Bless the Beasts

Watermelon Ranch

I spent our National Day of Service on Monday, January 19 at a very special place, Watermelon Ranch in my home town, Rio Rancho, New Mexico. Watermelon Ranch is a no-kill animal shelter that does not keep abandoned animal companions behind bars or caged as if they had committed a crime. As you may have guessed, my destination was the cat center. I read their literature before volunteering and knew that they espoused a special philosophy of shelter care based on the Utah model.

From what I observed, the technique was all about inclusion, for the animals, for the shelter personnel and for the visiting and adopting public. Each of the cats I saw had been either abandoned or placed in the shelter when their owner could no longer care for them.

I believe that animals, especially cats, are sentient in their own way. Tigger, my boy, can tell time, knows when I am upset and knows when I’m happy. He shows obvious disappointment when I’m on the computer and he can’t play or cuddle on my lap and he has been known to pitch a fit or two to get his way. If you listened to the description and remained unaware I spoke of my animal companion, I could just as easily described a recalcitrant child.

At the Ranch, the occupants are treated more like children and less like dumb beasts. There are open rooms with toys, perches and tunnels to hide explore. There are exits from the rooms to an outdoor playground where the residents can sit on a perch and catch a few rays.

Every one of the adult cats I encountered was beautifully socialized. There were no cats that hid from the human visitors whether the visitor was an adult or a child. Tigger has been known to head for the hills when toddlers arrive. These cats were perfectly comfortable with the small children and the adults.

I have in the past adopted shelter cats that were frightened, and unfriendly. It would take a long time to get them to trust me. In the end, even when they trusted me, they would not extend that trust to other humans they encountered. This group of cats easily trusted the strange humans not to harm. I hope they never lose that trust.

In my novel, The Sarran Plague, coming in April from Eternal Press, two very special cats help to save the universe. Cats are expert at ridding their domain of pests, see how Dr. Forrester’s stalwart Tigger, and Syn Sinclair’s very regal Duchess put their noses, ears and paws where they don’t belong and thus help the Sarran WarriorPairs and their beloved BondMates outwit the evil Zyptz.

Stay tuned for more on the Sarrans.

AC Katt