Often in life you stumble upon things that matter to you
unexpectedly. These things often come about when you make a change, and recently
I have found one of these wondrous things.
I started photographing shelter cats at my city animal shelter, and this
volunteer experience has been truly amazing.
In the past few months I have seen some miraculous transformations
and some very happy endings.
Take Hannah for instance, this beautiful girl and her sister
were in the shelter way too long. She was part a of a bonded pair whose future
was up in the air as they were extremely shy, and were near impossible to place
in a home, but it happened. They were
adopted by a very patient and caring woman who is letting Hannah and her sister
Lilly adjust slowly to their new environment, it is a real success story.
Hannah |
It is a story of hope
and a true testament to the volunteers who work with hard to place animals all
over the county. I am honored that I got
to witness the end of a very long road for these two girls and all the people
who worked the hours to get them to the point that some one would see them and
take them into their home.
Photographing cats is so much fun, who knew? With all the
varied personalities and activity levels it has been a learning experience which
is ongoing.
What
toys get their attention, how do I get them to ignore the camera and not be
afraid of it, what is the best way to really get their true nature to shine
through?
Zarah |
I’m having so much fun learning the answers to these questions. The rambunctious girl pictured above is Zarah.
She is still a very young kitten and moves super-fast. I had to play
with her for awhile before trying to catch this shot; expending some of her
supercharged kitty energy so I could keep her attention.
Being a kitten, she was only in the adoption room for one
day, now she’s in a home, good luck little one.
Apparently, April and May are big kitten months. There are
so many babies right now, it’s a good time to check out the local shelter if
you are looking for a baby.
These little guys are often abandoned and unwelcome, but if
people would just take the time to be responsible and have their cats spayed or
neutered it would save suffering and money. Check with your local SPCA or city
shelter, they have programs or know of local events where the surgeries can be preformed
at reduced cost.
Also, if you have a feral cat living near you, and you care enough
to feed it, having it neutered and released is something to consider. Trust me, finding a deceased mamma cat in your
attic with five sick babies is not fun and could have been avoided by a friend
of mine if someone had taken the time to neuter their cats. As it was they ended up bottle feeding the babies
and lost two. They are looking for homes
for the others. It just seems like a sad waste of life.
If you don’t have the time to spend with a new kitten for litter box training and teaching them the ropes of not climbing your curtains,
consider an adult cat who craves your attention and company and comes into your
home knowing these things already.
This is Giana, she is curious, loving and likes to curl up
in her favorite person’s lap. She even
drools a little if you give her cuddles and scratches on her head the way she
likes it. She has some very unusual markings and I think she is very photogenic,
don’t you? If she speaks to you, ask for
her at the League
City Animal Shelter, in League City Texas.
Thank you for volunteering! Your photos are beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThanks Amy, glad you enjoyed this.
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