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September Stories:
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A Day In The Life: This month, Lucy Edwards takes us through a day her life as The Mayhew Animal Home's Cat Adoption Officer.
9:00am: Each morning we have a meeting to discuss any news from the previous day such as 'reserved' animals who have new homes to go to. We also like to plan the day, although things do tend to be quite unpredictable! 9:10am: The unfortunate daily task of going through our list of unwanted cats and rabbits and calling up the owners to say whether we are able to help re-home or give advice. Because so many people still do not neuter their animals, this time of year has been particularly busy with unwanted litters of kittens and pregnant stray cats. 10:00am: Our Animal Welfare Officers have just brought in a litter of nine-week-old feral kittens. They are fully weaned, therefore their mum will be spayed and returned to where she was found. I then urgently call through our network of Foster Carers to see if any are able to help socialise the kittens prior to re-homing. The kittens will need to go to foster homes individually otherwise they tend to feed off one another’s nerves rather than become friendly and approachable. I have managed to find a foster carer for two of them so I’ll have to keep searching! 11:00am: I've organised for somebody to come in and sign over their cat for re-homing, having been on our waiting list from our unwanted applications. An acceptance form is completed by the owner and a questionnaire about the cat to give details about the kind of environment the cat has come from, likes/dislike, whether there is any medical history etc. This enables us to give as much information as we can to potential adopters and find the most suitable home. 12:00pm: Lunch… I’m starving! 1:00pm - 3:30pm – Our viewing times, when potential adopters come and view the cats and hopefully we pair up a perfect match. We had a few people in but only one reserve. Most people are looking for young cats/kittens and at the moment quite a few of our cats are middle aged/elderly so are often over looked. Quite a few of our young kittens were feral on arrival and although they have been socialised, finding willing and suitable homes is becoming a challenge. 3:30pm: I have organised a cat adoption, which usually happens on Saturdays, but because space is limited at the moment I thought I would arrange it sooner. The cat has had a final check by our vets before leaving The Mayhew. Micro-chipping and adoption forms are signed and completed by the adoptee whilst I go through information about when their cats are due different treatments e.g. vaccinations, flea and worm and how to settle the cats into their new homes etc. 4:00pm: I catch up on all the phone messages and emails that I’ve had throughout the day! 5:00pm: Home time, exhausted! |
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The Mayhew Animal Home Trenmar Gardens, Kensal Green London, NW10 6BJ Tel: 020 8969 0178 |
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