All afternoon, Alfie did this.
It was a game of feline peek-a-boo Sunday that would have made even the most anti- of the anti-cat contingent reach for the smartphone video.
Alfie, a 9-month-old tabby, was burrowed in his blanket on this gray, chilly day.
Said blanket ended up being a being good prop in the cat-comedy routine Alfie unspooled at Petco, in University Town Centre.
Somebody would tug a corner of the blanket, uncovering Alfie, to his (apparent) feline-consternation.
The budding King of the Jungle would fix a stare (one of those unblinking, “cat looks”) while very slowly, very deliberately, pulling the blanket back over his head.
“He might be a little shy here,” Mia Shilobod said. “He isn’t shy at home.”
Shilobod is why Alfie was hanging out on this day. She’s why he’s warm, comfortable and well-fed.
And now she’s hoping the creature-comfort cat will find a forever home.
She fosters stray cats for Homeward Bound WV, the nonprofit, outreach organization in north-central West Virginia that rescues cats and dogs in trouble.
Wintry rescue
In one memorable effort four years ago January, a handful of Homeward Bound volunteers slogged through Preston County snow to save Miki, a Labrador-mix who was really entangled in trouble.
The pup had gotten one of her paws snagged in a trap.
She was able to chew through the trap’s cable to almost free herself, but she couldn’t do anything about the trap’s metal jaws, which were crunching delicate bones.
The hobbled Miki was whimpering, bleeding and drenched when she was first spied by Casey Blosser.
He’s a fleet-footed Homebound Bound volunteer who, with others, played a life-and-death game of tag for about two weeks until the injured pooch was finally corralled.
She lost a couple of toes to the maw of the trap, but made a full recovery otherwise, to be adopted out.
“Well, that’s what we do,” Homeward Bound board member Emily Seachrist said. “This, too.”
“This,” as in the regular cat adoption fairs at Petco, the mega-store for the four-legged set.
Counting Alfie, 11 other cats were in their cages, awaiting adoption.
The organization handles shots and other veterinary particulars, and is diligent and nurturing in the application process for adoption.
For all the particulars on how that works, visit Homeward Bound WV on Facebook.
Shilobod got into the fostering business after a mama cat dropped off the litter, which included Alfie, on her patio. Another litter followed.
“That’s Alfie’s brother and sister over there,” she said, pointing to two other cages.
His siblings were sans blanket, and working the room with purrs, rolls and all the other things cats do, when they decide they want to interact.
Fab fur
Alfie, meanwhile, came out from under his blanket to make his acquaintance with 5-year-old Adalynn Menefee, there for the afternoon with her mom and dad, Leyna and Roy.
The Menefee family includes members with four legs and fur.
Adalynn, for a time, was lobbying for another addition, in the form of Alfie.
“For my birthday?” she implored.
“Your birthday’s in June,” barked Mom and Dad, in unison.
“I’m not gonna be surprised one bit when this kid grows up to be a veterinarian,” Leyna Menefee said, smiling.
Meanwhile, the kitten adopted by Kelsie Martin was meowing in accordance with his new handle.
It’s one that harks back to four long-ago lads from Liverpool.
Which is?
It only took a whisker of a moment for the the new feline-mom to respond.
“Paul McCatney,” she said, triumphantly.
TWEET @DominionPostWV.
