARLIE for cryin' out loud. And so is my Mister's. This is the photo that had us hopping in the car - me with no makeup and my ratty "work at home clothes" and without a lot of discussion or thought we were off to meet "Charlie."

The shelter described Charlie as:

My name is CHARLIE!  

I am a neutered male, red tabby Domestic Longhair.
The shelter thinks I am about 1 year and 2 months old.
I have been at the shelter since Jun 06, 2018.

I am described as A LOVING "GOOF BALL"
Favorite Things: Playtime is the best time of the day; will solicit attention to receive more pets.
Special Features: Loving/sweet purr machine; good with litterbox protocol.
Dream Home: A loving family with no small children that will turn this cat into a fine feline citizen.

His "behind the scene" notes indicated he was aggressive and had bitten someone.  We knew he had been returned twice and the notes said he shouldn't be around small children. Well, when I see "aggressive" and "small children" I see red flags and my first thought is - what did the small children do to him?

We visited with Charlie for about 10 minutes. He was adorable. A big chunk of a guy who was playful, purring, happy and easy going. There was zero indication of aggression. Sure if a cat gets overstimulated playing he may give a little love nip; but then you stop playing. It made me sad to think that such a great cat would have his chances of adoption diminished because previous owners were inexperienced in how to handle a kitten. 

Enter us.

One thing about my Mister and me? If we meet a dog or a cat at a shelter there is a 99% chance they're going home with us ~ no matter what their issues may be. In Charlie's case, that meant we knew we needed to work with him and help him lose weight. We didn't care. All 20 lbs of him was coming home with us. And we knew he wasn't aggressive. He was a kitten.

I've had A LOT of cats in my 63 years and this guy? Not one of them has adapted so quickly, so seamlessly, so happily to a family of two humans, two dogs and another cat. Today marks one month with us and it's like he's been with us forever. We did change his name because having two Charlies in the family seemed a bit confusing. And since we have Kizzie, Koko and Kazz, we searched for a K name. We settled on Kukki - which is Cookie in Japanese. And it suits our sweet boy - Kukki.

Sometimes it is just meant to be. Sometimes I get it right. 

Welcome home, Kukki.

Play Time

Yesterday I took two steps toward a more positive and happy life.

I'm a big fan of Facebook. First it is an extremely efficient way to reach all my friends and family in one fell swoop.  No way could I stay in touch with so many people if I tried to reach them all individually. Second - I garner some really interesting information thru articles and websites and can always count on someone responding if I'm gathering information on something. Third - it's just fun. Several times a day someone shares something that makes me laugh or touches my heart.

I always say that working alone as I do, my friends and family on Facebook are my "co-workers." Interacting with them on Facebook is how I can surround myself with people even though I am often just in my studio alone. Well, alone human-wise; I always have a dog or two and a cat with me but conversations with them are pretty one-sided.

I am a huge animal welfare enthusiast and have strong feelings about rescue dogs and cats and senior adoptions. So, of course, there is no lack of conversation on Facebook regarding those subjects and I soon found myself emotionally entrenched with all manner of rescue groups.

Recently I began to feel myself falling down the rabbit hole (so to speak) as day after day, post after post I saw an endless stream of animals in need. So many sad stories - some with happy endings, some not. It began to take a toll on me. 

So yesterday I began unfollowing one page and then another. I guess I'm just not strong enough to see all the hurt in the world. I will always feel strongly about animal welfare and while I deeply admire and respect the people who physically are there for these rescue animals every day - there are things I can do quietly, do locally and do in other ways. It is just too much to see so much every day, all day.

The other positive action I took yesterday? I colored a very detailed drawing of a cat (not this one - that's my real cat, Kia) for over 7 hours. Yup - over 7 hours - and I'm still not done. And apparently I'm not the only one doing this. 

However, let me explain why this is so out of character for me.

Growing up I was encouraged to be productive over playing. In fact I would be called inside from playing with friends to do needlework or some other productive task. 

Now that I'm all grown up I have mixed feelings about this. I understand why I was raised this way; it is the way my Mother was raised. While I'm grateful for the creative skills I learned and continue to use in my creations to this day, I am sad I never learned how to play. Relaxing does not come easily. I feel guilty if I'm not being productive.

I'm 61. It's time to play.

Getting to Know You...

As you can imagine things have been pretty busy since Kia came to live with us. First it was to return to the shelter Monday to officially adopt her. Then it was to return to the shelter Tuesday with her (my fault I forgot to ask) so she could get her rabies vaccination, microchip and city license.  

If you have ever traveled with a cat in a carrier in a car you know that most of them aren't exactly thrilled with the experience. It takes about 30 minutes to get to the shelter (and that's if there isn't a train) so she serenaded me for 30 minutes. Once at the shelter she was in and out in about 5 minutes! Back in the Jeep and she was a little more subdued (poor baby) but I think she realized - hey, I wasn't being taken back to the shelter; that was just a little blip on my radar! I'm going home again with this crazy woman. Woo-hoo! Think I'll sing some more!

