A
n advertisement
in the newspaper
stating that the local
SPCA was promot-
ing a campaign
called “Home for Christmas,”
appealing to local residents to
give their numerous older cats
a chance at a forever home,
prompted my husband and I
to visit the shelter. As we were
chatting with the worker, an
orange cat perched on a cat tree
eyed us closely, then reached
out with a paw for my husband’s
shoulder. We took this as an
omen and so it was that Cici
came to be a part of our lives.
I’m told that of all the animals
that come to be in shelters, the
saddest ones are those that have
had homes and have been given
up for adoption. Our Cici was
one of them. But it didn’t take her
long to check out her new digs
and settle herself in her comfy
bed in the kitchen. As the weekswent by we all adapted to our
routine. Mornings we went off
to work while Cici watched over
the house, surveying the neigh-
bourhood from her perch in the
sunroom.
It soon became apparent that
Cici was an exceedingly laid-
back cat and there wasn’t much
that would upset her, aside from
her humans serving up a late
dinner. About this time, I heard
about an organization called You
Are Not Alone that was looking
for dogs to fulfill their mandate
of pet visitation to local seniors.
Although cats had never been
considered as appropriate
visitors, Cici was reluctantly
scheduled for an interview. At
the interview, she was handled
a good deal by the interviewer
and through it all Cici remained
undisturbed, seemingly bored
by the whole performance and
thus she was declared fit for
the program.A few days later, Cici and I
arrived at the Nanaimo Seniors
Village and prepared to meet a
resident who wanted a visit from
a cat, not a dog. Joan Samuels
(pictured at left) had recently
moved to the Village after giving
up her home and her two pets, a
cat and a dog. Understandably,
she was missing them terribly
and I was hoping that our visits
would help with the healing of
her loss. I still remember Joan’s
face when she saw Cici for the
first time. It was truly love at first
sight. Every Tuesday morning
after that, Cici and I had the
pleasure of visiting with Joan.
Sometimes we played cards or
just chatted while the cat made
herself cozy on Joan’s bed. Other
times I brought Joan to my home
for lunch and extra cuddle time
in the rocker with Cici. All our
times together were so special.
The following year, the SPCA
launched another campaign and
Cici and I were asked to partici-
pate by being interviewed at the
local TV station. The TV crew
watched with trepidation as I
opened Cici’s carrying case and
she stepped out into the unfamil-
iar setting. She sat quietly on my
knee for the interview, lapping up
all the attention and conveying
to the audience how pleasant it
would be to own a cat like her.
My husband was home record-
ing the interview, but I never got
to see it as he absent mindedly
taped a football game over it. So
much for our five-minute claim
to fame! But I must admit there
is a much more meaningful
reward than that. Being part of
the pet visitation program was
truly a privilege. Playing a part in
bringing two sweet souls togeth-
er and watching them bond was
truly a gift. ■The Cat
That Made a
Difference
Forging a special bond was easy
with this precious pussycat
by June Middlebrough,Fort Saskatchewan, Alta.57