At last a female feline has joined the boys in the cat room at the animal shelter. And what a girl she is! Her coat is the color of fog and as soft as down. She was adopted from the shelter as a kitten but, due to the personal circumstances of her present owners, was surrendered back to us. Her name is Cora. She is under two years old and she loves being outdoors. She is friendly and sweet and will be a loving companion to someone.

All the black male cats are still here. The shelter has very few visitors these days. The weather is not conducive to venturing too far from one’s own fireside. Oliver, the 12 year old, presides with equanimity over the youngsters, Forrest and Bubba, and the tuxedo Big Baby. We hear he loves children. He would make a wonderful pet for a little girl who could cuddle him and maybe even dress him up. He is not congenial with other cats, however. Does he regard them as rivals for attention? Only B.B. himself knows.

Offshore Ale is having a food for fundraising event to benefit the Animal Shelter of Martha’s Vineyard on Feb. 19. In order for the shelter to collect the benefit from this event a ticket must be presented. This will ensure that 20 per cent of your pre-taxed meal will be donated to us. We have tickets to give away at the shelter. More information will be forthcoming in this column.

Shelter hours are Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Thursdays and Fridays, 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and Saturdays, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The shelter is closed Sunday and Monday. The telephone number is 508-627-8662.

Contributions are always gratefully accepted; the shelter is funded solely by donations. Please make checks out to The Animal Shelter of Martha’s Vineyard; the mailing address is P.O. Box 1829, Edgartown, MA 02539 or visit animalshelterofmv.org.