With my newfound cat caring confidence, all their tails were mine. I went around playing with each cat, but to show not only my confidence but also dominance, I light pet and grabbed every tail insight. Some liked the tail grabs while others thought it was an initiation to play fight; however, for me, the tail grab was my declaration of confidence. I had finally gotten used to my Tuesday home at the SPCA.

Someone left Queenie’s door open and she got out into the hall and…started slamming her body into her door to get back in. I’ve never seen someone so violently want to go back into their room, but that’s Queenie. The issue presented itself when I realized it was only me and Queenie in that small, small hallway. For three weeks I had honed my cat scratch dodging skills, formed, somewhat, telepathic connections with most cats, and had my dignity shattered by Queenie. Thus, I knew what I had to do. I opened her door and she scrambled in. Now, I believe that stepping in the vicinity of a screaming cat is brave enough, but I also turned my back and opened the door. At this point forward, I fear nothing

Queenie and I had met eyes a couple of times through a glass door, and, with each interaction, I said to myself, “never going in there.” That was a complete lie. This week I found myself trapped under Queenie sleeping on my lap. This would be a cute scene if Queenie wasn’t labeled the Queen of the SPCA on her door. I went in as a testament to myself to see how far and how comfortable I could get with the cats 3 weeks in; this was a mistake. Queenie had conquered not only my lap but also my pride. Being forced to sit for two hours because you thought Queenie would end your life in one swipe of the paw, was not the best way to go out. My legs have never recovered, but at least I went in.

Due to the incident last week, I only use string toys with Fiona. As I swung the toys, our eyes met and I felt that, at that moment, we truly understood each other; Fiona only wants to be played with not pet. Such a revelation made me think that I could honestly form connections and understand the temperaments of other cats. I would like to note that at the beginning of this post, I mentioned how I only play with Fiona using string toys, I would like to edit such a statement to say; I used string toys with most cats because I had slight trust issues.

I love cats, I really do, but I have never handled them before, so volunteering with cats was a whole new experience. Yes, I had received training and yes, I went to orientation; however, the first week was still filled with excitement and a sprinkle of fear. It especially did not help when Fiona walked into my lap to rest, but then turned and bit me as fast as he came into my lap. Such a betrayal would often deter others, but, from then on, I felt as if I needed to conqueror the cats and play as much as I can with them.