It's 6 a.m. on Tuesday morning and I am awakened by ringing. I am disoriented and reach for the alarm clock. I must have set it wrong since I don't have to get up for work until 7. The ringing doesn't stop and I realize it is the phone. I run to answer it because both my children are away and it could be an emergency. I stub my toe on the new cat condo - I reach for the phone and hear, "Hello - I need you to come and pick up this cat right away because I'm moving tomorrow and need to get rid of her."
I admit that I am now angry - really angry. I have a nine hour work day ahead of me, I have lost an hour of sleep, my toe throbs and this idiot thinks I am going to come to his house and take over his responsibilities. As I explain he has called my home, business hours don't start anywhere at 6 am, I am an unpaid as well as overworked volunteer and I am not going to honor his request, he begins to swear at me, telling me its my job and because I refuse to help him, he is going to abandon his cat on the side of the street or have his vet put it to sleep.
Now I am really out of sorts and let him know that abandonment is a $1,000 fine in the State of Connecticut, if he kills his cat it is on his conscience, not mine, and I hang up, annoyed and frustrated that another poor cat is going to suffer because her owner is a jerk.
As long as I am up I might as well get an early start to my day. I begin the daily regimen of fresh water, food, litter, and cleaning the foster cat cages. This usually takes about 45 minutes. Then I remember I have two dogs and get them fed and settled for the day. After I shower and dress, I leave for my "real job" at the Department of Children and Families.
During my lunch hour I run up minutes on my cell phone, calling volunteers, seeing how animals are faring at the vet, checking to see if anyone has been adopted, or planning the next fundraiser. One of our social workers found two young kittens during a home visit and I make arrangements for her to drop it off at our vet while I call around to see which foster home can become a little more overcrowded. I jot down some ideas for my next column.
A 5:30 pm I leave work, stop at the store to pick up cat food and dinner as well as empty the donation bins in town. I run in to the vet to check on the new kittens and give them a check to try to keep up with our never ending vet costs. I leave an authorization for my foster home to pick them up tomorrow.
As soon as I get home, I listen to my messages - 18 calls: 9 people want help in placing their pet and/or a stray, 2 people have behavior problems they need help with, 1 person has lost their cat and wants to know if I have it, 2 people want me to take their dogs even though they know I am a cat only organization, 2 people are interested in kittens, 1 person is interested in the adult cat we have advertised in the paper and I actually have one personal call!
I return all my calls as I open my mail and empty my work bag. Even though my answering machine clearly states we are not taking in any new animals, I call everyone back in case I can help someone keep their pet or perhaps an owner will take me up on my offer to list their cat on my website while they continue to care for it.
Some calls make me cry, others frustrate me and others make me unbelievably angry. I agree to take in one of the strays - I make appointments - and then I begin the evening ritual of feeding, water, litter and cleaning cages.
My wonderful husband gets home from work and begins to cook dinner while I straighten up the house and go on line to update my website and answer my 32 emails. Behavior problem questions, requests for help and/or requests for cats and kittens - I answer them all. At 9 p.m. we have dinner. At 9:05 pm the phone rings. Someone wants me to find their 14 year old cat a new home - they suddenly became allergic to their cat.
I explain about Allerpet and other ways for them to keep their pet while my dinner grows cold. I know from the beginning they don't really want to keep their cat, but I give them the benefit of the doubt. I tell them I am sure they don't want to traumatize their pet after 14 years - I am pleasant and hang up before they can tell me the truth, and just perhaps I have made them feel guilty enough to keep their cat in the winter of its life.
While the kitchen gets cleaned up, my husband and I work on the next fundraiser, exchange ideas for columns, clip nails, administer medications if needed, groom and play with our charges. We may even go out into the courtyard on a nice night with a glass of wine and relax with our own personal cats. We catch up on our day. At 11 pm we watch the news. The phone rings - I check the caller ID and choose not to answer. We go to bed.
It's 6:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning and I am awakened by ringing. I am disoriented and reach for the alarm clock. I must have set it wrong since I don't have to get up for work until 7. The ringing doesn't stop and I realize it is the phone. I run to answer it because both my children are away and it could be an emergency. I moved the condo so my toe is safe - I reach for the phone...
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