Senior Cats vs. Kittens: The Struggle Is Real.

It happens every year: in comes the deluge of kittens and there sits all the wonderful adult cats. Animosity is bound to occur between the two groups so we wanted to give everyone a chance to clear the air. Thus in this blog we give both sides a chance to make their case for feline adoption superiority. 

Kitten: I am adorable, playful and will provide you with endless fodder for your social media feeds. Everything I do is made of cuteness. 

No work. Just look at me!

Senior Cat Darwin: What kitten means to say is "I am a tasmanian devil of destruction and mayhem. Your curtains will not be safe from me. Not now, not for many months." I enjoy playing, too. But I also know when enough is enough. And as for the social media comment, oh please. All the really famous cats are adults. Have you checked out my stately countenance? BORN to be hashtagged. Born for it.

Be quiet, little creature. Your blathering annoys me. 

Kitten: I have energy for days. You're active, I'm active. You have young children? Awesome. I'll play and play and play with them. I'll keep you laughing for days. 

Senior Cat Duchess: I'm sure you're really going to enjoy hearing that at four in the morning. I play. I do amusing things. I also sleep at night. Night being the time that kittens start going after your toes like they're made of cheese. Do you enjoy watching television? Funny, so do I. Watching TV with a hairball scaling your legs like they're Mount Everest isn't very much fun, is it? Not as much fun as watching it with someone who just curls up and purrs at you.

Dignity, pipsqueaks. Get some. 

Kitten: I really feel the need to re-emphasize my adorableness. Have you SEEN me? Have you basked in the epic amount of squee that is going on here? 

If I just it here and look like this I will have entirely earned my kibble. 

Senior Cat Patches: You do realize that's going to grow up to be a cat, right? You're going to wind up with a cat. And we are adorable too. 

Exhibit A: We ARE adorable. 

Kitten: But we are flooding the shelters right now. They are inundated with us. Please? We need homes. You can even foster underage ones if you can't commit to adopting one of us. There is a tsunami of us overwhelming shelters. Please.

Senior Cat Tony: Pipe down there, half pint. You're not the only ones who feel the brunt of kitten season. You do know it's hard for us to get any attention right now, right? And that a lot of us will sit in shelters clear until fall waiting while people adopt all of you guys? FYI: we need foster homes, too. 

I would so much rather be chilling out at your house. 

Guys, we're going to call this a draw. You all need homes. We'll see what we can do. And by 'see what we can do' we mean 'write blog featuring many adorable cats and kittens and wait for the people to flood in'.

People just like you. See you soon!

Three Canine Miscreants That Have Totally Stolen Our Hearts.

We have the best dogs. Every single pooch we get is one hundred percent perfect in their own amazing, quirky way. But dogs, like people, are not perfect. And we're firm believers in putting it all out on the table and letting people make their own choices.

These guys are awesome. They're staff and volunteer favorites. They're also kids who have been poking around for a while, waiting for the right peeps. Are they traditionally perfect dogs? Oh heck no. But are we all traditionally perfect people? Somewhere out there is a great home for each of these perfectly imperfect guys and we're going to find it.

FYI? It might be you. 

Bree: The Pocket Size Thug.

Watch where you put them hands, stranger.

The only thing more disheartening than being bullied is being bullied by a seven pound dog with the face of an angel. Such is the dilemma of Bree, our little gangster.

Bree likes her peeps: she's got some friends at the shelter that she's really close to. She loves going for walks with them, invading their laps, playing in the park. Bree also loves her stuff: her toys, her treats, her bed. Once she gets to know you, she'll show it to you.

What Bree doesn't want is strangers groping her. Until you know a lady, keep your paws off. She has a pretty wide definition of personal space and she's not afraid to defend it. She's been working on the crate thing but if you think you're getting her in that dog carrier you've got another think coming. 'Purse dog' is just not happening. She's got too much gravitas for that.

Bree is sort of the Beyonce of dogs: she's fierce, she's fabulous and she's funny. If you've ever seen her pics, she was born to pose. She loves working on her training and long walks by the river. In general, she's a hoot who never forgets who she loves and is always happy to see them.

Gnome: Instigator and Trash Talker Extraordinaire.

It's like watching a teddy bear swear. 

