Thursday, December 17, 2009

Excited and nervous

Tomorrow I'll be going out to Mangere to the SPCA Education Centre for my Foster Volunteer Workshop! According to the email, it runs from 10.30 to 12.30 and discusses 'the important role Foster People have, animal behaviour, diseases, the emotional side, SPCA protocol, administering drugs and much more.'

My grasp on each of the following:
Foster people's role: to be kind to the animals and help them to become friendly and confident. Also of course to take care of their physical and material needs so that they grow healthy and strong!
Animal behaviour: Kind of weird.
Diseases: Gross. Best dealt with by the vet.
The emotional side: Of course it will be sad to give the kittens back so they can be adopted, but you can prepare for that. The real gut-puncher will be if a kitten gets sick and dies. I've coped with cat death before, though, so I know I can deal with it.
SPCA protocol: I shall ask questions about this!
Administering drugs: It helps to wrap the kitten like a burrito in a towel so it can't wriggle away while you are doing this!

An exciting note is that 'If there are foster animals to go out to homes on Saturday you may be asked if you are available to foster at the end of the workshop.' So I could be getting kittens as early as that! I have cleared all extraneous things out of the small second bedroom of my flat to welcome them. GOOD TIMES.

I should introduce my existing cat, Pearl.
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She's also from the SPCA and I adopted her at about nine months old. This was the first time I'd taken on an adolescent cat rather than a kitten, and boy howdy, it makes a difference. I don't know what her life was like before I adopted her, but I suspect she didn't have a consistent caregiver. My mother, who is a primary school teacher and deals with a lot of Special Cases, says she has Attachment Issues. When I first got her she used to wake me in the morning by punching me in the face with her paws or grabbing a mouthful of my hair and dragging on it. I am glad to say that she doesn't do THAT any more, but she will still occasionally decide that my legs, walking past her and minding their own business, are an enemy that must be attacked. She can also be affectionate, and sleeps next to me on my bed most nights. I have no idea how she will respond to the kittens, but best case scenario? She can be their cool big sister.

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Pearl is a very pretty, fancy-looking cat. I suspect that one of her parents was something BRED and the other one... wasn't.

Anyway, tomorrow I can post again, at least about the workshop - and possibly about KITTENS.

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