Today was my first volunteer day at Best Friends. My shift was in the afternoon, so in the morning I visited the local BLM office to get more information on the parks I want to visit. After getting more maps than I know what to do with and finding the local laundromat (for later in the week) I headed to Best Friends for lunch and orientation.
Best Friends serves an all-you-can-eat vegetarian buffet for $5.00. If the food wasn't a good enough value (and it is - it's delicious), the view would do it. There is a bank of windows that leads out to an outdoor patio that overlooks a canyon. I could just take pictures on the property. The road leading from the welcome center to the Angel Village lunchroom passes numerous pastures for the resident/adoptable horses.
At lunch I met one of the co-founders of the sanctuary. She and I chatted for awhile and then I headed over to Cat world. The cats are provided indoor and outdoor rooms. Each building (there are 8 in Cat world and 500 current residents) has these rooms to allow dual access. The cats have beds, baskets, scratching posts, shelves and ladders for climbing and rafters for the really shy ones. They can eat, sleep, and take care of business inside or outside. Here are a few of the kids I played with today:
Nims was a stray in Kanab. He is very lovable and playful. Yes that is my camera strap he has in his paws - many pictures were blurry because he would pull on it just as I took the picture.
Calista is a beautiful long hair tortoiseshell. She is very sweet and a little talkative.
Samurai is a beautiful kitty. He reached out for me to pay attention to him and wanted all my attention for himself - something the caregiver said was unusual. Unfortunately Samurai has stopped processing protein and is losing weight quickly. They are keeping him comfortable but he is still adoptable for the right person.
Comando is a large, shy guy. Handsome and talkative, he rules the room, is fascinated by humans, but not sure they can be trusted...yet.
I can't remember this girl's name but she kept to herself until I went over and petted her in her tunnel then she was just a little lovebug.
Dulcie decided that my lap was hers after I was there 15 minutes. This 14 year old doesn't let fluids, B12, and blood pressure meds keep her down. She swatted cats that got near her on my lap and claimed it for a full 45 minutes.
Even Gumby, a victim of a hording situation and still thinks humans are not quite trustworthy came to visit. These shy cats (feral or otherwise) are given a chance to socialize and learn that not all humans are bad.
CC won my heart at first sight. Reminding me of Rocky, I spent great care cultivating his social skills and once he warmed up he was good to go.
And little Ash. He, his sibling, and his mother were part of spay/neuter community cat program. Conditions were bad enough they decided not to send them back. This guy is more dog than cat. Following you, claiming your lap, and begging to be held and paid attention to. Definitely not what you would expect from a community (feral) cat.
And there were so many more that I just didn't get good photos of, including Curtis who was going to be euthanized because he was too unfriendly at the previous shelter (he reached up and hugged me), the 16 year old kitty in renal failure adopted by an older woman in California who wanted a cat that wouldn't outlive her and fell in love, and Jericho who took me for a walk. Apparently the trick to walking a cat on a leash is to keep the leash slack and letting them lead you. Easier said then done. That cat had me jumping up and down retaining walls, checking out turkey and deer tracks near the area, and ducking under trees. Even so he would have preferred not having the escort and tried to ditch me a few times.
If any of these guys have caught your heart, they are all adoptable......
Tomorrow it is onto Dog Town.
ooooo I want to do this someday. You go Girl~!
ReplyDelete