|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Betsy Stables
Hi! My name is Betsy Stables and I volunteered at the Pitt County Humane Society as part of the health class I took this semester. I worked in the Cat Palace, the wing of the shelter that houses and cares for all the cats they bring in. Responsibilities in the Cat Palace include cleaning out each cat cage once every couple of days, cleaning the litter boxes, feeding the cats and giving them fresh water, and make sure the cats are played with and cared for. We take in all kinds of cats, from abused strays to well-fed pure bred house pets. Of course, our aim is to care for the cats and make them as adoptable as possible, while encouraging the public to take part to help us in our mission to make sure all animals that come into our care receive loving and faithful “Forever Homes.”
I learned a lot from working with the animals and the people who care for them. I try to be a strong person most of the time, but it’s amazing how quickly a purring bundle of fur can break down barriers in almost anyone. Also , the people at the shelter take a lot of care to protect the animals from the spread of disease; in the Cat Palace, we ask that all visitors and volunteers disinfect their hands between cats and between working with individual cages because infections are spread much more easily between cats than they are between humans. In researching a few diseases, I’ve learned that some of the most detrimental feline diseases are spread through droplets in the air- cats can get harmful diseases in the same way we catch a cold.
We were encouraged in the class to set goals for our work, to have something to work towards by which we could gauge our success. Originally, I had all these ideas for fundraisers and one idea for an educational program (and they’re all still good ideas-most of them) but the more I worked with the animals, the more I got caught up in caring for them. I learned in my anthropology class that ADHD is linked to insufficient physical contact and attention during the formative years, and I believe that there can be equally harmful repercussions with animals: albeit, animals are not as dependent on human contact, I’ve often found that animals with early problems, namely behavioral problems, have not been allowed to remain with their mothers to gain that quality time and attention; that is often the reason why some animals (or people) are not as well adjusted as others. I began to pay more and more attention to each individual cat, and the depth of each of their personalities always amazed me. This experience taught me that animals are just people in little furry bodies-and sometimes they really think they are people.
| |
|
|
|
|
