A happier post? About cats.

From the string of posts tagged "annoyances" and the fact that it stands out most prominently in my tag cloud, I think I am going to write a happy post. About cats.

I volunteer at a no-kill cat shelter called the "Cat Adoption Team." Is it the largest no-kill shelter in the Northwest and at a low houses and cares for about 250 cats; the number goes up to something astronomical, like 600, during kitten season (which is just beginning right now).
All of the cats are rescues - from death row at the Humane Societies in the region, from cat hoarders, from families that are no longer able to care for their cats, etc. The turnover rate is pretty high - the average length of stay is only 34 days, although there are some "long-timers" at the shelter that have been there for months.

I love cats and have always lived with cats. I don't have one now because 1. my boyfriend is allergic 2. we are renting and 3. we are not going to stay in this city forever and I'd rather have a stable household before I get a family pet. So, I started volunteering at the CAT shelter, mostly to help cats, but also to help myself. Cats make me a happier person. I am an "Adoptions Counselor" so my job is to match cats with people, and make sure the people are aware of their responsibilities. I chose CAT not only because it is a no-kill shelter, but also because I believe in their two fundamental no-contest policies: indoor-only homes and no declawing. We don't just give our cats to anybody. There is a training, and a couple of demonstrations - holding, carrier training, nail trimming etc. that people have to pass before they are allowed to take one of our precious cats home. There is also a follow-up period that I do with people that I do adoptions with, and a lifetime return policy - if the person that adopted a cat from CAT can no longer care for it, for any reason, we will always take the cat back.

So, CAT is my happy place, with all the wonderful cats and kittens. Currently I volunteer at an outreach, where I have 9 cats that I care for. They range from 3 months to 7 years, but are all have wonderful personalities and we all enjoy hanging out and playing. Happy time. Maybe I'll post some pictures after my volunteering this weekend.