Bismarck Tribune

By VIRGINIA GRABy VIRGINIA GRANTIER

Connie Williams, 56, of Dickinson, threw a shower Saturday for her friend Barbara Ulicki, who recently adopted two bundles of joy.

Take a look inside one of the bundles and you'll see whiskers and gray hair. That'll be Shasta, the 8-month-old.

Take a look at the other bundle and it might be empty. Tarah, at age 2, is still extremely shy and spends most of her time hiding in Ulicki's bathroom.

Williams, who has never thrown a shower, decided this would be a good one to throw - for the two cats, but especially for their owner. Ulicki, 58, has done so much for the community, volunteering her time, Williams said.

"Barb has done so much," Williams said. "This is our way to give back (to her)."

The cats' owner was even "registered" at the local Wal-Mart. Instead of signing up Ulicki in the wedding shower or human-baby shower category, Williams signed Ulicki up in the general wish-list category. On her wish list were things such as kitty litter, cat toys and a special photo frame for her cats' photo.

Ulicki, who has a part-time Dickinson Public Library job and is challenged by arthritis and degenerating discs in her back, has never married and needs a pet to keep her company. When she had to put her 16-year-old cat to sleep and started coming to an empty house, "it was terrible,"Ulicki said.

"There's nobody else at home,"she said.

So she pursued adopting a cat through Pet Projection Inc. in Dickinson, and ended up deciding on two cats so that when she wasn't home they would be company for each other.

She focused in on Shasta and Tarah, the timid one, who was listed as hard to place and needed a home away from children. Serendipitously, those two cats at their foster home had become friends and sleeping buddies - and so finding a home that would take both delighted everyone concerned.

Shasta isn't timid. She's a retriever cat, chases a balls and brings them back to Ulicki for more. But Tarah had other ways to spend her time. For two weeks after the adoption, Tarah hid in a secluded spot in the bathroom, coming out at night to eat. But with Ulicki's help, she has progressed to rubbing against Ulicki's ankles and even sitting on her lap.

Neither, timid Tarah nor Shasta took in Saturday's shower.

Williams' cat, Boody - a formerly homeless cat saved by Oreo's Rescue, another Dickinson animal rescue - slipped easily into the cat and co-hostess role.

"It was a wonderful experience,"Williams said. "A good time was had by all."

The event started with a couple of tunes from the well-known "Jingle Cats" CD, classic songs "meowed" by real cats, to Boody's great curiosity.

Boody's bodacious nature, reaction to the cat music and his love of the curly ribbon on one of the gifts provided some of the afternoon's entertainment.

Ulicki not only got her wish list items, but some of the 11 guests also brought other gifts, such as cash to ease the financial burden of adoption fees and veterinarian costs.

The guests each got time to tell the other guests about their pets. They also listened to recitations of compiled cat poems by various authors, and they recited fun cat-fact trivia that Williams had compiled.

A professionally made cake had Shasta's and Tarah's face on them. Guests took home gift mugs filled with animal crackers.

Ulicki was visibly touched by the event, Williams said.

"It was so much fun," Williams said.

(Reach reporter Virginia Grantier at 250-8254 or at virginia.grantier@;bismarcktribune.com.)