(Header image created with microsoft co-pilot)
My 1st shift on my own as co-driver! And as fate would have it, the driver was the same one I had on my very first shift!
Healthy cat, shocking situation
Our first call was to pick up a healthy cat from a holiday park. His owner had been reported missing for 5 days, and when the police came to visit the caravan he was staying in, they saw the cat and asked us to collect him.
The park owner met us on site, showed us the caravan and opened the door. The stench was dreadful – there were several days’ worth of uncleaned cat litter so combined with the recent days of warm weather, the olfactory senses were close to meltdown. But however bad this was, there was a cat – likely afraid – who needed saving.
Cat Rescue
We found him hiding under a double bed in a tiny room. He was in the corner – by the headboard at the side furthest away from us. You’d expect we could walk around the bed and pick him up, but the small gaps between the bed and the bedroom walls were piled with clothes, bags, small furniture, all kinds of brick-a-brac. Moving around the bed was impossible! So was crawling under the bed – it was choc-full of more stuff. It was amazing we could see the cat in the first place!
Our best bet was to approach the cat from above by pulling the mattress to one side, and lifting the bed’s wooden frame. Again, this was a lot of trouble thanks to more brick-a-brac on top of the bed. It was quite a struggle to move these things off the bed and into the caravan’s ‘lounge’, let alone slide the mattress to one side and lift the wooden frame. With help from the park owner we managed!
The white cat was incredibly sweet and gentle, and thankfully easy to pick up. Well, sort of. I bruised my shin on some wooden bedding slats, and banged my elbow on another, but the cat himself was happy enough to allow me to pick him up and place him in a box.
Admin
Cat rescued, but next up was the admin. The cat was to be taken to the rescue centre. The rescue centre, after checking animals who are brought in, seek to have them reunited with their owner, or rehoused if this is not possible. Here, there is a known owner, so the cat cannot be rehoused (and subsequently paid for to cover costs). But the owner is missing, so the rescue centre cannot reunite the cat with his owner (who is responsible for the costs).
It’s a tricky situation – but there’s a form for it, and it needs to be signed by the police. We gave them a call and they agreed to meet us at the rescue centre.
At the rescue centre
When we got there, we confirmed with the staff that we had the right form. Ultimately the form is for their (financial) benefit, so we needed to make sure they were happy with what we were doing. It took some time and a lot of discussion, but eventually the correct form was pulled out, we filled in what we needed to, and waited for the police to show up for their part.
In the mean time I looked at the other cats who’d been brought in. I don’t know the background behind each of them; some were clearly strays, others had owners. Each had their own story and their own life. Softly miaowing, purring, headbutting the cage fronts, licking fingers or vying for attention…how can the workers there concentrate so much cuteness around?!
Police
When the police turned up I couldn’t help smile! The guy was about half my age, had muscles twice my body weight, peak of physical condition and I found him quite daunting! And his partner too. She was also formidable and carried guns and handcuffs and loads of other things I’m sure would incapacitate me for whatever reason. But I did see by her sleeve some delicate flowery bracelet. Nomatter how formidable, the police are human too!
I’m certain the cat will be fine. But I don’t know about the owner. Whoever they are, wherever they are, I hope they’re OK.
(On a side note, during this cat rescue I couldn’t help remembering the driver diving into the bushes to rescue a cat on my first shift. He’s made his mark as Cat Guy!)
Loose Goose
The next rescue was a goose with a bloody and broken wing. Unfortunately by the time we got there it had swum away and we couldn’t reach it.
Injured Bird
Our following call also didn’t go well; an injured bird died by the time we got there. The protocol is that we take the bird and return it to nature. In this case the owner was happy to ‘dispose’ of it himself – but not before I thought I saw it twitching! Sadly, the twitching was the claw was stuck on my blue plastic gloves and not a sign of life 🙁
Hen in a Tree
On the way back to base there was a call for a hen stuck in a tree. The centralist asked if we could bring it down with a ladder. I must admit to being upset here; the driver didn’t want to drive in the opposite direction to our base so close to the end of our shift. When I pushed him about it, he explained he didn’t think he could get a hen out of a tree, and thought it was part of nature anyway. So we came home without even trying 🙁
