That was all I could think the other day while walking throughout the shelter. Kitten season has exploded full-force, and we have a lot of adults, some who have been here way too long. When I stopped by for my volunteer shift, I was happy to learn that we’re pulling out all the stops to save as many lives as possible this weekend.

On Saturday, June 19^th, the San Francisco SPCA will be hosting Cat-A-Palooza, an all-day (and all evening) adopt-a-thon. Maddie’s Adoption Center will be open from 10am until 12 midnight!

Gertrude loves TV! Wouldn't you like to watch Animal Planet with her?

Kittens will be 2-for-1 all day, and you can basically name your fee for adults. Come by, tell your friends, consider adding another cat for your home!

Buddies for Life? They could be.

Even better, Thursdays are now Purrsdays. Two kittens can be adopted for the cost of one. Wouldn’t it be fun to see two siblings spend the rest of their lives together?

If they get along, having two kitties in your home can be a lot of fun! They can entertain and comfort each other when you’re not around. It’s also wonderful watching their individual personalities evolve over the years.

This is Ferrari. If he's still at Maddie's Adoption Center by Friday, I'm going to be really upset.

This is Ferrari. His sister was adopted on Tuesday, and he spent all day Monday trying to get attention in the middle of the lobby, pretty much pulling the heartstrings of anyone passing by. But for some reason, he still didn’t find his forever home by the end of the day.

With the arrival of kitten season, it’s kind of rough on the adults. We sometimes find ourselves showing so many kittens to the public, we aren’t getting a chance to give them visits. To help them get adopted, adult cats 6 months and up can go to their new homes, and all the adopter has to do is name their fee. The suggested donation is somewhere between $20 and $150.

FInally, I was happy to learn about the Seniors Kittizens for Senior Citizens discount. Any adopter over 60 can adopt a cat over 6 for a donation of $6 or more.

As proud as I am of our fantastic adoption center, in my heart I know it’s still a shelter. It’s just one stop on our cats’ journeys to their forever homes. Hopefully the last.

On the other end of the spectrum, about five times a day, I get a call or a client walks in and asks if we have any kittens. The answer’s often the same, “no, not right now, but soon. But of course, we have many, many wonderful adult cats that would make great companions.”

For some reason, that almost never leads to an adult adoption. I say it anyway, because it’s true and because a kitten is only a kitten for a few months, then it pretty much resembles an adult. They grow fast, trust me. I remember once being able to hold my boy Max in one hand. This morning, as he lay on my chest while I read, his fifteen pounds almost suffocated me.

So I’ve come to accept that people love kittens, and if they want them they should have them. We just can’t keep up with demand right now. If a kitten is made available for adoption in the morning, he or she would most certainly be adopted by the early afternoon. We had three kittens available at one when we opened and within an hour, someone placed a hold on all three!

All this will change in weeks. Cats breed in spring, and kittens are heading out into foster care as I write this. They’re being cared for by volunteers who will take care of them until they’re old enough for spaying and neutering. We will eventually see hundreds go through the system through the summer and into early fall.

Speaking of kittens, I decided to pay a short visit to Yoda, the kitten captured at the SFPD crime lab that’s been in the news recently. Because of all the notoriety, he’s become something of a little celebrity at the shelter. I had heard he had been neutered recently, and was being moved back to his cage in Shelter Care.

Yoda hanging out in Shelter Care

Yoda is doing really well. He used to spend a lot of the day hiding under a small towel we gave him, but now he’s spending much more time playing with toys in his cage and exploring. As you can see from his body language, he’s still a little nervous, but with all the attention and love he’s received from San Francisco SPCA volunteers, he may soon be a candidate for adoption.

It was almost 6:30. We were closed and I was cleaning up my work area and sharing a couple of stories with a staff person about some of our adoptions that day. I heard someone tugging on the front door. Usually we can tune this out, because people are sometimes confused about our closing hour, which is different on the weekends than week days.

On a hunch, I approached the door. It was a family. They were holding a box and it looked serious. I open the door to see what was going on. They said they had found a nursing mother in their backyard. She had four kittens. They had called Animal Care and Control, and they had come for the cats, but left one of the kittens behind.

