BKE (Big Kitten Energy)

Well… it happened… I finally visted the local cat shelter, almost two years to the day of saying goodbye to my main man, my big orange fuzzface, my orange tabby cat, Moop. Spoiler alert: I did not adopt a cat at this recent visit; just went to look and spend some time basking in the cat energy that I’ve been really missing these past two years.

When I went to the Merrimack River Feline Rescue Society (“the MRFRS” from here on out, so that I don’t have to write it all out) the main door leads you to a small main room, which had a handful of volunteers and workers in it. One of the workers asked me what I was looking for that day, and I told her I was a first-time visitor who just came to hang out with some cats and see the place for the first time.

This is Moop and his fantastic set of whiskers

At the MRFRS, the main room had several spacious cages in it, all with a kitten or two inside. There was a community room in a different part of the building, where you can sit and hang out with a bunch of adult cats, but it was only open to people who had filled out an adoption application.  I was initially bummed (because I wanted to hang out with all the cats, obviously) but then realized that that policy is great - it keeps the foot traffic and stress levels down for the cats, keeping the casual visitors out until they are serious enough to start the application process. Makes sense! (“purrfect” sense, really. Really? Really).

Not ready to fill out an application, I just hung out in the kitten area and visited with the kittens. I ran into a few other people doing the exact same thing, and heard the “can’t go in the community room unless you’ve filled out an adoption application” spiel as many times.

So… kittens! Big Kitten Energy!

When I’ve adopted cats before, I’ve generally chosen adults, and even once adopted a senior cat who turned out to be much more senior than I initially thought. I always think kittens will have an easier time being adopted - because LOOK AT THEM!

It must have been meal time at the MRFRS, or right after meal time, because they were all tucked away blissfully taking naps in their comfy quarters.

This little guy (or girl?) was just tucked in the corner, watching all the crazy humans scurry around. I forgot how small kittens are in size, compaired to adult cats. Little floofs!

Just taking a snooze

When I got back from my visit to the MRFRS I was compelled to draw some of the kittens I had visited with. Unfortunatly I forgot to write down their shelter-given names. So this one, let’s call Henry (or Henrietta).

Next is a kitten who, if I had adopted her, I would have named Maybelline - look at that eyeliner job!

Maybe she’s born with it

Next up on my tour des chatons, one of the cages had two orange and white kittens in it so of course I had to pause at it. I watched as one climbed right next to the other for a nap. Not much is cuter in life than a pile of kittens taking a nap… nothing, that is, EXCEPT for a kitten grooming his sleepy roommate! So cute, am I right?

The sleepy one doesn’t seem to mind one bit

The drawing for this one made me super happy. I love the semi-abstractness of blind contour drawings. Like, you know it is two cats, your brain connects the dots for you based on all the past experience you’ve had seeing cats in your life. So you end up with “aw look at those cats” instead of “look at those weird lines everywhere”. Good job, brain.

Pals

Before I left, I paused at the final kitten’s cage. She was on the bottom, so could have been easily overlooked. She was a buff colored tabby. My more-senior-than-I-realized cat, Nala, who I menioned at the beginning of this post, was a female buff colored tabby too. This little lady at the MRFRS was named Blondie on her card.

Blondie

Blondie was everything you would expect from a ginger cat: She had a bunch of toys in her space, and she kept nudging up against the bars at me, and putting her paw through the bars. We played, I scratched under her chin, she chattered at me. Her card said she was returned because the house she was in had “too many other animals” in it for her comfort level. I can see how she probably would want all the attention from her owner instead of sharing attention with other animals.

Tiny cat… big personality (BKE!)

Blondie was small, but definitely had a big ol’ ginger personality. I had to get going (to go out into a rain shower, unbeknownst to me), but I hung out with her for an extra couple minutes before I left. 

I am, admittedly, first and foremost a cat lover. Always have been. An animal lover, yes, dog lover, yes, but cats… cats are my OGs. That being said, on a scale of one to ten, I’m super happy that I decided to go check out the MRFRS and even happier to have spent the afternoon with these wonderful little floofy beings!