Ailurophile (n.) – a person who loves cats; cat fancier. I am, without a shadow of a doubt, a giant ailurophile! I really love animals of all shapes and sizes, but I’m especially fond of cats. I’ve been fortunate to have cats my whole life. As long as I can remember, I’ve lived with a cat or five. My mom had a bad habit of taking in strays that made their way into our yard and under the porch. You never know what you’re going to get with a stray cat. Once, we got eight kittens from a stray that was injured. We took her to the vet where they kindly informed us that we were going to have babies! It was a great experience learning to deal with a pregnant cat, and even how to be there for support when the kittens are born. We grew to the love the kittens and got very attached, but of course we couldn’t keep them all. Some were given away, we kept a nice fluffy gray male kitten we named Mufasa, and the rest of the kittens were taken to a no-kill animal shelter not too far from our house.
I’ve had cats of all shapes and sizes and from all over. I’ve even had a cat from Africa! My aunt was in the Peace Corp in Gabon, Africa and one day a small cat wandered into the village she was staying in. Unfortunately, they wanted to put the cat in a cage, fatten him up, and then make a meal out of him (graphic, I know!). Being a cat lover herself, my aunt couldn’t let this happen, so after some dealings with the local government of Gabon, she put the cat she named Calin into a carrier where he went to the airport to make the long flight home.
No matter how many cats have come and gone, there have always been two that have never left my side. Spice and Cleopatra are now 18 years old, and I’ve had them as long as I can remember. No matter how many cats we have or where those cats are from, they are the queen bees – and they let everyone know it! Having cats around the house made things a little more interesting. In all honesty, going from having a cat presence around the house all the time, to never even seeing a cat was strange for me. Things just felt kind of off. Then, I heard about this great club called PAWS.
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PAWS, the Pet and Animal Welfare Society, a club here at Hopkins, introduced me to the Maryland SPCA, the local animal shelter. I was so excited at the thought of being able to be around cats and dogs again! I signed up to volunteer right away – one of the best decisions I made all semester! The MDSPCA is only a few minutes drive, and about a 20-minute walk from the main campus. It’s an amazing facility on it’s own little perch off of Falls Road. The MDSPCA is a wonderful place for several reasons. They are very caring with their animals, they offer behavior classes for pets, provide a low cost spay and neuter service to the Baltimore community, and most importantly, they take in over 3,000 animals a year. 3,000 animals is a lot to deal with when you’re a non-profit organization. Most of the help comes from donations and volunteers. Being an MDSPCA volunteer is a highly rewarding experience with several benefits:
1. I love going to volunteer at the MDSPCA because I get my fix of cat and kitten love while I’m there! It’s the next best thing to owning your own pet.
2. There are several different ways to volunteer. There are opportunities to volunteer with dogs, cats, kittens, puppies, administrative work, cleaning, and even in the exam room where I also enjoy volunteering.
3. Like I said before, it’s very rewarding. Every time I leave I’m in a great mood, not only because I’ve spent a couple hours snuggling and playing with cats, but because I know that I’ve helped make a difference in an animal’s life. It is crucial for these animals to get daily human interaction because it helps them to stay happy – happy pets are the ones that get adopted!
4. It’s a great experience for everyone – no matter how much experience you have with animals. I’m very proud of my best friend (who has never owned a pet in her life) for deciding to volunteer at the shelter! She’s already on her way to becoming a pet pro!
There are so many ways to get involved at the MDSPCA, and I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a great way to get some volunteer hours in as well as spend time with great animals! There are several different types of volunteers and different levels. I’m currently a Nursery Nanny, a level one Cat Cuddler, and I help out in the exam rooms, pretty awesome, huh? All it takes to get started is to sign up for a training class, which can be completed right after filling out an application and e-mailing it to Katie Flory, the awesome volunteer manager.
Everything you need to know about the MDSPCA, including how to volunteer is on their website: http://www.mdspca.org/waystohe….
Source: http://www.mdspca.org/about/in…