January 14, 2026

𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝟏𝟒 - 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐓𝐰𝐨 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐒𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐥

Today was probably my favorite day of the week. We got to do something special, and it was about as chill as it gets for us.

Recently, I'd seen a plea for a cat at another shelter. As I scrolled past his photo, those eyes stopped me cold. I was sad right along with him. Knowing how many cats we already have to care for, I tried to put him out of my mind. I tried so hard to resist the urge to pull him.

Then last night, our shelter manager—who also happens to be my best friend—texted me. She was telling me about a cat she'd seen online that just tugged at her heart. As soon as she started describing him, I knew. We both sent screenshots to each other at the exact same time.

Surprise! It WAS the same cat.

I could no longer fight the urge. Together, we reached out and committed to taking him.

This poor cat lost everything he'd ever known: his family, his home, his housemates. The look in his eyes tells you how sad, scared, and confused he is. We arranged his arrival and came up with a plan for him after intake.

We picked him up today, and I was surprised. Apparently enough work had been done with him that it wasn't the struggle I expected. We were able to get blood drawn and x-rays done safely, with no drama. He actually did fantastic! I was so proud of him for getting through that. Now we're going to let him decompress, and he's going to come home with me so I can finish the socializing work that needs to be done. I can imagine him being a fantastic cat once he gets through this. I'm really excited to help him through this process.

I had another big surprise today when I saw one of the cats who had been struggling with his transition from the cafe to here come out of his shell a bit. He was still nervous, but he came near the front of the shelter, and I rejoiced knowing that this was just the start of him becoming comfortable in his new home.

I also forgot to share that we had a stray brought in by an employee's dad this week. The cat was not microchipped, which always makes it even more difficult to try to get the cat home. As I was scrolling through the lost and found pages, I saw her face! Thankfully her owner had posted her, and I knew right away it was her. We were able to reunite her with her very thankful family!

We only had two kitten adoptions today, but that's okay. Two is better than none. We have to make room because the weather has been getting warmer, and the newest litters of kittens will be coming soon.

My team was so efficient today that they actually came to me to tell me the entire "to do" list I'd given them was done, and they were looking for more. I gave them a task and empowered them to figure it out on their own. Not only did they figure it out with little direction from me, they knocked out extra stuff too. It was nice to not have many outside distractions.

We did have a gentleman who came to the door today that stole my heart. He just lost his wife of 53 years in December. She was an avid animal lover and left him with too many animals to care for. He admitted that it was more than he could handle. Listening to him tell their story—how all the cats came to be—left me wanting to hug him and take some of his pain away.

Thankfully, we are in a position to help. I have fosters who are waiting for senior cats, so we're going to do what we can to help him and alleviate some of that overwhelming feeling. If everyone came to the door as nice as this gentleman was, we wouldn't have so much stress. It's a sad situation, but he was honest, and I appreciate a man who can admit that he's struggling. There will be more to come on that in the future.

It's my Friday, so I'm happy to be home and have some decompression time of my own. I'll be thinking about our new scared friend throughout my weekend. The last action item I have is to send an email to my team with agenda items for tomorrow. I hope their next two days will be as great as today was.