A day in the life...
of a cattery
staff member
by Beth Tavener
I always knew that animals were my passion
and when I did my two-year diploma in
animal management at Kingston Maurward
it made it even more clear what the career
path was that I wanted to take!
I started working here at West Hatch in
December 2016 as a Casual Animal Care
Assistant, and the majority of my days are
spent in the cattery.
Every morning in the cattery you are met
with around 40-50 cats all demanding they
get their breakfast first and they are not
impressed if it doesn’t arrive at 8:30am
SHARP! Early morning is when any cats on
medicine twice a day will receive their first
dose and any going up to surgery will be
taken over.
After everyone has finished demolishing
their breakfast - which usually only takes
a matter of minutes - the cleaning begins.
Every occupied pen has its litter trays
changed, floors and furnishings swept,
fresh water put in the bowls and bedding
refreshed. All information for each cat is
noted on a clipboard on the side of their
pen so we can keep an eye on such as
toileting, eating habits and behaviour.
Late morning is when any vet checks,
health checks, flea/worm treatment
and the sorting out of any cats that may
be going home that day is completed.
Certain cats such as kittens, those
underweight or elderly have a lunchtime
feed and these are the mealtimes you
have to learn how to be discreet about
so the whole cattery doesn’t think it’s their
dinnertime 3 hours early!
Any extra cleaning tasks are done in the
afternoon such as disinfecting cat pens,
making up pens for new arrivals, washing
food bowls and litter trays. Once everything
is finished it’s the most rewarding time of the
day, socialising. This can include playing and
bonding with young kittens, spending quiet
time with shy/nervous cats to help them
learn to trust again or simply providing a lap
for a cat to sit on to those who are patiently
waiting for their new homes.
Late afternoon all cats receive their tea
before we do our final checks. These include
changing dirty litter trays, filling up water
bowls, giving out any evening medicine,
bringing any cats back from surgery and
putting out any pop-up bowls for cats that
have a 4th meal. After a final check on all
the cats, it is time to lock up, and go home
for the night before it all starts again the
next day.
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