will volunteering help with kitty needs?

17 years ago

Hi there. I love my amazing kitty, Jasper. Lately, I have been wanting another cat. Every time I see one I just want to scoop it up and bring it home with me. The more people I deal with, the more I want to be around cats! I live in a one bedroom apartment and this isn't the time to get a second cat even though I want one badly. Do you think that if I were to volunteer at the SPCA it would help me... or would that make it worse? I could end up wanting to take them all home! Is it selfish that I want to volunteer just so I get to be around cats? Have you ever volunteered for a pet shelter? Was your experience positive or negative? Thanks!

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (9)

Rudebekia
17 years ago
Have you thought about fostering cats in your home? Several no kill shelters in my area have no kennel facilities; all their animals are fostered in homes. I'm afraid that I couldn't volunteer at the SPCA because I, indeed, would want to bring them all home. However, I am seriously considering fostering. By the way, you would really like to own two cats! I recommend it. I have two, and they keep each other entertained.
share_oh
17 years ago
As a shelter volunteer, of course I would say - YES! Go volunteer!

I always have people say to me "I couldn't volunteer, I'd want to bring them all home with me" to which I always say, no you wouldn't.

You go and you do what you can to make their lives better while they are waiting for their forever homes. There are many sad stories and many happy endings. I wouldn't give it up for the world.
Related Discussions
Diabetic kitty is a picky eater - need help!
Q
Comments (4)
You can order the Evangers canned pheasant and the seafood through PetFoodDirect.com. I order when they send me 15% to 22% coupons and the discounts more than cover the freight costs. (Very reasonable freight and they ship FAST.) When you get to the site click on the 'enter now' at the top and you can immediately get a coupon code emailed to you.
...See More
need advice! we went away for one night and kitty...
Q
Comments (43)
Sorry I didn't post sooner with vet's diagnosis. She was running a low grade fever, blood & bacteria in urine. So vet gave her antibiotics (bubble gum flavor!!) She takes like a champ. So this was all on Thursday. Friday she did good but Saturday morning started sqatting all over the house again. Called vet as soon as they opened. They said it is still too soon to think the antibiotics aren't working. Wait it out the weekend and call them Monday am. If by then, no change then they may need to do an xray and check for blockage or stones or change meds. She spent the day on the lanai (couldn't chase her around all day) and she loved it. Didn't want to come back in. And a squirrel was not so happy. He hung out upside on the screen 4 ft above where she was laying. Today she is fine again with a few more days left on the meds. Hopefully this will do the trick. Squirrelheaven - my vet is very reasonable (i think). Spaying is only $40. This last visit was $84 - 29 exam, 35 urinalysis, 20 antibiotics.
...See More
I need some major help making a kitty decision (sorry so long!)
Q
Comments (14)
Cat mom and all, no one's saying the cat WOULD become a biter but only there is a real RISK of aggression problems or other personality changes. Is it worth the risk when there may be options with a more certain or sure outcome? The point is you shouldnt think of it as a "last resort," because there is a real chance it would NOT solve the problem. How I manage a similar situation is to do sort of a time share - my old 20 yr old cat stays in the bedroom 8 am - 8 pm, then gets the run of the house 8 pm- 8 am when I put the new cats downstairs in the basement (there's couches and stuff downthere and I feed them when they go downstairs so they have pleasant associations. What makes this work is that its so highly routine - cats just LOVE routine and predicatability, same things happening at the same time each day. What was NOT working was just trying to keep them separate in random, unpredictable ways. Everyone has settled down knowing they each have their own space and own times for occupying the "common area." In the wild, cats often make these same types of arrangments to "time-share" an area. If youre not up for that.... do consider finding another home. Ive done it many times, found home for cat in an unfortunate situation. There is a way of screening people and making sure its a good home - I could tell you more if you want. There's always the long difficult process of getting cats used to each others smell, and build up their tolerance for each other. But Im thinking because the ragdolls are so passive and unable to defend themselves (are they? Ive never had one) that might actually be triggering the other cat's dominance and urge to drive them out of the territory. Nature and feline territorial behavior is not pretty sometimes. In my case I decided I just could NOT put my old 20 yr old cat, deaf and arthritic, through the attacks she was getting from the 1 young new cat I brought into the house. She could not defend herself and she was literally getting knocked down, clawed, bitten and terrorized and she started peeing out of the box she was so freaked out. Now, Im happy to report, she is feeling secure again and her old self.
...See More
Oy, parasite problem with kitties--need some help
Q
Comments (2)
I think they should all be wormed, since they are all playing together and sharing litter boxes. You'll get what you need from the vet. Keep the worms to show him, so you don't need the expense of a fecal. (Fecals don't always show which eggs are shedding, anyway, so when you get a cat that's spent any times outdoors, a good all-round worming is in order.) Another good reason to keep cats inside: Those nasty intestinal worms! Good luck with your rescues!
...See More
quirkyquercus
17 years ago
No more pets until you're out of school and have a stable residence and lots of money. Volunteering on the other hand is a splendid idea and a great way to make new friends with similar interests. In fact I may sign up to do some voluneering with animals sometime in the near future. Don't let it take up all your study time though. Gawsh I sound like my father.
laurief_gw
17 years ago
I don't want to discourage you from volunteering, but I do want to add a word of caution. All shelters are NOT created equal. A clean, well-run shelter that quarantines animals of questionable health might be a safe place to volunteer. However, I have been warned by several local vets to stay away from my local shelter because of the overpopulation and sanitation problems that have caused the entire building to be rife with airborne diseases that attach to clothing as soon as you walk in the door. If I go to my local "shelter" (and I use that term very loosely in reference to the local facility), I run an unacceptably high risk of bringing feline diseases home to my own cats on my clothes and hair.