Here comes another dog - and there goes Gnome. We don't speak dog but we'd pretty well guess what's coming out of that absurdly cute little mouth is doggy obscenity. Any passing pooch turns the little Cavalier King Charles mix straight from Hugh Jackman into Andrew Dice Clay.

He's so adorable he's like a drunk supermodel heckling the winners at an awards show. On one hand you're like "please don't do that" but on the hand you're like "wow, he looks GOOD".

In reality, Gnome has a reason for his loudmouthed ways: he was horribly bullied by another dog in his past home and now detests his own kind. Being deaf, he can't really hear them coming so  he does his 'best defense is a good offense' thing. 

The good news? He's working through it. He's a top-notch genius with hand signals and he's learning more sign language every day. With him watching his person for a command, he's pretty easy to distract.  Check out his moves.

And did we mention he's the biggest love muffin EVER with people? Rub the belly!

Harvey: The Good Natured Misanthrope.

I'm going to need some age verification before we can talk.

There is so much in the world that little Harvey loves. He loves fetch - he always brings back the toy. He loves people. He loves walks and sunshine and is good with other dogs. You'd be pretty hard pressed to not call this outgoing little cutie The Absolute Perfect Dog except for one thing..

Kids.

Kids turn sweet, lovely Harvey into...

He doesn't go after them, he just doesn't want them anywhere near him. Even really awesome well behaved kids. In a home with adults he'd be fantastic. In a home with other dogs he'd be stellar. He just has some strange, deep seated prejudice towards little people that sends him barking and cowering in the opposite direction.

While Harvey's issue isn't a huge deal, he's a little brown and tan chi in a world awash with little tan and brown chis. Getting people to notice how spectacular he is can be tough. Add a little phobia to kids in there and poor Harvey has been hanging out with us for quite a while. 

Is this the bit where it gets all philosophical? Sigh.

Here at HSSV we believe in a lot of things. We believe that people are good, that animals are good, and that animals make people's lives better. We also believe very deeply that there is a lid for ever pot. Even pots that are a wee bit quirky. 

Maybe you're reading this and thinking 'I'm not a kid person' or 'I had a dog just like that ridiculously adorable little thug'. Maybe you're thinking your mom would love Gnome. If you are, we need to tell you something:

Or maybe it's just well placed social media, we don't pretend to know. But this is your lightning bolt moment. 

We found your pot. Get your lid self on down here. 

Age Ain't Nothin' But A Number: Methuselah Is In The House.

If Methusalah wasn't so happy we'd swear she was dead. And had been dead for quite a while.

Maybe it was the eyes. Or the missing jaw. Or the tongue. Or the tendency to sleep very, very deeply.

Tho the tongue thtickth out. It giveth me charm.

She certainly wasn't a spring chicken.

Don't get us wrong. We have a lot of experience adopting out senior pets. There was Chu...

I'm like the Sean Connery of cats. I look GOOD.

The cat that came to us with a microchip that had been implanted 19 years before.

And Mickey and Minnie..

We make arthritis medicine look good. 

the 13+ year old labs who proved that age wasn't nothing but a number...

Heck, we even have Angel...

I'm like the Vanna White of poodles. No one can tell how old I am.

Who makes 17 years old look good. But they all seemed a little more robust than Methuselah. 

Oh pleathe. 

Until we got to know her. 

When she first came in as a stray, the poor girl was exhausted. She crashed out on her bed in such a manner that inspired all sorts of pity and a constant urge to make sure she was still breathing. 

And then the singing started. A high volume, high pitched yowling that announced that Methuselah was awake, had caught up on her sleep and certainly wasn't going to tolerate this room nonsense for much longer. 

Cuddle me. NOW. 

Here's the thing with Methuselah: she's ancient. She's blind. On a good day she's about 80% deaf. For her age she's very healthy - her bloodwork is fantastic. And she is absolutely delighted to be alive. 

I jutht needed a little bath. Thith wath my 'before' pic.

Once we figured out this out, the next step was finding her a good foster home. Which really meant 'putting her in the path of Development Director Bridget.' Because while pretty much everyone who works here is a sucker, Bridget is Queen Sucker. She has an enormous heart for elderly and special needs pets. In her home of two dogs and two cats there is a cumulative total of fifteen legs and five eyes. Do the math on that.

Our foster team made that Bridget/Methuselah meeting happen and the next thing you know...