Yoda

It had been three days. I took a quick look at the kitten. He or she didn’t look good. I told them we couldn’t do any type of intake at this hour, but they should take the kitten to Animal Care and Control, since it was possible the mother was still there.

I closed the door, a little sad about the oversight. Kitten metabolisms are so fragile, my guess was the prognosis for his survival wasn’t good. While it was wonderful that Yoda was doing so well, and that he would most likely have a happy ending, I was reminded in an instant that he was just one of hundreds more that will be born because people don’t spay or neuter their cats.

Mondays are quiet at the San Francisco SPCA. The hospital is open, but the adoption center is closed to the public. It’s a nice time to play “catch-up” with projects, give attention to cats who may need extra love and affection. I used it as a chance to finally spend time with a little fellow we call Yoda.

I’m close to completing a tech project I’ve been working on for the SPCA, and now that the beginnings of kitten season are being felt in the community, I thought I’d reward myself with a little “kitten time.” I’d heard about Yoda for a few days now. They said once I’d meet him, the name would be obvious. He was rescued from the San Francisco’s Police Department crime lab which has recently been under intense scrutiny.

A former SFPD evidence room resident, Yoda's a sweet kitty looking for a loving home.

Meet Yoda. His ears are enormous! I thought he was adorable, but the feeling wasn’t mutual. He was hiding at first. When I initiated contact, he hissed at me. I spoke to him with a soothing voice. I slowly moved my hand toward him and….nothing happened. It was just a show to let me know he was a little confused right now about humans.

His age is estimated at 7 weeks, but it’s hard to say exactly how old he is. He didn’t receive enough human contact when he was young, so now he’s just slightly undersocialized. It’ll take work, but with consistent love and handling, he will eventually become a loving companion animal.

This isn’t the case with the other cats picked up from the crime lab. They were born and grew up without human contact. They are terrified of people, and will never be suitable candidates for adoption. The San Francisco SPCA is looking for options for them. Perhaps finding a managed feral colony for relocation, or finding another facility that would welcome resident cats that aren’t necessarily companions, “Cats at Work.”

Yoda is a sweet kitty looking for a lovely home, someone who will spend a lot of time building up his confidence.

Yoda responds well to a slow approach.

I sigh. It’s been fun, but I realize I probably should get back to work on my tech project. I thank little Yoda for his time, and can’t help but feel blessed by this opportunity to meet such a sweet little kitten, and the opportunities given by the San Francisco SPCA to help in life-saving moments like this. In so many other communities, feral cats like these would have simply been trapped an killed, but the SF/SPCA is committed to providing humane alternatives and is always willing to educate the public on these options.

Sweet dreams little Yoda. May the force be with you.

For more information on the drug lab, and the controversy surrounding it, check out this report from KGO-TV, check out this link:

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/san_francisco&id=7376043

Guests Dancing at the Bark and Whine Ball

Two weeks ago, I was asked if I’d be willing to help out at the SPCA’s Bark and Whine Ball, which benefits our Cinderalla fund,which helps homeless cats and dogs receive urgent veterinary care when they need it. I looked back at my years and volunteering, and wondered how I could not have ever offered to help out at this important event.

Two Guests Greet Each Other On The Red Carpet

Well, I wasn’t disappointed. The production behind the event was truly amazing. Everything, from the red carpet entry by the hundreds of guests to watching a wonderful band play while guests danced with each other – and their dogs! It was the most fun I think I ever had at a fundraiser.

Even with all the fun, it was also quite a bit of work. I don’t think I sat down for over five hours. Still, the good natured spirit of the event, and knowing that the funds generated will benefit the neediest homeless animals made it all worth it.

“I saw you on TV! “

This came from a young couple who had just adopted a cat. Yes, it’s true. I’m happy to say our cats and dogs are stars! You can see available cats and dogs on Comcast  On Demand. Comcast is working with the San Francisco SPCA to make our animals viewable to you from your living room.

Late last month, I agreed to introduce some of our available cats on short, one-minute commercials you can see today if Comcast is your cable television provider. It was a fun experience. Most of our cats did very well, and weren’t too stressed out by the cameras.

