Guest Post from Roger the Cat

     Yesterday, I sat in the cat room at Seminole County Animal Services. There weren't very many visitors, but one couple wandered in and started peering into the cabinets with wire doors and the cats inside of them.  I heard one of the shelter people tell them that there were a lot of available cats looking for homes and that traffic to the shelter had declined since a big trial was taking place just around the corner; it seems everyone was captivated by the happenings in lives of other people and had forgotten about the potential of adding of lovable feline to their own life. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that they've been too caught up in it all to stop bringing their unwanted cats in though.

     The couple wandered through the cages, pet the kittens and one rather large gray tabby that acted as though she would rip through the bars just for a head scratch. They came into the cat room and started petting any kitty that didn't run. The lady picked up a kissy black cat named Lita. The guy swooned over a calico. I had nothing better to do, so I followed them through the cat room and into the outside part of the cat room. The guy started petting me when I climbed up to a reachable level. "This one looks like someone spray painted him." He remarked of the white hairs randomly growing within a black spot on my back.

     The lady looked to see what he was talking about. "His tail's broken." She observed the sharp bend half way down my short tail. They went on petting everyone, holding some and pointing out the window to cats that were in inaccessible area outside the cat room. The lady sat for a while inside the cat room, with a tiger striped cat curling up on her purse for a while, another cat in her lap and a cat on either side of her. I waited patiently for her to notice me and pet me again. And pet me she did, while telling me what a good, sweet boy I am. Patient and tolerant; I didn't hiss at anyone or shove my way into the gathering crowd. I just sat and waited. She picked me, which made me squirm a little, and set me on her lap to pet me and look me over. 

     Eventually, they went back out to the cabinets full of kittens and started petting and holding them. The guy wanted a kitten to play with the kitten that he already had at home. I'm a 5 year old cat. I want to be pet, fed and given someplace that I can nap. Dang it. I watched for a bit before turning away as they cuddled a little calico kitten and talked about the choice to be made. I was confident that it wasn't going to be me.

     They finally went over to the girls working and told them they'd decided. Sure enough, one of the girls came over got the information off of the calico kitten's collar. Another girl did a little dance as a third flipped through the papers of cats to find the one they had picked. They left the cat area to finalize paper on their new kitten. Nothing new; like the girls had told the couple; I'd been flirting with everyone that came into the cat room over the weekend. I'd been there three long months. Nobody wanted me.
     When one of the girls from the shelter came in to get me a while later, I didn't know what was going on. Wasn't this a no-kill shelter?? Maybe they'd gotten too full and I was too old and had to go to make room for more kittens?? I was stabbed in the back with something, put into a box and taken up to the front office. I sat quietly in the box and realized that my box was at the lady's feet. Someone walked up to her and said, "Did you really get two?!" "Yes. Roger and a kitten." Wait...the kitten and...me?? Someone else came up and said that she had just stopped by to drop off a dressed up photo of me from last weekend, to try to help find me a home, but then she'd been told that I'd already gotten one, so the lady and guy could have the photo of me in a bow tie. (Don't I look handsome? Turns out the lady has an extra soft spot for furry gentlemen in bow ties, too!)

     I went home with them in a rainstorm. Hail pelted the car and roads flooded, but I didn't care. I was on my way home! I was greeted at the front door by Fred (a nosy guy that's a little too pushy with his introductions, but otherwise an okay dog) and Mars (a scrawny black cat that prefers to wait and hope for people food instead of eating the cat food). The lady showed me the food dish and the litter boxes. I discovered the plant ledges, that let me escape for a quiet nap whenever I need one, the scratching stations and the couple's bed on my own. The guy woke up a bit and even pet me for a while last night. I get along with everyone and I think I like it here; no more sharing space with 34 other cats and begging to go home with people. Now I can sit on the couch and eat the lady's calamari left overs with her! Me-ow!

     But today was bitter-sweet. As I sat on the couch this afternoon, cleaning calamari crumbs off my face, the lady watched a video online about an officer shooting a litter of kittens in Ohio, citing the shelters being at capacity as his "reason" for sending those kittens to "kitty heaven." The lady had some very not nice words that for that man, regardless of reason. And I'm very glad that the shelter that I was in has a no-kill policy. I may have had to share a space with a bunch of other cats for three months, but at least I was given that chance and now have a home and people to call my own. I'll take that over being shot in someone's backyard any day! So, thank you, kind people at the Seminole County Animal Shelter, for being a no-kill shelter and letting me wait there until I got my home!

Mews and snuggles,
   Roger

      P.S. The lady says that there are still plenty of great cats there and through the month of June, of of the cats over 6 months old are available to be adopted for free! So if you think you can spare a little space, a bit of extra food and the occasional head scratch or chin rub, you should check them out!