Category Archives: Feeding Frenzy

Velvet, the black cat who broke the spell of grief

The first time Lucia asked me if I was able to fill in as an “emergency feeder” at Petco, I was a little nervous because I wanted to do a good job caring for the three or four kitties who are acting as Tails High ambassadors, but I wasn’t sure what to expect.

I was also nervous because I was bringing along a new kitty and I wasn’t sure how she was going to like being at Petco.  A recent intake, Velvet was still pretty angry about her situation and she yowled in the car on the way.  I tried talking to her, telling her how adopters liked happy, peppy kitties, not aloof and angry ones.  This was her chance to put herself on display, so she better make the best of it.

Before I even walked in the door, I was greeted by a college student who told me how beautiful my cat was.  I thanked her, and mentioned that the cat was actually adoptable and that I was actually volunteering with a foster-based cat shelter.

“No Way!” She exclaimed.  “You mean you can actually keep cats in your house without having to adopt them first?  This is perfect for me because I’m in college and I miss having pets but I can’t adopt one right now.”

Fortunately for me, all the information I needed for this new foster was easy to find, and there was even a pen handy so that my enthusiastic new volunteer could fill out everything right on the spot.

While I was feeding, several people came up to look at the cats.  Each said the same thing: “Oh, I feel so bad for these guys knowing that they will be killed if they don’t find a home in the next few days.”  One of my favorite parts of volunteering is being able to tell people that these cats are safe.  Once they’re Tails High cats, we keep them for as long as it takes to find their forever homes.  I love to watch these people as their whole bodies relax and they can love on the cats without the feelings of foreboding and doom.

I cleaned the litter boxes, swept the litter out of the cages, and prepared the food dishes with little trouble.  The supplies were in fact right where I had expected them to be.  Just as I was opening the cages to place the food dishes, a woman came up to the display to look at the cats, and she started to talk about how the loss of her cat Henry traumatized her so much that she couldn’t even look at black cats anymore. And just as she said that, she looked over at angry and aloof Velvet, huddled in the back of her cage.

“Oh my goodness,” she purred, looking straight into Velvet’s eyes, “look how beautiful you are.”  Velvet stared straight back, not moving a muscle.  “You look just like my Henry.  You even have his eyes.”

She stood at Velvet’s cage while I placed the food in the other cages.  And then I very slowly opened Velvet’s cage to insert the food.  Knowing that Velvet was not the type to bust out of her cage into the isles of Petco, I let the cage door stay open.  Gradually, the woman reached her hand inside the cage and brought it up to Velvet’s nose.  Velvet sniffed and decided that this hand was safe, so she gave it a good head bonk.

“Frank, Look!” She called over to her husband, “I’m petting a black cat!”  Franks walked over to the cage and stood behind his wife with his hand resting securely on her shoulder as she continued letting Velvet nuzzle against her hand. The two of them stood there together, so proud of her progress and talking excitedly about the possibility of being ready to adopt another cat, and I knew that the spell had been broken.

Breaking spells is another favorite part of my job.  I love it when people, especially children, approach a cage all tense and terrified of a bite or a scratch or a hiss or even just the feeling of being out of control, and then I put a kitten in their arms and they melt into a puddle of love as the kitten shows them how much it trusts them.

I’m so proud of Velvet, and I know she’s going to make someone’s home complete.