Mary Allen
If you want to get involved in animal welfare on a voluntary basis, in addition to donations in money and in-kind, you can “donate” an item that is at least as important – your time. Voluntary work in the animal shelter is diverse and essential for the smooth operation of these facilities. The staff cover is thin – your help is all the more important. Whether you go for a walk with dogs, clean the cages of small animals or cuddle cats is up to you. Wait a minute … cat cuddlers? What is that?
Cat Cuddlers – a Loving Term for an Important Task
Cats suffer from great stress in the shelter. A strange territory with mostly unloved conspecifics and hardly any affection affects the minds of the sensitive animals. Many withdraw, get scratchy, or even sick. A kind word, a play offer, or a cuddle unit can help a frightened cat to get through this time and even to be more open to a prospective customer. This job is usually done by “cat cuddlers, ie animal lovers who visit velvet paws in animal shelters in their free time and spend time with them.
What Qualifications Should You Have?
The most important qualities are patience and empathy. That sounds simple. But with the cute cats, it is often difficult not to approach them directly and make contact – which would certainly shy away from them, especially the shy ones.
In the beginning, let your gaze wander around the room and take a seat at a greater distance from the skeptical-looking cats. If you sit on their level, you immediately appear less threatening. If you turn your upper body a little, you increase the effect. Now you can look over your shoulder at the shy velvet paw. A slow blink of an eye indicates your friendly contact; it is analogous to the human smile. Do not look her in the eye for too long, because that has a threatening and provocative effect – just like us, humans. Imagine yourself being a little shy and making contact with someone you find exciting. You will look, blink briefly, and turn away again.
Break the Ice
How does the cat affect you? Is she relaxing, blinking back? Great, then she seems to be receptive to your contract offer. If she assumes a relaxed posture, you can move a little closer. If she stays tense, if her ears fold to the side or back, or if she shifts her weight away from you, she cannot yet get involved with you. Give her some time. Talk to her in a calm tone without talking to her. Maybe she can’t get involved with you the first time you visit. Frightened animals can take weeks or even months to allow the first contact. Some cats don’t want to be touched at all.
As an alternative or in addition to cuddling, I offer a game. When under stress, cats are often more likely to engage in a quiet poking game, in which you let a feather duster slowly flash out from under a thick blanket and quickly pull it back again. If the cat watches with enlarged pupils and ears pointed at the toy, it has started the hunt in its head. Playing faster with a fishing rod is reserved for the more open-minded cats in the animal shelter, but it is a great way to reduce stress through physical play.
Dos and Don’ts as a Cat Cuddle
Visiting times
You can freely design the duration and frequency of your visits, but of course, you have to comply with the conditions of the animal shelter. The more often and for longer you visit “your” foster care, the better they will be able to get involved with you – and the better the carers can assess you and use you in a targeted manner over time.
Bless you
An animal shelter faces special challenges when dealing with infections. A harmless pathogen can spread at lightning speed due to the fluctuation and the enormous stress. At the beginning of a visit, you should therefore ask the nurses whether there is anything to watch out for on that day or whether certain areas are blocked. You may have to pay attention to a certain order in which you can enter the different rooms. Only the nurses can provide you with competent information and you should always stick to it. Toys that you use in the individual rooms should remain in the respective rooms. If a single animal in the room falls ill – even a slight cold is dangerous for the most susceptible residents – you will otherwise unconsciously spread the infection throughout the facility. You should only give treats or food in consultation with the carers. Monitoring the nutritional status of animals is one of the most important activities for employees. If the cats get something on the side, they may eat their food less and the staff will be worried. In addition, obesity in animal shelters is often a serious problem that should be avoided as far as possible.
Hygiene
If you have your own animals at home, you should use separate clothing and shoes for your visit to the shelter. If you have the opportunity to move on-site, use it. Otherwise, change your clothes as soon as you get home and avoid your animals coming into contact with the clothing used. Shoes should ideally stay in front of your apartment because most pathogens are transmitted through the soles. If there are options for disinfection in the animal shelter (hand dispenser, floor mats, etc.), use them extensively and thoroughly at the beginning of your visit, before each change of room, and before leaving the facility. If possible, make sure that your animals have an up-to-date vaccination status in order to keep the risk for them as low as possible. With these precautionary measures, your visits to the shelter will remain low-risk for your own pets.
Emotional bond
In conclusion, you may wonder whether you can cope with the emotional stress of this activity. I had the same worries almost ten years ago and would like to take them away from you. You will grow into this wonderful task, you will be happy when the foster animals can get involved with you and relax for a moment. When your protégé is placed, your heart laughs and cries at the same time. Of course, you will also experience sad moments. There will be animals that can no longer move out or that touch you in a special way. For them, you will be an even more important anchor.
And if you should find out that the job of a cat cuddle is not for you, you have at least tried, and maybe you will find a volunteer activity that is more suitable for you.