Smelly, happy cats or clean, depressed cats? I choose the former…read more
The first thing you notice when you open the door to FCHS is the smell. It smells, well, like an animal shelter: wet cat food and litter, mostly. Then you notice how you feel kind of cramped and crowded, especially if there are other people in the main entry way, along with 3 or 4 cat and rabbit cages. But the very friendly staff will invite you right into the kitty room in the back, and, if you are a cat lover, you will be fine.
I came to see about volunteering here and maybe getting a pet cat for my future puppy. (I want to volunteer at a shelter to assuage my guilt about getting our puppy form a private breeder. Pleade don't judge! I feel bad enough already, and it wasn't really up to me...)
I was, at first, put off by the smell and pretty much decided I would be volunteering at the much cleaner, larger HS in South Burlington. But then... I spent an hour in the cat room, where almost all the cats roam free and have lots of toys to play with and things to climb, and I realized: hey, these cats a *happy*!! (Unlike the ones I saw in S. Burlington.) Cooler yet: they have a cat flap in their window so they can go outside into a large, outdoor cage in the front of the building. No wonder they are so happy!
So I just squat in the middle of the room, tap my fingers on the floor, and see who comes. I spent time with the curious, bold guys who approached me, and then I went around the room and looked at each cat who was too shy, lazy, or disinterested to come up to me. Then I went back to the middle of the room and tapped the floor to see who would come back to me. One particular cat did, and then she refused to leave me for the rest of my time there! It might be love...
One of the other visitors -- a 3-year-old boy and his mom -- apparently come just about every day! He and his mom know some of the cats by names, have favorites, and can tell you a little bit about some of them. I like that this shelter is open like that , to people who may not even be considering adopting a pet, but just want to spend time with the animals. I also love that you can really interact with each cat to learn about their personality.
One disadvantage of the community kitty room is that you don't know which cat is which, and so if a particular kitty begins to follow you around and you realize the love is mutual, you have to wait until the staff is off the phone to find out its name and history.
(Compare this to S. Burlington, where every cat is identified and described by the card on his cage -- but you will have to take the staff's word on their personality, because you have no meaningful opportunity to interact with the bored/depressed, cooped-up cats there. ALso, if you want to pet the cat, you have to wait until a staff person is off the phone so they can take the cat to meet you in a designated petting zone in the very distracting office area. And the cats seem so stressed that their personalities don't have a chance to shine through.)
I decided to apply to volunteer, and probably get my future puppy's cat, here because (1) I really liked the staff person there (they were nice at S. Burlington, too, but I felt like here was someone I could really connect with), (2) the cats here are really happy and well socialized, (3) they seem to have fewer resources than the one in S. Burlington and probably need more help, and (4) I really really want to help them with that smell problem.
