The Puddles of Cats and Dogs

Year 9 student Hannah Elms is a quiet hero. Though you’ll never hear her bragging about her work, her regular animal shelter volunteering is helping to save the lives of animals and spreading their joy to all that come to the shelter.

Since April 2016, Hannah has been volunteering at the Animal Welfare League (AWL) shelter in Warra every second Saturday for five hours at a time. While she personally cares for the cats at the shelter, the AWL takes in dogs, small animals such as hamsters and birds, and farm animals.

The Warra shelter houses around 30 cats all sorted into three rooms. The first contains the majority, which are healthy and fit for adoption. Cats being nursed back to health and adoption-ready cats are held in the second room. Any facing serious illness are kept in the third room and are only seen to by adult staff members. The cats are generally either strays brought to the shelter from the pound or cats which have been surrendered by past owners who were unable to keep them. According to Hannah, the shelter “gets quite a lot of younger cats – 3, 4, 5 [years old]” and, in December, an influx of cats less than a year old, which is the beginning of kitten season.

The first job of the day is cleaning out litter boxes and giving the animals fresh food and water. Following that, any other jobs such as taking out rubbish and cleaning bowls and cages are carried out. Once the hard work is done, the cats are let out to play with the volunteers. Throughout the day, volunteers talk to customers who come in looking to adopt. They discuss breeds of cats and whether they’re after boys or girls, or cats or kittens. While most people do tend to adopt younger cats, Hannah reveals “you’d be surprised at the number of people, especially older people, who don’t want [a kitten] because kittens are harder to look after. You have to train them – litter train them”.

Anyone interested in adopting a pet can look online or head over to their nearest shelter to speak to staff, to be talked through the adoption process. The Warra shelter provides supplies such as boxes, carriers and toys; however, everything necessary can be bought at a pet sore. In the words of Hannah herself, “cats are amazing because they’re so affectionate. Most people think think they just ignore you but they’re really affectionate and much easier to look after [than dogs] because you don’t have to walk or wash them”. If you hadn’t guessed already, Hannah is the proud owner of two beloved cats.

If you’re interested in joining Hannah, you can easily sign-up online for an orienteering course, which usually takes place during school holidays, and then volunteer as often as you please. The only requirements are to be at least 13 years old and to have endless love for animals and tolerance for their poo.

Animal Welfare League Queensland Website: http://www.awlqld.com.au/