The first cat my family ever had was a stray female cat that wandered into our garage. We named her Blackie (a not-so-original name for a black cat) and she hung around for five years until she wandered off (probably got sick of our family). After that we got a gray female cat we named Fluffy (yes, she was a fluffy gray kitten). That spawned a generation of cats for us until roughly 1995.

Anyways Ross had a black cat named Teddy for several years before he passed three years ago. Because of my love of cats, I’ve been encouraging him to adopt another furry friend. I can’t have one where I live, so I have to get my cat fix somehow.

In the last couple of weeks, we’ve been to a couple of humane societies and animal shelters in Redwood Falls and Brookings, South Dakota. I’ve been curious as to what the places are like.

According to its website, the Duke Memorial Redwood Area Animal Shelter is a small nonprofit, no-kill shelter that serves both Redwood and Renville counties. It opened back in 2012, and visitors are welcome to come and play with the animals when the shelter is open. Ross had visited the cats in Redwood the day before we decided to go together. I didn’t have to twist his arm too hard.

There’s plenty of cats to play with and get to know at Redwood’s shelter. There’s cats in the lobby area, plus there’s a few rooms with cats as well. Ross warmed up to an older cat named Reggie, who’s kind of had a tough go of things. His fur was matted, so he had a shave. He also had several teeth pulled as well. He’s a gentle older chap who likes attention.

The other rooms contain older kittens mainly, with names like Snickerdoodle, Gremlin, Billie Holliday, and Wrenna. Wrenna was one of my favorites there. She’s kind of a creamy white with some orange markings and a bit laid-back and not as rambunctious.

We spent about two or so hours at the shelter in Redwood. I believe we were the last visitors there. I just didn’t want to leave, but the place closes at 6 p.m. on Fridays. Every one of the cats had their own personalities. There’s Dolly, who apparently not only nursed her own litter of kittens but another one that lost their mother. The kittens have grown and moved on, but Dolly is the most playful cat as I noted her in the lobby area. There’s lap cats like Hazel or fun siblings like Brie and Gouda. Now they just all need a home.

Last Saturday we headed to Brookings Regional Humane Society. According to its website, it was formed in 1998 to help the Brookings Animal Control Department to find homes for stray animals. It’s located across from the Brookings airport. There were a few cats there, and one was being adopted just as we came in after lunch. The adopters said they got the “best cat.” Cats were in different rooms like at Redwood and could wander around the room. One of the cats had a little attitude when I went to visit her and her roommates. She wanted to escape, more or less. Ross had a good old time petting and playing with the cats.

There was also a trio of puppies that weren’t quite ready for adoption in the front room of the humane society that grabbed a lot of visitors’ attention. One woman was sitting with them, hoping to be able to adopt one of the active pups. Again, we hung around the facility until it was ready to close.

So will Ross get a cat? We’ll find out…