I was told that these short videos attract up to 30,000 downloads per month. Browsing cats and dogs from the comfort of your living room might seem like a strange idea to some, but to me it’s a wonderful way the San Francisco SPCA works with community partners to save the lives of the wonderful animals under our care.

One cat we featured was Cat Benatar. She’s a nine year old orange and white cat with FIV who’s currently our longest resident. She needs to stay indoors, and it’s best if she is the only cat in a home.

We discovered a nursing mom living at the storage facility across the street from us. One rainy night some of us were leaving for an after-work cocktail when we heard a very loud MEOW! Coming from an alley-way. This poor little kitten must have been miserable in the cold winter drizzle. He just kept meowing loudly. Some of us meowed back, and he slowly started to approach us. He came about two-thirds of the way, then just stopped.

What now? We thought. Our office was closed, so I called the Animal Care and Control emergency line, and spoke to a woman who told me she had to head out to the Marina first, then would head out our way.

A young couple walked by and asked us what was going on. We showed her a kitten, and let her know that someone was coming out for her, and that we were told not to do anything stupid. She identified herself as a veterinary technician.

She decided to hop the fence. From her demeanor I determined she may have been under the influence of something that might not be alcohol. I was prepared to call 911 if she broke her arm or worse. She was successful. She got the kitten for us, then walked away. I really don’t recommend this.

We turned the cat, now named “Lucky,” in to Animal Care and Control. He eventually came back to us at the SF/SPCA, and was adopted out through Mobile Outreach. Over the next two weeks, we found two more kittens from that facility, and they are currently available for adoption. Their names are Agnes and Angie.

Agnes and Angie wait for adoption at the SF/SPCA

I remember an e-mail I received a while back. One of our cats needs some attention. I remember him from the day he was surrendered. A woman and man had made an appointment for the surrender. I greet them and guide then to the Spay and Neuter Clinic. They’re older, they’re tired. I offer to help carry their cats. They’re giving up three of them. I ask what has changed.

“We’re moving. Our new place doesn’t allow cats.”

We arrive. I leave them waiting for our Feline Care Coordinator. I wish them well. I can’t judge them, as I don’t know what they have been through before arriving at this decision, but I have to wonder why they couldn’t find a new place that allowed cats. That would have been my priority, but perhaps they didn’t have a choice.

Two of the cats had problems at first. Transitioning to a shelter can be difficult after several years in a home, but they got better. One is still having problems. He’s “shut down,” not eating, showing signs of constant fear. We’ve been asked to visit him, try to help  him relax, make him comfortable with us, if it’s possible.

Before that however, I jot down notes from a podcast I recently heard. I listen to Animal Wise Radio once a week. It’s not always easy – they hate us and bash us on a regular basis, but they offer some interesting interviews with people working in Animal Welfare. On last week’s show, they interviewed Lucy Schlaffer, from ARQ architects. ARQ designed Maddie’s Adoption Center back in 1998. She talked about a lot of the ideas and principles they used in designing our adoption center, and I found it fascinating. As I lead tours, I thought I decided to write an outline of what she had to say, so I could use them for future tours.

I pick up a call while I’m writing. Caller ID tells me it’s from overseas. A woman is asking about a cat she surrendered. I know this cat well, and while I didn’t do the introduction, I briefly met the woman who adopted her. She seemed nice, I say, and she’s a sweet cat. I have no reason to predict any problems. This cat was seven, well into adulthood, but adjusted to shelter life really quickly.

The woman pauses often while speaking. I can tell she has a thousand questions she can’t ask. There’s so much I can’t say. I don’t know why she gave her up, but I can tell she loved that cat. What I don’t reveal in content I communicate through the warmth of my language. I tell her one of our challenges with this cat was that she liked to burrow under her favorite blanket. Not out of fear, mind you, she just liked the feeling. She was a cute cat but no one could see her, which was a challenge when it came to getting her adopted. We finally decided to hide her blanket. She adjusted well, deciding to perch in a tree instead.

