A Carer’s Story

There have been dozens of adorable kittens and cats who I have been lucky enough to care for this year. Most of them have battled cat flu and I have even had my fair share of Ringworm, thankfully with vet treatment and lots of tender loving care they have grown healthy, gained weight been desexed and then adopted by some amazing families.

Unfortunately there have been a few losses, some kittens were just too young to be able to fight the flu and their tiny bodies were too weak to make it through. Losing a kitten never gets easier, I cry every time, but at least they died being loved by someone. It doesn’t make up for the fact they died unnecessarily though – if only desexing was mandatory there would be so fewer animals in pounds and so many less being euthanased or dying from illnesses contracted in the pound due to overcrowding, especially during breeding season.
 
One of my jobs within CatRescue is visiting the pound and deciding which animals we can save and which will be left behind. That decision is the worst thing about working in animal rescue, it never gets easier. Thankfully I have built up a good relationship with some of the pound staff who let me know all about the animals they have and really make it an easier process for me. Every time i visit the pound I think what a difference it would make if more people were responsible and had their pets desexed.

The amount of young kittens and pregnant mothers I see is astounding, and 99% of all animals I’ve rescued have been undesexed. It’s unbelievable to me that people still don’t get it. Having an animal desexed is a very simple procedure that makes the world of difference to our pets.

I have met some very special cats this season, all of them have taken a piece of my heart with them into their new lives. Gorgeous Ruben has to be one of the sweetest kittens I have ever met, even though he was covered in Ringworm I couldn’t resist him. He was so affectionate and loved nothing more than to rub his face into mine, ringworm and all. It was very hard to say goodbye to him and I shed a tear, but I know he is very much loved.

Then there is Genevieve and Joey. Genevieve came from the pound with her litter of kittens who were newborns. Gen had cat flu and it wasn’t long before her kittens had it too, amazingly enough one of her kittens never got sick. Little Joey never skipped a beat, unfortunately all of his tiny siblings died but Joey went from strength to strength. Gen and Joey were lucky enough to be adopted together and are spoilt rotten, as they should be. I love getting my regular updates and photos of them!

Finn is a beautiful older cat, his age is guessed to be between 10 and 15. When I found him in the pound he was very underweight and was suffering terribly with an ulcerated mouth and rotten teeth. He may look like a rough old tabby cat but he couldn’t be any further from that, he has a heart of gold. Finn has since had most of his teeth removed and has gained 2 kilos. Finn is my helper with sick kittens, he is known as Aunty Finn as he loves to mother any kitten he can. He licks the kittens and encourages them to eat, he then happily cuddles up to them, keeping them warm. Finn is a very special cat who will soon be ready to find a family of his own. Its cats like Finn, Ruben, Genevieve and Joey and all the others who there wouldn’t be the time or space to list make all the long hours and heartbreak worthwhile.

Meeting the lovely people who adopt rescue animals and special needs animals is so fulfilling and I know these cats have made a difference to them like they have me. The next kitten season is fast approaching, I can only hope that people finally understand the effect that not desexing is having on the animals in our communities. The more animals who are desexed will result directly in there being dramatically less animals in our pounds and therefore less animals being killed unnecessarily.