Lola Kisses

Here name was Lola…and I first spotted her on the Pet Finder website. For days after, I heard Barry Manilow singing in my head and kinda knew then that Lola was coming home with me.

I didn’t get to meet Lola in person until last Saturday, when I spent well over an hour visiting with her and her friends at the Branford Compassion Club’s Feline Rescue and Adoption Center.

The Branford Compassion Club (BCC) is a local non-profit feline rescue organization that was founded in 1997. Their mission 
is to provide for the feeding, shelter and care of homeless, abandoned and feral cats; to educate the public about the importance of spay/neuter population control, responsible pet ownership and kindness to animals; and to establish an ongoing community network to achieve these goals.

There were over 75 cats at the Adoption Center, including a number of senior cats and kittens. Many roamed free in common areas and were quick to greet visitors. Others were isolated in smaller “quiet” rooms to get acclimated to the world and to humans.

Some, like Lola, did not have very good impressions of humans. She’d been found injured on the streets of New Haven in 2012, with a severe case of road rash from being thrown from a car.

Our first meeting was tentative — she walked by me, around me, and near me several times before giving me a soft, short nudge then retreating to her corner of the room.

I debated taking Ziggy, a cute gray striped kitten, home instead. There was Bill, the big old tiger cat, and Stanley, a dark grey shorthair with a white goatee. Cricket, an orange tabby, was as friendly as Boo Boo, the black and white kitty with the stubby tail. But still, I kept coming back to Lola.

When I told BCC volunteer Pat that I wanted Lola, she gave me a big hug.

Lola came home with me on Monday. While she spent most of that first day under the couch, I was delighted that she followed me upstairs at bedtime, and made herself comfortable at the foot of the bed until morning.

On Tuesday, she seemed a little braver, a little more comfortable in her new surroundings, venturing out from under the couch more and more throughout the day.

By Wednesday, she seemed accustomed to noises — the traffic outside, the air conditioners, the television voices. Her posture was more relaxed, and she made her first foray onto the screen porch for some afternoon breezes.

This morning, we woke up around 7, me beneath a pile of blankets and Lola curled easily into the crook of my knee. I called to her and blew a kiss and she came over and kissed right back.

Her name was Lola, and I think we’re going to be good friends.