I get off the phone, finish my notes, and work on an e-mail. Two women are approaching the front door. One is holding a cat in her arms. This isn’t good, I think and run to get a cardboard cat carrier. They tell me they can’t take care of these cats “anymore.” Their other box is falling apart, so I get another carrier. The cats are not from our shelter, but now we’re opening up our intake process, so I guide them to the appropriate place.

Before I’m finished, another man arrives, this time with an appointment. He’s carrying two cats with him as well, with good carriers, one on each shoulder. He’s surrendering them as well. What’s in the water?  I ask myself. Another man arrives later, this time with four cats we wants to surrender.

Eight cats in an hour. I can’t take it anymore. I need a break. I go upstairs to see the shut-down cat. I enter his condo. He’s a textbook image of cat fear. He’s crouching, minimizing his body size. His hairs is standing on end, his pupils dilated. As I enter, he pushes himself back, further and further, until he’s in a corner and can’t go back any further. I hear a very low growl. I sit down immediately. His eyes are fixed on me, especially my hands.

I experiment a little. I talk to him in a low voice. I get a toy mouse and toss it a couple of feet. It bounces against the wall. Most cats would track the mouse with their eyes. This cat doesn’t. He stares at my hands. I try dragging a toy, and I get the same response. Okay, I tell myself, let’s read a little from a book I brought in with me.

Some cats do well with the transition from a home to a shelter. Some don’t. Some don’t in a big way. It’s a terrible reality. I was told this was a healthy and happy cat in his previous home, sleeping with his buddy cats on the couch at night, comfortable with visitors and children. If he had only stayed in his home, we wouldn’t be facing the horrible choices we have to make when this happens. Someone had made a commitment to this life, and they reneged. There was a cause to this effect.

As I said earlier, we never know the complete story of how an individual cat arrives here. The cats can’t communicate what happened. Their guardians tell us some, but I’m sure not all of the story. Each person walking into our shelter is like an iceberg. There is much more beneath the surface than we will ever know.

But people need to realize that there’ s a consequence to their actions. By reneging on their promise as guardians, they are actively placing their beloved pets in harm’s way. There is no guarantee that the cat will adjust well to this change, and will remain a suitable candidate for adoption.

I finish a short story I’m reading, parts of it aloud. I look at the cat. He’s still staring at me, but his ears are no longer pressed back. Better, I think, just by an increment, better.

Not from Maddie’s mind you, but from here. I guess I just need some time off. In truth, it was really hard to write about some of the things going on at the SPCA, because some of them were wonderful, some of them were painful, and I just needed to put some space between myself and those events before I could reflect on them with some clarity.

These are really difficult times. The economy seems to be restructuring, and it’s doing it in some ways that are still leaving many people out in the cold. My heart broke yesterday when I was talking with a woman who recently surrendered her two cats. I was curious why, and she told me she was now bankrupt.

“I’m financially distressed,” she told me. “I can’t take care for them anymore.”

I could tell this was extremely difficult for her. It didn’t help that one of her cats, a beautiful ten year-old tuxedo, was not handling the change very well, not eating, acting “shut down” and hiding constantly.

The San Francisco SPCA recently participated in Purina One/Martha Stewart’s Tour for Heroes. We made available 1,000 bags of Purina One cat and dog food for people who needed it. The day before the event, a young man and woman stopped by Maddie’s Adoption Center. I asked them if they could possibly swing by our building the next day for the give-away.

“I was wondering if you could help us out today. We have nothing. We’re giving our dog table scraps.”

We’re not immune from this distress. People give less when they have less. The SPCA has not been immune to the recession, and there have been cut-backs, both in employees and services. It has been painful – friends have lost their jobs, we can’t do all the things we’d like to do, but the organization has survived and will survive. There have been a number of individuals and organizations that have attempted to use this distress in a politically opportunistic manner.

There have been some amazing successes, some of our long-term cats have finally found homes. I was filled with joy last Thursday, when this wonderful couple came in, specifically inquiring about Blue and Louie, two cats that had been in our shelter since October. Their previous guardian was a victim of a homicide. It’s impossible to measure how much these cats had suffered in the previous months. It took all my self-control to contain myself when this couple came in.

