first is dipstick..oh sorry...i mean blue. a bit touchy and trigger happy but basically so far so good. he has pretty much peed on every surface and now he is resting so maybe he got it all out of his system? one can only hope that his goal is not to float his hope in a constant stream of urine. blue is currently in the kitchen, we will start him in there and then see how it goes.
second is...shit he doesn't have a name!...hmmmm..lets call him.....Mac! mac the cat!!! mac is the unneutered, spraying beat up tom cat from up north who flew down today. REALLY NICE CAT!!!! he goes in tomorrow for his testing, tattoo, vaccines and neuter. mac is holding court in a pen in the medical room for now til his hormones settle and his testing is back, then we will decide where he lives.
the third and final guy to come in this evening is the second of the 2 cats i agreed to take in. sebastion is 10 yrs old and an owner surrender. he is here by default...i agreed to take him because i was pissed off. he apparently was adopted from the spca 5 years ago by one of the lower mainland human hospices. he was to be the hospice cat to make all the patients feel comfortable and occasionally warm and fuzzy. it was a good thought BUT...hospices exist for humans and cats are not as high on the continuing care totem pole. after 5 years of service, sebastian got dumped back at the spca but now as an older and less adoptable cat. someone had bonded with him at the hospice so they went to get him from the spca...but apparently allergies raised a problem once he moved in and sebsatian once again lost his home.
i am going to be pretty clear here...i do not think group homes, long term care facilities, hospices or whatever should have resident pets. it sounds like a great idea but i have seen far too many of these animals not properly cared for....passively or aggressively abused by staff and or residents that do not like cats..i have seen them lose their homes when caring for them became a workload issue or their continued residence became a problem to someone, or their health care or age related issues caused a health risk, or a pregnant staff member could not be near kitty litter or someone had allergies or someone else had a phobia or simply the novelty of having a resident cat, wore off.
i am all for visiting pet programs where people bring their pets into visit but then take them back to their very own home. i am just not a fan of pets living and working in facilities or group homes...too many possible future variables end up affecting them and causing them to lose their home.
not even cats working in hospitals, hospices, long term care facilities or group homes are actually disposable...and when they get tossed out on their tail...it pisses me off.
sebastian is a VERY great cat who deserved far better than he actually got. for five whole years he helped some dying people find some peace and happiness at the end of their lives, that was a pretty special gift he gave.
sebastian is in a holding cage in the back cat room...he won't have to stay in there long, he is a really good guy.