Cat General > Our cats stories
The Office Cats
Judecat (Paula):
Hey, ramble away, we do it all the time. Lovely to get some background. I had to rehome a couple of budgies a few years ago and they went to a local care home with an indoor aviary in a conservatory for the residents pleasure, animals and elderly people make for good companions. ;D.
Gill (sneakiefeline):
THANK YOU, ITS REALLY INTERESTING TO NOT ONLY HEAR ABOUT THE CATS BUT ALSO THE HOME.
MANY HAVE ELDERLY MOTHERS SO RIGHT NOW ITS A BIG TOPIC ON PURRS.
CATS AS YOU KNOW HAVE AN IN BUILT CRAFTYNESS AND KNOW EXACTLY WHICH SIDE THEIR BREAD IS BUTTERED AND SOUNDS LIKE THEY HAVE YOU WELL UNDER THEIR PAWS :evillaugh: :evillaugh:
ALSO SOUNDS LIKE YOU DO A GREAT JOB WITH THEM ;D ;D
ONE THING THOUGH :shify: :shify: :rofl:
:need pics:
Lyn (Slugsta):
Thanks for telling us the cats' story. You needn't have worried about hijacking the newbie forum though ;D
It sounds like a lovely care home. I dread ending my days somewhere without cats :(
Cloveart:
I have started a thread on The Office Cats here in the Cats' Stories sub-forum, because I began to feel that I was hijacking the Newbies' section with my comments. I should point out at this stage that the office cats are not really office cats, but care home cats as I work in a care home. Before anyone throws their hands up in horror at the thought of me as a carer, I do not work in this difficult role but as part of the admin team in support of the managers. There is an overlap as I have quite a lot of contact with both carers and residents. I joined the home in May 2016 after a couple of other careers, so I have only been there for about nine months.
Recently, the home had new flooring, curtains and paintwork, and in order to make the place more homely, pictures were hung on the walls and sideboards purchased for the units. The crowning glory was a fireplace, in the main area (known as the forum), created by some of the staff, complete with a real surround, fire effect heater and coal scuttle. My feeling is that the cats were bought sixteeen years ago also as part of making the home a real home, and the manager at the time succeeded. In short, the cats are for the benefit of the residents.
Now, the cats do not understand the above theory. If it is comfy, peaceful and where one gets spoilt, the cats head for the office. My immediate predecessors did not encourge them into the office, and I understand that one them complained to the manager to no avail. However, I cannot resist them and my saving grace is the manager, who is a cat lover, and her deputy also tolerates them. The subject of anti-cat staff would make another post and I will come back to it later. Some staff incorrectly believe that I am in charge of feeding the animals, but I do so after the kitties came to the office and pestered me to feed them. After all, they do need feeding and are done so as part of a rota attached to the larder in the staffroom. Care homes are open 24/7 and when I am not at work, others are doing their shift. It is just that the crafty little creatures now expect me to feed them all the time. They probably like me doing it as I also wash the bowls and renew the water, as well as giving them their fishy favourites like Tuna and Salmon - pouches not fresh. Occasionally on Fridays, they do get fish from the kitchen.
The cats do not always spend time in the office, but sometimes sleep on top of the radiators, beneath the windows (often in full sun), in the forum. This way they can see everything that goes on outside, including the neighbours' cats. They will head for the area between the units where comfy upholstered armchairs were bought to help the residents feel at home. Someone helpfully placed covers on the seat cushions so that the cats can sit on a chair next to a resident.
This afternoon I bought some special cat milk in Waitrose, who are surprisingly good for obtaining cat products. I will probably post on this tomorrow when I return to work and can test the milk on Tiggie. While out, I also bought Susan Finden's Casper the Community Cat book in a charity shop, which I have hitherto resisted as I know the ending. James Bowens' Street Cat Called Bob books are compulsive, so I relinquished. Apologies if these jottings ramble on, but I wrote them straight out for quickness. If there is anything missing, it is because I hit the wrong part of the mouse pad and lost the first more considered version. I have learnt my lesson and this was drafted in Notepad++, a plain text editor, and then cut and pasted.
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