During the training for volunteers, I learned about what goes behind the scenes in a shelter. Although our tasks were generally very easy and things that I am used to doing at home with my cats, such as cleaning their litter boxes and playing with the, I thought the way that the shelter ran things was very organized. On the outside of each of the cat rooms, there were color coded papers which went over the basic information of each cat. The color of the paper also gave information, such as if the cat was an older cat or had a less friendly disposition. We also learned how to tell when a cat was overstimulated as well as how to break up cat fights. Additionally, we were taught the order to visit the cats to avoid spreading diseases, especially to the FIV-positive cat. I found the whole system and the rules in place to protect both the cats and people really interesting.

While we were training, we didn’t get to pet the cats too much, so I’m really excited to go back and get to know each of the cats. Flower, the cat that was outside in the lobby when we arrived, was very friendly and I feel like she will be adopted quickly.