By Kay Luckett
“Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they have the heart.”
~Elizabeth Andrew~
It started nine years ago when my sweet Bubbles, age 15, crossed the Rainbow Bridge. Grief stricken after trying to save her life for months, I knew I couldn’t replace her. However, life without a cat would be unbearable for this writer who has lived with cats for over 70 years. I peeked online and saw a face that called to me, and so I dared, just 10 days after my loss, to visit Miss Kittys Cat House (MKCH).
When I arrived, there she was—sweet, shy Buttons—sitting with a volunteer named Ryan who, unbeknownst to us all, would become our guardian-angel-cat-whisperer-trusted friend for nine years. In fact, our story was featured in Prescott Dog Magazine in 2016, just months after she adopted me.
Written about her was this: “Buttons is a gray tabby cat… who came to MKCH is 2013. In June of 2015, by then age three, she was still there, hiding in the box on the climber, refusing most food, swatting or biting at anyone who intruded on her solitude… so Buttons, becoming more anti-social daily, was considered un-adoptable.”
But then a miracle: “Ryan would spend [time each day] just sitting with her and moved her into a room by herself… Buttons began to improve, and the other volunteers were astonished and delighted as Buttons slowly gained more confidence and lost her fear.”
This story, about the sweet kitties and the volunteers at MKCH, comes from the heart because, just after Buttons ascended to heaven, I recently became a volunteer at MKCH. I now get to experience the magic of these most dedicated people.
Since my first day, I have witnessed such unconditional caring and love in the manner of duties performed and time donated consisting of several teams including House Crew, Socializers, Adopters, Vetters, and Medical team. The most valued donation from all these teams are the ingredients that give MK its magic: time, patience, and trust.
The volunteers follow guidelines to protect and promote the health and healing of the cats, as many show signs of having been traumatized after losing their homes. Duties include some of the following: Food portion control, cleaning and refilling water bowls, keeping charts on each cat, scooping poop and cleaning litter boxes, and the list goes on. Various volunteers and teams come into the house seven days a week.
My job as a socializer is to pet and play with the cats, focusing on the quiet ones like Buttons so they can feel more love and less fear. I am ever conscious of MKCH mission: “Our mission is to rescue kittens and cats and find them loving forever homes.”
This brings me to the greatest experience for me so far this year, which is my adoption of Shadow—my new baby black cat already 13 years old.
My adoption experience included seven of the most loving caring group on a Saturday morning. This included being vetted which is a most import function of the Adoption Team.
The information I was asked to share included important facts regarding the safety of my home and my ability to provide not only time for my cat but a back-up team of my own in case of emergency. I was provided an Adoption Packet which included all the info on Shadow that MK had collected during her stay: her intake health record, current lab and dental reports done by MKCH’s vet, a list of pet toxins to be alert to, emergency planning ideas, and a lovely cat-note reminding me of my new kitty’s possible needs.
Possible needs and challenges come with each cat and are the particular and personal effects of having been rescued, living in a cat shelter (however loving it may be), sharing with other cats, and then arriving to a strange new home with a new human. Reminders include being patient, that the new home can seem strange and frightening, being tolerant of accidental poops and pees (though all are house-trained), the possibility of kitty hiding and not eating for a while and well… mostly love, patience, and trust.
My Shadow is a black cat who just turned 13. Though she hid out a bit at MKCH, she has turned into an active, spry, and very loving senior. Ah, but that is not how we started out.
When Shadow arrived, she literally disappeared. That started my daily texts with one of the adoption team who stuck with me for my three weeks of agony trying to get Shadow out of the closet. She had found her way into the very back of the laundry room closet, and it was impossible to see a black cat hiding in a dark corner. MKCH checked on us almost daily until at last, Shadow arrived and literally took over the house.
MKCH has a capacity to love, nurture, and house a maximum of 20 cats. The available space has two quiet rooms for elderly or distressed cats, an infirmary for new cats waiting to get medical clearance, a big kitchen, a washroom with a deep cat sink, and a fun play room called general population.
Cats get out to roam with the cats they basically get along with, and so different cats are rotated out each day at different times. Additionally, each cat has its own ample quarters with their individual food, water, toys, grooming brushes, and litter box. The system is used to give each cat what it needs in terms of diet, visitation (some can be anti-social and need the socializers to be especially attentive to them), health issues if they arise. and gives each cat dignity, privacy, and space as needed.
MKCH is open by appointment so that two or more of the adoption and other teams can be available, because they have the total overview of each cat. MKCH is closed to the public when different functions such as feeding, cleaning, dental, or medical events are occurring. The staff and the different crews are in constant communication.
Situations occur when people just dump cats at the door. MKCH has no idea of their circumstances, previous living situations, or ages.
Recently, a cat was dumped out front in a grocery box, and just as the volunteers got to the box, kitty had clawed its way out and was gone. Here is the above and beyond that gives MK’s its reputation, as several volunteers put up notes in the neighborhood and went door-to-door asking if anyone had seen the cat.
I feel gratitude for MKCH every day, and for the volunteers who assisted me during the emotional adoption process and continually show me how much a volunteer cat-lover can ease the way into a loving home for a new cat. With that example, I am learning from the best: the pros, the seasoned team who always put the kitties first. A big amen to that, and a bigger thanks to the volunteers at MKCH.
