"As every cat owner knows, nobody owns a cat." - Ellen Perry Berkeley
I've never seen a truer statement! Well, other than the one that says "cats have 32 muscles in their ears to help them ignore you"!
I like to say I technically have six cats, just to make people think I'm a crazy cat lady (in case they already don't think that)! My dad is allergic to cats so we have never been able to have cats at home, but my nan has always had cats at her house, so when I was six, I was able to have my own kitten there, my gorgeous girl, Lollypop. To also fix this hole, I became a cat sitter in my local area so I could still get my cat fix. I've just entered my fourth year, and have had just under 50 kitty clients.
Lolly had a sister, Popcorn, who went on to have three kittens; Radley, Dolittle and Scrooge. Scrooge was my boy, but he ran away so my nan said I could have half of Radley to make me feel better. As I've gotten older, the cats have grown to tolerate me more - although I think the bribery of cheese toastie titbits helped me out a lot! Now whenever I go to my nan's, there is a battle between the four of them to see who's going to get onto my lap first!
 |
| Left to right: Lollypop, Radley, Popcorn & Dolittle |
But earlier on this year, one of my clients sadly passed away, leaving his two cats in need of a home. My mum and I played on my dad's heartstrings, and he reluctantly agreed that we could re-home them. So as of April 2021, our family welcomed Emily & Charlotte!
 |
| Back: Charlotte, Front: Emily |
(Side note: no, the cat's not named after me, we didn't want to change their names because of their personalities. And yes, my mother is more affectionate towards cat Emily than she is me!)
Clause One: Take full responsibility for a pet for at least three months: Complete! ✅
Clause Two: Look after someone else's pet on at least three occasions: Complete! ✅
With my many years of experience with cats, plus my job, plus rehoming our newest family members, I believe I have achieved this clause!
Next Steps:
As I have combined the first two clauses together, I shall only count this as one clause out of the minimum five challenges to complete. I intend to complete at least the following clauses to achieve my Animal Lovers' badge: 3, 5, 6, 7 and 9.
My plans are to create a fact file on animals close to extinction, and possibly combine this as I make a picture book for my nieces & nephew, and include this toward my Queen's Guide Award. I will keep the bird feeders in the garden topped up, especially over the winter time, and in the new year, when it comes to planting new things in the garden, I will plant bee-friendly flowers. With my job as a cat sitter, it has been my plan to complete a feline first aid course. I had every intention of doing this last year, however the glorious Covid got in the way, and nowhere in London are currently running face-to-face course. I am keeping my eye out though!
Emily the Badger x
Comments
Post a Comment