Before choosing a shelter at which to volunteer, talk to area vets about which shelter is kept the cleanest and how to minimize the risk of disease transmission to your own cat.

Laurie
share_oh
17 years ago
Laurie - if your cats are up to date on their shots, wouldn't they be safe from any possible illnesses you might be a carrier of?

In my experience I have found some vets to be very biased against shelter animals. One example - about 9 years ago a couple adopted a puppy from our shelter and took it to their vet. The puppy had gotten sick and the vet told them to bring it back - it was going to die. A simple round of antibiotics and the puppy was fine - and 9 years later he's alive and well and living in my house.

Two summers ago we had a horrible round of parvo go through our shelter and we actually had to close the place down for a month. I kept going out there and all of my dogs were fine because they were current on their vaccines. I checked with my vet to be sure they would be as I would never put them at risk.

We stepped in bleach pans, we changed our shoes before leaving, when I got home I immediately threw everything I had on into the wash.

Our shelter is a piece of crap building wise. It literally is falling down around us, while we wait for a new building to some day be built. The circulation problems do cause illnesses amongst some of the animals, but as far as my cats or dogs ever getting sick from me being there, hasn't happened.

Sher
laurief_gw
17 years ago
Sher, vaccinations offer significant protection from a very limited number of diseases. They do NOT offer absolute (or even any) protection from all diseases.

Laurie
share_oh
17 years ago
I would guess no one would work or volunteer around any shelter animals if their own animals were getting sick from something they carried home on their clothes or hair.

Sorry, but I've never heard of it happening in the 3 years I've been volunteering.

Sher
laurief_gw
17 years ago
Sher, I never suggested that every person who works at every shelter will inevitably bring home airborne illnesses to their own animals. What I said is that the possibility most certainly exists, particularly at shelters with poor sanitation practices and ill animals.

If vaccuumfreak does not want to put her own cat at undue risk, it would be wise for her to speak with her area vets to get a handle on the management of her area shelters in terms of disease transmission and sanitation before volunteering.

Laurie
cat_mom
17 years ago
I volunteer at a no-kill shelter not too far away from us.

I contracted ringworm last spring, which took awhile to go away, but I survived.

I take these precautions more religiously now:

I mist myself and my shoes with kennel sol, rocal, or cholhexedrine before leaving the shelter.

I spray my shoes; tops, sides, bottoms with Lysol when I get home, before entering the house. I throw my clothes in the wash before sitting down or touching my own cats.

I take a shower and wash my hair before sitting or putting on fresh clothes.

An ounce of prevention....

I feel priviledged to be able to go to the shelter and help out.

will volunteering help with kitty needs?

Comments (9)

Rudebekia

share_oh

Related Discussions

quirkyquercus

laurief_gw

share_oh

laurief_gw

share_oh

laurief_gw

cat_mom

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US