Critter Club to the Rescue!

The first night of our Critter Club program for kids in 6^th through 9^th grades was earlier this month.  We let the kids do some animal socialization.  Lucy and Mia took a dog for a walk and when they returned they were very excited and concerned about a cat they’d seen “in the bushes”.  One of the girls had even taken a tight photo of its face peeking out from the leaves.  

I had one of the girls take the dog back to his kennel and asked the other to show me where the cat was.  Originally, I thought they’d meant the cat was in our landscaping in the parking lot, so I was a bit surprised when she led me to our dog walking trail.  

Sure enough, a cat saw us and scampered back into the long grass.  Knowing that frightened cats generally don’t allow themselves to get close enough for capture, I resigned myself to going back to the shelter and asking one of the kennel staff to set a live-trap for it.  But to my surprise a few seconds later the cat came out of the brush and started to meow and tentatively approach.  

Both of us sat down and remained quiet, and within a minute the cat came strolling up to Mia, sniffed her, and then started to rub up against her hands.  I told Mia to pick him up and in no time we were headed back to HAWS.  

Hawkley, as our staff has dubbed him, hasn’t been claimed by his owner.  Our best guess is that someone brought him to HAWS when we were closed, and rather than come back during our open hours to surrender him, just dumped him in our parking lot.

But even more outstanding is the concern our Critter Club members showed for this guy.  Their love for animals is why they’ve been involved in HAWS education programs, and that night they were able to make a difference for an abandoned cat trying to survive on his own.