My second shift as a volunteer and the Rainbow District Animal Shelter was another awesome day.
See the wonderful selection of kittens and cats at http://gsshelter.ca/meetcats.html. Check out Lilac Lougheed — an amazing torti found at Lougheeds.
My No. 1 job – as is my custom – is to try to make sure the kitties are all on the website. Thank you Chad.
My No. 2 job is to make sure adoptable kitties are vaccinated and dewormed and flea-checked. Most are, but we are all human. I missed Lilac Lougheed and I’m the one who brought her in.
Job No. 3 – Help with meds. I’m getting better at eye meds, only because the shelter uses drops and they are so much better than the cream. I bought some at Shoppers for Small Things. Whenever there are cats in a group, even a small group, you are going to get cat colds. Where there are cat colds, there will be eye infections. Easily treated, but you have to get on top of them right away. And be consistent, which for me is the hard part.
Job No. 4 – Flea check. My little surprise on my second shift was a stray cat that arrived with a flea collar. I really don’t like these. They give a false sense of security AND can wreak havoc with the skin around the cat’s neck. Poor little fellow – I gave him a spray down. He is sad enough that he is lost/dumped. Then he got vaccinated and dewormed and his “nethers” checked to see if he still had his “bits.” And then, mean old me “tortures” him more.
Job No. 5 – Booking spay/neuter appointments for cats going to Small Things.
Job No. 6 – Of the cats that are fixed and friendly enough, but haven’t had their quarantine (one to three weeks before going to Small Things) – figuring out where they could go instead of just hanging around at the shelter. Thank you Ashley for taking Vincent and Victor. Older cats have a hard time of it in any multi-cat situation. (We can’t bring cats to Small Things for three weeks after they have been at the shelter. We want them to get the kitty-cat cold – if they are going to get it – and recover first. Ever had a child in play group? After the first few days, she or he will likely get a cold.)
I have a list of jobs I want to do in terms of updating all the vets and pet food stores that the shelter now provides a spay/neuter package for all cats and dogs – to say nothing of letting them know about our house and farm cats – young and old.
And the Shelter really needs more places to “show” the kittens – that come with the spay/neuter package, of course.
Sadly, there were no feline adoptions this day – at Small Things or at the Shelter. Sudbury needs a spay/neuter clinic.
By the way, Small Things needs a person or two who can commit to one afternoon a week at the shop. It’s easy volunteer work – but it is a commitment. Email me at [email protected].
Jan Carrie Steven is a volunteer with Cat Adoption Trust Sudbury (CATS) and the co-ordinator of Small Things: Cats & Books. For more information, go to www.smallthings.ca.
