Happy/Sad -- Conflicted

It's kind of odd.  I have the good fortune to walk into work in the morning and see a window full of kittens.  They make me smile.  And, they make me sad.   We have three windows in our lobby.  All three windows  have kittens living in them.  We have 40 cat condos in our cat room.  Each one has a cat, or two, living in it.  No doubt, kittens are cute.  But, in just a few short months they grow up to be cats.   Cats are beautiful.   But, no matter how cute kittens are, or how beautiful cats are, there aren't enough homes for all of them.  When I look at them I can't help but smile; when I think about them -- all of them --I feel very, very sad.

June is ADOPT a cat Month

 
 
 
True, June is National Adopt a Cat month.  BUT, every month, every week and every day are great times to adopt cats from the League.  Wish I could say that if every reader adopted one, or two cats, today, we'd be empty tomorrow.  If I said that, I'd be lying.   We would fill up again  immediately.   There are way too many WONDERFUL cats, and not nearly enough homes.   Lefty, one of my favorite cats, has been here for a very long time.  So has his nearly mirror image Chambourcin.   I'm partial to tabbies, but for some reason gray cats have really been vying for my attention lately.   Check out the pictures of Gumbo and Badgley.  And, the cat, who is a real heart-stealer, but a little shy is beaugtiful black and white, fluffy Yuri -- he's been here for a very, very long time.  It would be great if he was adopted today.  Trouble with lots of these guys is that they are not kittens.   Many folks want kittens.  And, we have lots of those, too.  And, those same cute little kittens will be full grown cats like Lefty, Chanbourcin, Gumbo, Badgley and Yuri in just a few months.   Check out all of the great cats on our website, warl.org.  Or better still, come visit.  Our airconditioning is working!

Spring Kittens Grow Into Winter Cats

Chickory is a good mom

Shelters know spring has sprung a few weeks before the first crocus has bloomed.  Kittens -- a telltale sign of spring, summer and fall.  Our three lobby windows are filled kittens, including this litter and their mom.  Our cat room is just as packed -- with cats.  Kittens grow up to be cats.  Quickly.  In less than a year.  And, some of the cats in our cat room were here as kittens and then returned to us as full grown cats.  Sure, we would much rather have people return animals to us than discard them some other way.  But, I'd like to remind every potential adopter, every person who oogles at a kitten and implusively takes one --  or two -- home, that cats are not goldfish.  An indoor cat lives to to be 15 or more.   Potential adopters who are smitten with kittens may want to consider providing a MOM cat a forever home, or think about adopting a couple of our full-grown returned cats.  I'm reminded regularly, when Charlotte bites my ear at 2:00 a.m., that kittens may be entertaining, but they also like to be entertained at odd hours.

Jubilee Needs a Home!

Cute, huh?  Those eyes, that little black smudge on her head.  Jubilee is the kitten who spent the night at my house last month.  Never did I think that all these weeks later she'd still be waiting at the League for her forever home, but she is.  She's in a window with two friends.  In fact, she's had lots of friends while she's been waiting for someone to notice her and say that she's the one.   That just keeps happening to her window mates.  They get adopted and Jubilee keeps growing and living in the window.  Before long, she won't be a cute little kitten, she'll be a teenage cat and then full grown.  They grow up so quickly. 

Trouble is, Jubilee is not perfect.  You can kind of tell from the photo that her back right leg is not quite right.  I don't think Jubilee knows it though.  She runs, plays, jumps  and tackles her window mates nonstop.  She was born with a defective back leg.   It's been examined by veterinarians.  It's even been looked at by specialists, all say it's okay, just looks funny.  And, because Jubilee's leg looks funny, would-be adopters keep choosing her window  mates.  They want a perfect kitten.  I'm really surprised.  I thought someone by now would say, "that's her, I LOVE the kitten with the funny-looking leg!"  Jubilee's ideal home would be one with another cat, so she would have a buddy to romp with and race through the house at top speed and then climb to the back of the tallest chair and dive to the ground.

Kitten Spends the Night -- Nigel Amused, Bruce is Not

Bruce is still feeling pretty crummy, so I decided to do something to perk him up.  I brought home a kitten.  Just for a night.  A kitten would definitely perk me up.  Especially this one.   She's a ball of energy.  She's like the energizer-bunny with extra batteries.  She likes to run, even though her back right leg is obviously deformed and doesn't work quite right.   Well, Bruce thought my idea was a really, really, really bad one.  He hissed.  He hissed  loudly.  He used every muscle in his face to hiss as loud as he could.   Nigel, on the other hand, was quite amused.   The kitten, named Jubilee, will be looked at by an ORTHOPEDIST surgeon next week (a doctor who fixes bones) to see if she needs surgery, and if so, what exactly will be done.  In the meantime, someone else took her home for night.  I haven't heard how her old cats reacted.  Hopefully, they were more welcoming than Bruce. 

Puppies!

Check out the Washington Animal Rescue League's new Puppy Cam, http://media.myfoxdc.com/petcorner/homecam.html.
See puppies play, eat, nap and poop! Remember, if you view the puppy cam after hours it may be dark; puppies need their rest. AND, for an entertaining in-person show, stop by the League and see lots and lots of kittens in our three lobby display windows. The kittens are tumbling, pouncing, and leaping right now. Check out the League's web site, www.warl.org for current visiting hours.

Puppies and Kittens are Cute, But.........

Puppies and kittens are impossible to resist. Few people can look at a litter of squirmy, pudgy puppies and not squeak, "aaah". Try walking by the adoption windows in the League's main lobby and not be drawn to the kittens playing, bathing, sleeping or doing anything kitten-like. It is impossible.


Kittens and puppies are cute. They are adorable. The are sooooooooooooooooo precious. And, they grow up. FAST. A cute, adorable, precious 8 week old kitten will morph into a gangly teenager in 4 months, and mature into a full-fledged adult by her first birthday! Those cuddly puppies can be little terrors. Until they are totally housebroken, expect regular accidents. And, don't leave a backpack on the floor unattended -- that is just a BIG chew toy to a curious pup.


I am not saying that puppies and kittens are bad. I'm just saying that they grow up fast and before they do, they are really, really needy and can be more destructive than an annoying little brother!

And, did you know that lots of those cute kittens and puppies are cast-off and left at animal shelters when they are no longer cute and cuddly? We have rooms full of really great adult dogs and cats just waiting for their forever homes. People leave them at shelters saying things like, "I didn't know he would grow to be so big," or "I really only wanted a kitten, not a cat". Can you imagine?

The great thing about adopting a full-grown cat or dog is that you know just exactly who you are getting -- no surprises. The big shepherd is done growing, no second guessing how big he'll be. And that pretty calico cat is not running up your leg; she is calm and friendly and really loves sitting on you lap.

Sometimes shelters get litters of kittens or puppies and get the mom cat or dog, too. Do you see a reoccurring theme here? DISPOSABLE SOCIETY! The Play Station is old, get Play Station 2! The dog and her puppies are a lot of work, get rid of them all. The kitten grew into a cat -- trade her in for a smaller model. One by one the kittens or puppies go home, and the mother cats and dogs stay, waiting patiently for someone to finally say "I really want to adopt an adult".