We sneakily inserted a pic of Bridget into the blog without her noticing she was being photographed.

Bridget began fostering Methuselah. Through Bridget we know that that Methuselah is well housebroken, loves to eat, enjoys the other dogs, is fine with cats and lives to be carried around. Hence this...

I have no problem sharing a cuddle. 

happens a lot. As does the baby bjorn thing. 

Methuselah's love for cuddling is epic. The caterwauling we originally heard from her that first day was not a cry of pain but rather a demand to be held. Once held, she falls asleep. She's so good at suckering people into carrying her that even Dr. Berger has been snookered into the routine with her. 

Thucker! 

When she's not being held, Methuselah motors around just fine on her own once she gets the lay of the land. It takes her a bit to adjust but once she does she's a mellow little love sponge that would be a wonderful fit for an elderly person, a TV junkie or anyone who spends a lot of time sitting down and enjoys the company of an affectionate little lap warmer.

But did we mention that Bridget is the biggest sucker ever?

Thith is the retht of the poth-ey. It'th how we roll.

Bridget is due to foster another dog next week. This incoming pooch needs to have an eye removed. As Bridget's been through this with her own dog, Ellie, she's an ace at handling the aftercare.

Exhibit A: Bridget being an ace at eye removal aftercare.

Methuselah is pretty ready to blow this pop stand for a forever home and we're hoping to help her (and Bridget) out by pushing really hard to find a forever home for Methuselah.

This is the point at which you jump out of your seat and say "Let me help! I'd love to adopt/tell my friends/repost this blog to give a hand to a sweet old gal!".

All you need ith a baby bjorn and a lap, folkth.

Great! Let's get to it! Will Methuselah be around for a long time? We don't know. Probably not. We knows she's happy, healthy and loving life right now. We also know that, like most senior pets, she has a ton of love to give in the time she does have left. She has a lot of companionship and joy to offer the right person.

Let's find that person. 

Meet The Rest Of The Lineup

Unless you've been in a closet, you probably noticed that Sharks Cat broke onto the scene (and the ice) like, well...

Despite her bombastic media debut, she's a bit of a retiring gal and has been chilling here, watching the playoffs, putting on some weight and getting some serious love. She's actually more like...

Hello there. 

Don't get us wrong. She's got some powerful mojo. (Any one see the game last night? Hello!) Like most black cats, she's good luck. But all of this media attention has everyone asking 'what's going on with Jo'?

Relax people - I just got here. And the food is gooooood. 

The past few days Jo PAW-velski has been workin' hard getting stronger and bigger. She still needs to be fixed. Since she's not available as of yet, we thought perhaps you'd like to meet some other lucky kitties who would love to watch the playoffs with you.  From the safety of your couch, of course. No more icescapades. 

Only one person can actually adopt Jo, so take a gander at some of the rest of our roster. All solid players. All needing homes. All totally down for some hardcore sofa and sports time with you. 

Sylvester AKA Brent Burns

I make disheveled look good. 

No one rocks crazy hair like Sylvester rocks crazy hair. He's a nice guy, too. Super outgoing and always doing something unexpected. You can't help but like watching him. Or watching the playoffs with him. 

Tab, AKA Tommy Wingels.

By the time you see me moving, it's too late. 

He's fast. He's good. And you never see him coming until it's too late. Tab's the guy you want to have in your corner. 

Spencer AKA Martin Jones

Dedicated, smart, loyal and pretty easy on the eyes. 

Pirate AKA Joe Thornton

Don't mind the permanent wink. It adds to my charm. 

Not only fantastic at what he does but also quite possibly the nicest cat you'll ever meet. He's been in the game awhile and as a result is the best around. 

An honorable mention: 

Bonks, AKA Faux PAW-velski.

No, he's not the real Jo PAW-velski but if she needed an older stunt double, Bonks would be the man for the job. He's a straight out doppelgänger and a super nice guy to boot. When it comes to chasing the red dot though, he straight out-performs the real Jo PAW-velski. He's a playing fiend.

True, none of these guys have their own web cam or Twitter accounts. None of them have spawned some of the awesome artwork we've seen from Sharks Fans. 

That said, they're all awesome kitties who would love to meet you. So while Jo PAW-velski enjoys her recuperation, think about adopting one of these guys instead. 

Don't get stuck watching the next game alone!