The cats are chatty today.
Most of them are just meowing, small consistent noises that show they want love and attention. But a few are absolutely screeching, itching to be removed from their cages. That bunch is probably made up of former strays, used to roaming the streets and following their own rules. I feel for them. They're being fed and petted in the shelter but that luxury comes at the expense of their freedom. I make a note to show them a little extra affection today.
I don my latex gloves and wander down one aisle of cages, slowly surveying the cats that have been brought in since the last time I volunteered at the shelter. The cages are set up in rows of two and columns of about eight per aisle. They're a pretty good size, big enough for even the fattest cat to lay on his back and let it all hang out but small enough that I don't have trouble reaching adorable, tiny kittens when I open the cages.
I'm still taking stock of the new additions when a white blur catches my eye. Particularly, a tooth. In a bottom cage at the end of the aisle, a black cat with a wicked snaggletooth is staring at me.
"Snaggletooth"
He is cautious, sticking to the side of the cage and looking up at me with green eyes. I pause. We're locked in a staring contest before I can even process what's happening. He's an obvious expert at this contest, an air of dismissal permeating from his expression. He's utterly and entirely done with my presence.
A streak of orange sprints from the other side of the cage. It's his friend, an equally beautiful cat with the same green eyes.
"Orange" and I
Snaggletooth's expression softens as his friend settles next to him and his eyes are laughing, if it's possible for a cat's eyes to do so. Orange playfully swats Snaggletooth's arm and they're immediately engaged in friendly combat.
That is the fastest switch of emotion I've ever seen from a cat. I turn to the employee cleaning a cage next to me.
"They're super close, yeah?" I ask.
"They're a bonded pair."
I would come to hear and even use that term many times over my two years of volunteering at the animal shelter but this is my very first time encountering it. I nod vaguely, wondering what exactly this term implies. The employee sees right through my facade and smiles.
"It means we adopt them out together because they're so dependent on each other."
I turn my attention back to the two cats. They are laying down now, side-by-side. Their heads rest on their paws and their eyes are closed. This defensive, snaggletoothed black cat is now completely at ease.
I'm left wondering how love comes so easily to cats. How it lasts forever in the feline world. How love is a playful fight or keeping each other company or just finding a mouse for a friend's dinner. Love is simple and easily expressed among cats. Why can't that be the case for us mere humans?
Imagine how many of the world's ills would dissolve if every single person's focus was on loving everyone and loving forever. Building relationships full of love with everyone we meet. Bonded pairs making a bonded world.
