Jasper and Shadow’s owners wanted a caring, experienced and knowledgeable person looking after their two gorgeous cats while they went away on a holiday that had been 2 years in the making! The knowledge that an experienced Vet Nurse was going to be caring for their babies (along with the help of his wife who is also a vet nurse) was a great source of relief and reassurance that their cats were going to be safe and happy during their holiday. Their two cats were both ‘donated’ to them by their two daughters when they moved out and they were their babies now so, they wanted the best for them! We very happily visited Jasper and shadow everyday for playtime, interaction, cuddles (mainly for us) and of course food, water & a very clean litter tray.
Jasper & Shadow are used to an Indoor/Outdoor lifestyle so their humans wanted to ensure they could safely access 'outside' whilst not being able to wander too far. To this end they constructed the Taj Meow, a purpose built enclosure allowing their cats indoor/outdoor access while ensuring they remained safe and sound and didn’t wander too far or get into too much trouble while they were away. This fantastic enclosure which they built themselves was perfect! It allowed the cats safe outdoor time, some comfy bedding and several levels to climb and play on, fake grass to enjoy that feeling of grass between the toes and easy access for their human slaves to clean and top up their water. They cleverly finished this construction several weeks before their trip ensuring the cats had ample time to get used to the concept before their departure.
Jasper and Shadow, being so close to their fur parents, were a little shy at first! Having that meet and greet with the owners present was such an asset in getting the pets familiar with me while they were feeling secure that their parents were there! This allowed me to gain their trust and allow them to get used to me in a safe and relaxed environment so that when I was there without the owners, they were quite settled and happy to have cuddles (on their own terms of course) and always quite happy to see me, especially when the food came out! Generally I was considered the crazy cat man at my clinic due to the fact I had 5 cats, this generally meant I was the one to calm and handle the stressed cats at work. Being able to recognise body language and deal with stressed or anxious animals is an essential skill for all vet nurses and can be a hard ability to learn for non nurses. This essential skill in animal care allows us to recognise when an animal is unsettled and needs a little extra space and gives us the knowledge how to earn a pet’s trust so that they get to know we are not a threat and that we just want to help them.
The care that the owners took to provide a happy and enjoyable home for their babies was fantastic to see! They had plenty of toys, cat towers and areas for their cats to climb and they had even set up a heater on a timer so that their babies didn’t get too cold during the day! This level of thought, effort and care for their babies is a wonderful thing to see and it brought home just how important it is to people to have an experienced professional looking after their babies, a service that SitStay was designed to provide every time. Vet Nurses do their jobs because they have a calling to love and care for all animals, having the ability to care for animals outside of a clinical setting provides enrichment not only for the animals we care for but also for us!
Written by: VNS Richard aka Our Crazy Cat Man
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