Jaguar Let Me Hold Him!
October 16, 1996
Jaguar let me hold him! Jaguar let me hold him! Jaguar let me hold him!
Few people even attempt to pet Jaguar. Even fewer would try to pick him up. In the year and half or more I've been working at the shelter I've watched Jaguar mellow quite a bit. He routinely lets me pet him now and growls when he's had enough instead of swiping with claws out. He actively seeks me out sometimes and sniffs me. But I was still surprised when he let me pick him up so Roberta could change the sheets on top of the cage where he happened to be holding court. When I picked him up he was downright cuddly for a moment, so instead of dropping him like a hot potato, I held him to my chest, petted him and sang to him for as long as he could tolerate it. For the first 10 seconds everyone was counting to see how long this would last. It went on so long I lost count. I held him for at least 3 minutes before he growled to be let down. He did let out a fearsome bloodcurdling yowl but no claws. I held Jaguar and did not shed a single drop of blood.
Juliette of course swiped at me as did one of the black & white ones I can't tell apart yet (they have odd names like Terah and Tunisia). And Dottie, who is usually pretty docile, got me good as I reached in to grab her litterbox mostly because Juliettte was standing beside me hissing as I was doing it. I don't blame Dottie for feeling threatened. Humans and Felines alike feel threatened by Juliette.
One of the feral kittens, Toney Baloney, died since last Weds. Liver failure.
Stumpy has gotten his voice back and seems much better.
And yes folks, Tibet did show up for work today despite her rage at Roberta last week. Humans can be as weird as felines or even weirder. Tibet didn't talk much except to ask what language I was singing in when I sang to Jaguar in Spanish. She maligned my accent but I didn't take the bait. She wanted to know why I sing to Jaguar in Spanish - which is rooted in the mists of time at this point. I didn't explain it to her. It was before any of us realized Jaguar was deaf. I was in a really good mood right after I came back from Galapagos and I was really happy to see Jaguar. So I made up a little ditty in Spanish and began singing it to him. He seemed to like it. It calmed him down. I don't know exactly how, since we are now pretty sure he can't here. Maybe he can feel the good vibes. Anyway, from time to time I still sing it.