From an Outsider, to an Insider, to a complete CAT-a-HOLIC!

One never truly knows what effort goes in to looking after animals, you would think it’s the simple “eat, sleep, play” routine.

My journey with the shelter started, when my Fiancée and I decided to take the “next big step” in our relationship….. Getting a kitten! It’s a very big decision in ones life. As time went on, we got our first kitten, and then our second kitten. I could have “no more!”, so I started involving myself more with the shelter, and now its like a second home and family to me.

Often the topic arises as to what I do… Im a marketing student, but in most of my spare time I work at the shelter… I love the shelter. The responses I mostly get are “wow, how can they help or get involved” and then the response I hate “oh ok” I get cold shivers when I hear the “oh ok” many people don’t understand the true nature of the shelter, to them it’s a place with plenty of cats.

When in truth it’s a place with plenty of cats, yes, but dedicated people who take care of those cats with hundreds of emotions attached too! Every one loves a kitten, until that sweet little kitten grows into a cat, which is very often over looked when deciding to get a kitten.

My animals are like my children, only with plenty of fur, and four legs. I believe a home is not a home, until you have pets.

My little Allister is a skate-board pro although he is still in the beginning phase, he practices his moves in our passages, against the walls, until he finds the right skate board park to accommodate his tricks. Little Mara-Belle (who was suppose to be my foster kitten for a few weeks) is a little journalist in the making, loves to walk around the house with a pen in her mouth, just in case she see’s something of vital importance and needs to jot down her notes for her big break in the journalist world.

Each and every animal develops their own personality, at the shelter there are so many of these little personalities running around, its hard to keep track of who’s who in our zoo!

Working at the shelter, its hard not to develop the “rescue trait”. Driving around doing my daily duties, unconsciously I find myself looking for abandoned animals for me to rescue. Who knows what I’ll do with them when I find them, but that’s later’s worry.

We had just recently moved into our new area, having all the animals (2 dogs, 2 cats and 3 fish tanks full of little swimmers) we needed urgent supplies. Going to the closest pet shop, I was encountered with the most heart breaking little cry that I could not understand. When asked whether they had kittens, I was given the response “yes, just a black male” the tone of that answer was as though it was a little piece of rubbish that most likely wouldn’t find a home any time soon.

I walked out of the store, my mind tangled with thoughts, I walked into another store I had no intention of visiting, and broke out into tears! After speaking to Merien (the owner of the shelter) I went back to that horrid little cry, and only option I had was to buy him. I asked the man for “that little kitten”. He placed him in a box type carrier, I sobbed my heart out, (the people in the shop must of thought I was crazy, crying but buying a kitten) if they only knew my real thoughts! I got to the shelter as quick as I could, eyes blood red from crying, took the kitten out of the box. He was tiny, too tiny to be away from his mum, full of fleas and starving! What a combination!

We got him settled into a kitten run, de-flea’d him, fed him and most importantly, loved him. He looked like a skinny, abandoned little alley cat that you see in movies. I visited him as often as I could, he was the sweetest, most appreciative little kitten I have ever laid eyes on, it was as though he knew I had saved him, and that things where going to be “ok”. Little Romeo as I named him, spent about a week at the shelter, and was happily adopted. The last contact I made with his New owner, I received the news that “he is a very happy little guy, who likes to eat”. That made my heart happy to hear, and I had made peace that he now has a new life, a better life, and that he would be for ever grateful to me.

Some say cats forget things from their past, I don’t believe they do, I think, they just move on, make meaning of the life they have ahead of them. Cats have a lot of love to give, they know who to share it with, and they don’t forget.

We have our moments, our very weak moments, when all seems dark, and we feel we want to give up, and then we look up, we see big green and sometimes blue eyes staring back at us, reminding us that they rely on us no matter how good or bad things can get, there is always a “purr at the end of the day”, Because life at the shelter is good, good enough till they find their home, their safe haven where they will live out their life, how ever many years they have left.

And those who never get to find their new home, that’s fine too, we have plenty of love and cuddles at the shelter to go around.

That’s my story, my feelings towards the family I chose, the family who saves lives as often as we can.

Much love, and kitten purr’s, Taryn, Allister and Mara-Belle
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And The Kitty Shelter Team

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