Often, when I can’t think what to write about I look through old photographs which is how I spent time this morning.
Unsurprisingly, I found myself being reminded of the very many cats I have known and loved.
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Cats that I babysat at one time or another, friend’s cats, Best Friends Sanctuary cats and those that were in the custody of a hoarder.
When I recovered from spinal surgery in 2007, I could see that I would never be fit enough to return to airport work, so I took early retirement.
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It was a little sudden, but as I waited to regain strength I considered what I should do with my new found freedom. Getting another job, even part time was out, but I had always planned to do volunteer work with animals.
Without much effort I discovered a cat rescue which was being run out of the back of a local pet shop. I went over and introduced myself.
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Animal rescues are always short of funds, so I went with an open mind. Volunteering at Best Friends had been a wonderful experience, but it would not be fair to make comparisons.
So I ignored the smell and the mess and agreed to spend a couple of hours there on Sundays.
All I had to do was keep the place open.
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And I could pet the cats.
The litter boxes needed cleaning, so I did the obvious thing…
When I got home that afternoon, the owner called me to see how it had gone and when she heard that I had cleaned the boxes she scolded me.
I didn’t need to do that!
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Sitting around twiddling thumbs when there is work to be done is not something I’m good at, so of course I did it anyway.
As well as a little light cleaning.
And a bit of tidying…
What harm could it do?
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It caused me to look more closely.
In a bookcase, I found a conglomeration of nasty items that were broken and dirty, certainly of no value, so I put them in the waste bin.
Whence they were rescued and replaced on a shelf.
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This confirmed what I had already begun to suspect.
The woman was a hoarder.
In the meantime, I had bumped into Grant who happened to live nearby and he had volunteered to help with renovations.
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Thus, we encountered other volunteers who confirmed that it was very rare for one of the 40-some cats at this place to be given up for adoption.
After a couple of weeks, the facility was much improved, but the owner apparently felt threatened by this and one morning one of the volunteers found that we had been locked out.
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Nothing was ever said. The locks being changed made it clear we were no longer welcome.
We had all become attached to the cats, so this was hard but there was nothing we could do.
Another volunteer had created a charitable fund and as she had property, she simply opened her own rescue.
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In no time we were looking after a whole new set of cats. This owner began finding homes for her rescues, but she had her own set of rules.
One way and another, there were disagreements. It is the way of things with animal rescuers.
Bickering got the better of me, so before long Grant and I resigned and I began looking for a place where I could foster cats with my own rules.
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Just as I had quickly fallen in love with the first group of cats, I had been involved with the new lot.
Saying goodbye to their little faces made me sad.
How would caring for my own fosters be any different?
It would not of course, and having them actually live with me would only entwine my feelings more deeply.
.
But it was a promise I had made to myself and failing was not an option.
Fostering a few cats seemed a very small contribution.
My only regret is that I could not do more.
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Being fairly incapacitated as I recovered from spine surgery, I had bought myself a sketch pad.
Then, when I had photographs of the various shelter cats, I drew pictures of some of them.
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I had forgotten.
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They are just caricatures, but I remember all of these cats
and how very fond of them I was.
Great story. And your drawings are just terrific.
Thank you Josie.
Your cat drawings are very well done. 👍
Thank you!
Thank you, Carolyn, for the interesting memories of the start of your rescue of cats life and your friendship with Grant. I love your drawings of cats too!
Joanna
Thank you.
Do you have Instagram? You post such beautiful pictures, but I don’t “READ” WordPress too often. I just write here, and I feel like I miss them all.
No…just WP. It’s challenge enough!
I enjoyed this very much Carolyn. There is no doubt that life had you destined to spend lots of time with cats, and that is a pretty fine destiny!
I love the story of how it all came to be. How fortunate that you and Grant found each other and had the same goals and interests.
Your cat pictures are really good! You should do more of them. It was a shame that bickering and lock-outs became involved in cat rescue, that makes me question the real motives of those who were involved.
Best wishes, Pete.
I think for the most part, rescuers are well-intended but people are drawn to rescuing animals because it fills a need that has not been satisfied by human interaction. Often this gives people control issues. Not being able to control what happened in their past they become fixated on rules. I was called a control-freak myself which stunned me at the time but as a kid and even young woman I had no say in what happened to me so in the office I liked things done “properly”. One could do a whole anthropological study of animal rescuers.
Good with the camera and also with pen and paper it seems. Your sketches were a great way to capture memories. I get attached to an animal very soon – I don’t think I would be a good rescuer!