KITTYS!!! (... and other reasons I'll never be able to run for office)

I always joke that if I ever run for office, an opponent simply needs to place a kitten in front of me during a debate. I would lose instantly due to the squeals that would explode out of me. I love cats. This XKCD comic does a pretty perfect job of explaining my reaction when a cat is around.

Here's the twist: I don't have a cat. That lovely man that I live with and happily vowed to spend the rest of my life with is deathly allergic to them. You honestly won't hear me whine and complaining about it because there was no "choice" about it. I wanted a cat, he's allergic, I love him more than anything in this world, I choose happiness. Case closed. But, I do long for a kitten snuggle every now and then, so I decided to fulfill that by volunteering at two different animal shelters each month (twice a month).

They both are very different, and both provide very fulfilling experiences for me.

The Animal Rescue League of Iowa is one of the shelters. Every other week I take pictures of the cats for adoption. Those pictures are used for posting ads online. They were at capacity for their cats when they rescued 50 cats from a hoarder this week. This means they need help, and have lowered their cat adoption price down to $25 a cat. That's a HUGE deal. If you're like me and cannot have a cat, consider donating to them. You get the newsletter if you donate $30 or more (and yours truly was in the newsletter last month). The other thing you can do is SUPER COOL! You can have cat food sent straight to their doors using this Amazon Wish List. OR get free shipping on Wag.com.

KCCI also did a story on it. The ARL Facebook page is following some of the adoptions, and telling some great stories along the way.

I feel bad now that I've talked so much about ARL, because it's this next shelter that really fills my heart. The Animal Lifeline of Iowa is a no kill, special needs animal shelter. I volunteer helping the cats every other week. Right now, they have FIVE litters of kittens. You'd think I'd be in heaven in a happy pile of kittens, but that room is stressful making sure each kitten has been fed and watered, had their litter cleaned, and had their medicine. The medicine is the craziest part because each kitten gets a gulp of medicine. Keeping track of that is quite the task, and usually takes three of us volunteers.

I've been taking a LOT of pictures at this shelter each week. Currently, this beautiful little girl is my favorite:

And here are some more adorable kittens up for adoption there:

AND, here are some alumni of the shelter.

This one is Cagney. She was my very first little favorite kitten. She came in skin and bones, and got snagged up pretty fast because she is quite loving.

And this one is Kringle. He's blind, but you wouldn't be able to tell when he plays. He is also very lovey, and was adopted quickly.



I thought this was an appropriate blog topic today due to the timely needs of the ARL. I have 5-6 rough drafts of blog posts sitting in the queue, so stand by for more exciting updates on the life of Mrs. S.