Life as a Volunteer for the Love Kuching Project
PUBLISHED May 31st, 2016 07:00 am | UPDATED March 26th, 2019 05:50 pm
So you’ve joined the league of unabashed crazy cat lovers by sharing viral kitten videos and grumpy cat memes. You’ve even gone a step further by wearing that #adoptdontshop tag loud and proud. But if you’re itching to take things offline and hang with the real cool cats, here’s how you can properly earn those stripes. Our fellow allies at the Love Kuching Project show us the ropes.
The most important thing to know? The cats here aren’t your regular furballs. Most are street cats requiring urgent medical care, or who need a place to recover from accidents (often car-related). Others are their palliative patients, sent by well-meaning rescuers and feeders to live out the last of their lives as pain-free as possible. The final cat-egory of residents are kittens; you can get an idea of their special needs in our previous post on kitten care.
We’ll be honest: life as a bona fide cat lover here does involve its fair share of poop scooping and cage cleaning. But you’ll also learn how to administer life-saving medicine, watch paralysed cats learn how to use their legs again, play with kittens and old cats alike, witness the healing powers of kibble, enjoy napping with cats on your belly, and of course, be rewarded with purrs and cuddles.
The routine begins simply enough: someone comes in at least two hours before mealtime to give the cats their daily medicine, to avoid the medicine interacting with the cats’ supplements later. Then a rotating roster of volunteers come in daily to check on the cats, clean the cat suites, and prep meals for the residents. The heavy duty cleaning is done first, where litter boxes are cleaned and cages are wiped (and sometimes scrubbed) down. During this time the cats are let out to exercise, play, and generally get in everyone’s way. Besides getting information from the cats’ behaviour and symptoms, volunteers observe any changes in the cats’ eating and pooping to monitor their health.
The feeding frenzy begins post-cleaning. Because the feline residents are afflicted with various ailments, each cat is fed a diet tailored to their medical requirements and preferences. For instance, Bo, one of the long-time residents, is allergic to fish, while Ah Niu, a 16 year-old former stray, occasionally requests a room service meal change whenever he grows sick of his current one.
Cats are fed in their own suites (where they feel most comfortable) so they can chow down their meal on their own time. Certain cats like Old Man remain wary of humans, and prefer to eat when nobody’s watching.
To keep track of the many fussy cat preferences and clinical care needs – Ah Niu alone takes sixteen different supplements and two types of medicine daily – volunteers utilize a checklist system to encourage accountability and responsible medication.
The volunteers have a human clinical care I/C, but during food prep they are watched especially carefully by the roaming healthy cats.
Cats are also cleaned – much to their chagrin. Cattery boss, Echo, for instance, has gingivitis and needs her teeth brushed with salmon- or poultry-flavoured toothpaste. Most cats get a wipe-down or brushing and a quick mani-pedi, while the dirtier ones are hauled yowling into the shower for a warm bath.
Of course, the shift is not complete without clinical care. To facilitate the rehabilitation of injured cats, volunteers are trained in everything from wound care to basic physiotherapy. Stroke-stricken Old Man, for example, is given a daily massage along his spine to improve his mobility. Volunteers are also trained to administer medicine and become adept at syringing liquids, getting the cats to keep their pills down, and even injecting subcutaneous fluids to dehydrated or chronically ill cats.
Volunteers with more flexible schedules are also responsible for trips to the vet or the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) clinic for acupuncture sessions. All volunteers work closely with the vets and specialists to clearly document each cat’s symptoms and progress with the goal of either releasing the rehabilitated cat back to its territory or managing its conditions so it can live comfortably.
Want to join this feline taskforce and be rewarded with cuddles and an endless supply of fur on your clothes? Join Love Kuching as a volunteer or check our their Play/Clean sessions to get a taster of what being a committed cat comrade is all about. You can also volunteer for non-cattery operations, such as cat therapy.
Don’t have the time or are sadly allergic to cats? You can still back the cause by donating to DBS current 027-905975-3 or via SimplyGiving. For more information on the Love Kuching Project, please see their website or follow their daily adventures on Facebook and Instagram.
This article was contributed by our friends at Love Kuching Project.
