Monday Morning at the Shelter

I was the first one to work this morning, and the first one to see the gray and white long-haired cat in the road directly across the street from the shelter. I recognized it immediately, as did all of the staff members who came in after me.

Two weeks ago, someone had illegally dropped two cats by the front door of the shelter in a blanket, with some food in bowls. I guess they had expected the cats to stay by the door overnight somehow. By the time we arrived, the cats were gone. We watched the cameras, and eventually found them nearby, absolutely terrified and untouchable. One staff member tried to grab one, and got bit (first rule of working at the shelter? DON’T GET BIT!). She went to urgent care, and we set out live traps.

We caught the first one right away, and had ten days to determine two things:

• Does the cat have rabies

• Is the cat feral

In the meantime, we continued to try to trap its companion/sibling. Our shelter has a major freeway on one side, and a busy road with a 45mph speed limit on the other. We sit on 20 acres, and there are coyotes about that have taken down deer. It’s not a safe place for a cat.

The person who left the cats probably meant to do good. After all, they left blankets and bowls with food and water. What they didn’t leave was the medical history, or information on the background of the cats, or their names. And they didn’t leave the cats in carriers, where they might have had a chance. This cat was terrified, and judging by the way it was found, it died in pain. One of the staff members gently picked it up and brought it inside, where we will have it cremated. It doesn’t have a name, but it will have a dignified burial.

Monday mornings at the shelter. Too many mornings at the shelter, especially during kitten season. I will remember this cat, and the image of it on the road, probably the rest of my days.