We took a hiatus over the holidays, and in January were eager to start again, keeping in mind that this was not exactly kitten season. We visited PetSmart, Petco, and Pet Food Express adoption days every weekend, and saw dozens of stacked crates occupied by appealing adult cats. We always left with feelings of guilt for not being able to take them all home, but our larger commitment had to be to maintaining Bubba's stress level in his advancing age.

Mary

400 Mile Trip
In late January, we took a trip to Mt. Shasta, stopping in Sacramento on the way. I had discovered the web site of the wonderful cat sanctuary, Happy Tails, about a year before and had always wanted to visit it. Melinie diLuck, the Director, gave us a warm welcome and we spent almost an hour petting and admiring the beautiful feline residents of this state-of-the-art sanctuary. Asa made friends with a large Himalayan-mix boy, and I could tell that he hated to leave him behind with we left.

Continuing North, we spent the night in Redding, then drove up to Mt.Shasta, where we visited the animal shelter there. More lovely adult cats needing homes, but no kittens. We were not surprised though, as by now we just wanted to compare the quality of the shelters we visited, and had given up on finding kittens this time of year. Back in Redding the next day, we went to the Haven Humane Society, which was a challenge to find, since it had recently moved and was in the middle of a road construction project. We saw a beautiful red boy there with eyes much the color of Shannon's, but three years old - a definite threat to Bubba's well-being.

Attention: Bill Gates!
It is impossible to harden one's heart to the plight of these adult cats, knowing that many of them will not "make the cut." I just about lost it the first time I reached through the bars of a cage and the little calico girl inside licked my hand. These cats have so much unconditional love to offer, and don't understand that they are castaways. Many people just "don't get it," that the adorable kittens born this year because of failure to spay and neuter become next year's leftovers, and the cycle continues every year.

Asa and I spent a lot of time on this trip talking about what we'd do if we had the kind of money Bill Gates has. We'd establish "Kitty Ranches" all over the country - sanctuaries for older shelter cats, and spend our days scooping them out of shelters to give them a home for life. We agreed that that kind of wealth would probably never come our way unless we happen to win the lottery, but a cat sanctuary on a few acres remains a long-term goal.

In the meantime, another little piece of my heart chips away with every shelter visit.