A VOLUNTEER’S VIEW

Q: How did you first become a volunteer?

I went past the Centre and saw they were advertising for fosterers. At the time I was renting a flat without a garden so didn't feel I could fairly adopt a cat. So fostering seemed like a brilliant idea. I ended up fostering about 20 cats and kittens over 18 months before I finally fell in love with a pair of kittens and decided to adopt them. I wanted to continue being involved with the Centre so I offered to volunteer in other ways, first helping with admin and telephone calls and now I maintain the website.

Q. What do you derive from it personally?

It’s very rewarding to be part of the process that helps find new homes for the cats that end up in the centre. Many of them have sad stories behind them so it’s great to see them go to good new homes and it’s even better when we get 'success stories' reported back to us that we can put on the website to share with potential adopters. The Centre staff are very committed so it’s great to work with them and learn from them and help support the work of the centre.

I've personally learnt an enormous amount about cat behaviour and about how homing centres work. I love working around the cats and it’s great to help on the marketing side especially when you see direct results. The first time we posted a photo of a hard to home cat on the homepage of the website and it was homed within a week I felt really pleased.

Q. How does the Centre benefit from your volunteering?

I think the staff really appreciate the input volunteers can make. Sometimes they're so busy attending to the basic needs up to 40 cats and kittens that they don't get time to deal with more proactive parts of running the centre, such as updating the website or making window displays to help attract potential new owners. Volunteers bring fresh ideas, skills and enthusiasm. It's also good for the cats to have a variety of human contact whilst they're in the centre to help them adapt to life with new owners.

Q. Can you really make much of a difference in just a few hours a week?

Of course you can! 2 hours a week helping respond to telephone calls and emails, or doing home visits relieves the burden on Centre staff enormously. It's also morale boosting for staff to know that they have extra support to call on when they need it. And the cats certainly appreciate the extra attention they get from volunteers!

VOLUNTEERS MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE!! Thank you