Every time we visit Kia in her luxury suite she is more comfortable and tries to follow us out the door. This morning we decided it was time to begin moving things forward. So with the puppy gate securely in place Kizzie and Koko's breakfast bowls on one side of the gate, Kia's breakfast bowl on the other side of the gate ~ we opened the door.

What happened was exactly what we expected. Kia hissed, Koko and Kizzie (once they got over their shock) barked. It only took about 30-45 seconds before the door was shut. It's ok ~ no need to stress them out. It was just the first step.

Koko and Kizzie's aftermath reactions. They couldn't quit believe what they had just witnessed. Monkeys.

My wise husband ~ who our friend dubbed The Cat Whisperer ~ suggested for the dinner meeting we just do one-on-one. Fabulous idea. So he took Koko outside for a walk while I supervised Kizzie and Kia one-on-one. 

Brilliant! Kia hissed. Once. She then stepped back about 2 feet but stayed where she could see Kizzie. Kizzie didn't bark once. She whined and paced a little and was definitely curious but well-behaved. After about 5 minutes Kia went under the bed. Door closed so they could enjoy their dinners.

When Kizzie joined the family we had our long time family cat (21 years old) already in residence. Kizzie was absolutely fine with her and A-choo pretty much just ignored Kizzie. They coexisted for 6 months until A-choo passed away in the middle of the night one night in March. So we expect that Kizzie will be the first to warm up to Kia.

A-choo ~ always in our hearts.

Then there's Koko... We don't have a lot of information on his previous life but we doubt that he had other "siblings" - canine or feline. He's an excitable boy so we expect it will take longer for he and Kia to bond; but he might surprise us. We have observed that when Kizzie and Koko are separated they are much better behaved. When they are to together they are double trouble ~ they like to egg each other on and wind each other up. Monkeys.

So, one day at a time. As anxious as we are to have Kia out of her luxury suite and truly a part of the family (I imagine her sitting on my lap in the evening as we watch the most recent Netflix, Hulu or Amazon series we're into) I know it is for her well-being as well as the dogs that we take this slowly. Trying to rush things could cause all of them undo stress and fear.  We'll get there.

Till then we will continue to spend a lot of time with Kia in her suite ~ with her favorite catnip-filled rat. Go figure.

Foster Fail

If you read my previous post you know that I have been trying my hand as a foster parent fostering a shelter cat. 

And as most people who know me ~ starting with the folks I know at the shelter, then my family, then my friends, then my husband predicted ~ I am indeed a Foster Fail. Let me explain...

In retrospect I think the seed was planted when I overheard someone reject her because she was 12 years old. That bothered me. I was pretty much a goner when she sat on my lap and would not leave. Then - stick a fork in me 'cause I'm done - when I felt myself tearing up. Gah.

So I filled out the paperwork, met the Animal Protection Officers at my home so they could do more paperwork and do a home inspection and my husband and I were off to the shelter to pick up our foster girl.

I have experienced this with my dogs and heard it from almost everyone who fosters/adopts a shelter pet ~ the transformation once they are out of the shelter and realize they are going to be in a real home with people who love them ~ well, the transformation is remarkable.

They relax.

They get familiar with their surroundings.

Listening to her puppy dog brother sniff on the other side of the door.

They start to play.

Nothing says happiness like a rat filled with catnip!

And they get to know their people.

I haven't worked in 3 days.  How can I with bundle of love laying on me??

And eventually they realize... I'm staying!!!

Yes. We were Foster Fails in less than 24 hours. Truth told I was the minute I decided to foster her. It took just a bit longer for my husband to admit it but the day after we brought her home, he said, "Do you think we should keep her?"  I said, "Well if everything works out with the dogs, I would like to. I just love her."  Him, "Oh let's adopt her. If we have problems with the dogs we'll just call Yukari." (our dog/now cat trainer and fabulous friend).  

Today I signed the adoption papers, paid a nominal fee and bingo bango ~ Kia is now officially part of The K Team.  (I'll be updating their Facebook page to reflect that soon!) 

Speaking of the K Team my friends have remarked they haven't heard much about them (Koko and Kizzie) since Kia came on the scene. The three of them have yet to have any visual contact ~ we're working up to that. Right now they are sniffing thru doors and sniffing blankets to become accustomed to each other. Now their food bowls are placed on blankets (Kia's food bowl on a blanket that smells of the pups and the pups' food bowls on a blanket that smells of Kia) on either side of the guest room door where she is staying. So far, so good! Soon we will be doing the feeding routine in the same spots but with a puppy gate between them. Won't that be interesting??!  *wink*

So it's official ~ Kia is ours. Why Kia?  (Pronounced Keye-a) Well first Puddy Tat doesn't suit her.  She's beautiful and deserves a beautiful name. Second ~ we kind of have this K theme going with Koko and Kizzie (Kismet). Third ~ I Googled the meaning of Kia to find that the definition is loosely based on Chinese origins meaning "Arise or come up out of." Perfect! She's out of the shelter forever!

As for Koko and Kizzie ~ see for yourself. I think they're doing ok.

Goofball.

Mohawk rockin'

So...... stay tuned as we introduce The K Team to their new sistah!