“Sure,” I said, instantly forgetting all about a project I was working on. “I’d be happy to show you those two cats.” My heart was pounding. The couple bonded with them quickly. It was almost as if Blue and Louie were waiting all this time just for this couple to arrive. No, I really don’t believe in those things, but it makes a good story, doesn’t it?

I was the unfortunate recipient of a negative Yelp review on Sunday. Perhaps negative isn’t the best phrase – the gentleman gave the SPCA five stars, and was super happy with the two kittens he adopted, he just wasn’t very happy with me!

The day before I read the review, I had been showing three kittens to a couple (plus their friend) and they were having a hard time negotiating this big decision. They were fairly young, twenty-somethings living together who decided a pet cat would round out their home.

Problems like this aren’t unusual. When a couple, family or even a set of roommates decides to save a life and adopt an animal from a shelter, we want this new home to be their “forever home.” In making a difficult, complicated decision and commitment to caring for a living creature, it’s important to articulate your questions, concerns and values. Questions that come from both from the head and the heart.

I’m hardly qualified to give relationship advice, but here goes nothing: Guys, have an opinion! Perhaps you think it’ll be her cat, but as far as the cat’s concerned, your her human. I don’t think I’m going out on a limb to say that many women want to see their main man be emotionally involved  in stuff like this, and one or two other things, like what color do you want to paint the bathroom, and where do you want to go on vacation.

So, just for the record, try as much as possible not to use these words:

“Sure.”

“Whatever you want, honey.”

“Okay.”

“I like them all.”

It was pretty tough watching this couple negotiate on which cat, if any, they were going to adopt. I finally tried a subtle approach.

“I think I see a dynamic here that might be prolonging this process.”

That didn’t go anywhere, It was too vague and unspecific. I think she knew what I was talking about but he sure didn’t.

It continued to go back and forth. She would ask a question, he’d give a vague answer that never seemed to satisfy her. I could tell she was starting to get more upset the longer they spoke. Finally, I decided to be a little more direct.

“I think she might want answers that are a little more specific. What do you like about them? What makes them different? What do you like more, the cuddly, affectionate one, or the super-playful one?”

He didn’t make eye contact with me anymore. Her friend also chimed in, also asking for more specifics in his answers. This was all a mistake, I realized. He was squirming on the spot on the floor he was sitting on, feeling outnumbered and under-fire. His voice was strained and high.

After a while I offered the obvious. “You know, you all shouldn’t feel like you have to do this today. Kitten season is going to last for a while, and I can guarantee that there will be more kittens. If we move on and look at some others, and find out that these are gone, then it wasn’t meant to be”

That seemed to satisfy the young woman. She nodded and started to rise. We all rose and left the condo. I faced my future Yelp-basher and had to give him the bad news that I was still working with them, and he would need to find another volunteer for help. I got lucky – I found a free volunteer and he agreed to show them the kittens he would soon adopt.

I do have to give the guy credit for coming along. It was a good start. I have to remain optimistic and hope they’d have good heart-felt talk, come back, meet some more cats, even without the pressure of walking out with one that day. I’ve known couples that have taken between three and five visits to Maddie’s before they’ve made their final choice. I remember one woman came by the shelter one or two consecutive weekends because her boyfriend wouldn’t come until the Stanley Cup playoffs were done. Fortunately, the cat she had her eyes on was still around.

Another thing. Problems like this don’t begin and end in our twenties. I’ve met couples have that have been together, twenty, thirty years, and the same dynamic exists. Those couples can make me even more depressed, because I can’t help but wonder if their entire relationship rides on the passive-aggressive express.

I don’t mean to pick on my fellow men. I’m sure this can happen in all types of friendships and relationships, gay or straight, between males or females. It I just think we’ve made it a high art. Some guys spend their lives not making decisions like this, being pulled on a little red wagon through their careers, their dates and .

I should know, I’ve been on that wagon many times. I do try to get off as often as possible, though, and not trip while doing so. And if I do trip, I’ll just call on my inner cat, and pretend it never happened.