Things are fairly quiet at the shelter right now. Kitten season is over and there are empty cages. Dancer was pretty speakative, he is living in a ground floor condo and was lively when I was there, chirping and chortling. He is still having occasional seizures, sadly, and his urine is too dark. I hope he will get out of the shelter and be able to have some kind of a good life. Remember, he has been in the shelter since he was a young kitten. If any of you out there know how I can get enough money to build a sanctuary, let me know. The organization I work with (The Rozzie May Animal Alliance) really wants to do it. We can probably get land, bought or donated. I would like to have a place where cats like Dancer, who don't have good chances of being adopted, could have a decent life with room to roam and people to spend time with them. This would be a different set up from a shelter, with long term living arrangements for the felines.
Speaking of cats whose adoption chances aren't great, this is Abby, who has been returned. I hate to see cats coming back. Personally, I like cats with attitude, it shows they have pride and self respect. Every cat is an individual and if you want a relationship with them you have to understand them. A cat is not a dog! Abby can come to my sanctuary too.
There is one little room with six orange cats in it, all very scared, since they were rescued from a hoarding situation. Even though I would love to have more cats, it is better to understand how they get along and how they can get stressed if there are too many in a living place. Just like people! So all six of these beautiful cats have those big scared eyes. This is Tootsie.
It is a challenge as a photographer to go into a room (with pink walls) and try to get a decent photo of a frightened cat. You can't really do them justice, you just have to try to get something that shows their beauty and help them get adopted over Petfinder. Her name is Juniper.
This little girl cat should get adopted pretty quickly. Her chances are good. Sweet Josephine.
And another scared cheese kitty named Saffron. (I'm just mad about Saffron) If you know who sang that song then you are my age.
And another. Sage.
The biggest challenge for me is getting decent photos of the black cats. The light isn't good, the cats are in motion and I am not a good enough photographer to deal with it well. I just bought some books on photography and I am going to work at it and maybe redo all my black cat portraits. This one came out the best that day at 1/60 shutter speed. ISO 1600 and f5.6. It did not look good in my camera but looked better when I got it in the computer. I end up using a high ISO because of the lighting but I try to go lower in the shelter when it will work. This is Odessa and she has wonderful soft fur that doesn't translate to this photo.
Another from the cheese group, named Curry.
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And Tonka. Boy, if you want a nice big cat this boy is a twenty pounder and its not fat. With personality to boot.
And my favorite and the one in my I'd take you home in a second list. Victor is a kitten, he and his mom were found wild and he is thinking about how he is going to deal with this new situation. Look at those eyes. There is a feline person there.
12 comments:
All the cats look beautiful. Odessa looks like she has fur like our beloved Whiskers. It sparkled in the sunshine.
We are sorry to hear that Abby was returned, we are very sorry for her.
~Socks, Scylla, Charybdis and our Mom Alasandra
I'll have to be careful about looking at your blog. I might end up with the number of cats I had after 2 years of working at the Angell Memorial Hospital. I worked on the top floor, and the SPCA was in the basement. Fellow workers would come up to my lab and say, "Anne, there's the most beautiful cat, and if it isn't adopted TODAY it will be put down." Eighteen was the final tally. Your pictures are really beautiful. I'm probably safe now, though, as I have a husband who feels that 2 toy poodles and 1 large black kitty that outweighs both poodles together is all he'll tolerate.
What beautiful babies...
praying that they find homes.
Heard about Abby... We will purr for her too.
Katie n her Katie Too
Another cheesehead family? Lots of wonderful gingerness in the world.
Mum is singing back to you, 'they call me mellow yellow'.
We just got a new 27,000 square foot shelter, there are 6 cat rooms. I am doing Petfinder now, and know the challenge of getting good pictures of frightened cats. The shelter is no kill, and the adoption rate has really risen since moving to the new facility. It really breaks my heart too, when one comes back.
Toni
I happened upon your blog one day as I was searching for something else. I could take all of these kitties home except that my one kitty here is very much the king of the house. He was feral born; his mama showed up on our porch with her babies and we found homes for them. Our guy stayed with us and he's still very skittish. Have you tried looking into applying as a non-profit? Maybe then you will find funds for your shelter. I wish I could do one, too. I love cats and it breaks my heart when they are abandoned or abused. All kitties should have a warm cozy home and lots of love.
Count me in if you decide to start your shelter. I was one of those who hoped Dancer would be adopted by now, so a shelter for him and other kitties would be the next best thing.
Awwww they are all so lovely. We wonder who could take a cat on and return them? Poor Abby, we hope she finds someone to love her soon.
In fact we hope they all find homes and we hope that you can find help for your shelter.
You are a star!!
I just happened upon your blog, and saw all the beutiful cats. It makes me so happy that someone would take time and expenses to help thes poor cats. I saw that Sage looks just like my cat Gremlin, which sadly died of liver disease last year. I want another cat so badly now and so does my only cat right now, Beggar. He is lonely sometimes, I think. And I really hope that all the cats find loving homes, especially Dancer. If I had heard his story and was looking for a cat, I would adopt him. He looks so cut and lovable in the photo, and it breaks my heart to know that he's had to live his entire life in a shelter. I may even look into adopting another cat from the shelter you work at, but sadly it's a few states over. I also still have to decide if I'm going to adopt. If I do, however, I will go to a shelter or the SPCA. Most likely the SPCA, as they have a branch in my area. But Dancer is still so cute!
I love the photos. I used to be a cat lover too (still am in fact) except that I am very allergic to their fur and can only admire from a distance now :(
Mom and Dad wish they could take them all in. They have a soft spot for homeless cats, but are relieved knowing that they are in a good shelter. Black cats sure are hard to capture. We run into that with Huggy Bear. The flash reflects off the fur too much and makes him squint. We end up doing what you did ... high ISO. But we think you're a great photographer -- you truly capture the personalities of these cats.
--Jasper
Black cats are a real trick to photograph. On my camera I dial Exposure Compensation (EV I think) back to -2.0 for natural light shots, and -1.0 or so for a flash, and that seems to about do the trick. But that still leaves you with with the Cat's whole range at the bottom of your camera's dynamic range. One hates to admit it, but trying to photograph black cats is a pretty good reason to have a camera like the one you bought, with just one digit in it's name. At least that's what this black cat ( sometimes returnee) owning camera buff thinks.
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