By: Emzi Frater
Hello, I’m Emzi, Adoption Centre Manager at the stunning Tyneside Adoption Centre. I wanted to share my experience with you of adopting a ‘Golden Oldie’ from Cats Protection. Firstly, I need to point out that although Tyneside Cats Protection rehomed over 430 cats last year alone we are a new centre, having only been open a little under 2 years. The cats I adopted were both cared for by Cats Protection Adoption Centres elsewhere so received the same high standard of care and minimum veterinary standards that cats here in our Adoption Centre do too – a full veterinary check, flea and worming, neutering, microchipping, vaccinations and also have 4 weeks free insurance.
Pan, a grumpy but gorgeous 12 year old black and white lady, was brought into Glasgow’s Adoption Centre in Kirkintilloch near to where I was living as a postgraduate student. She was known in the centre as ‘Chanelle’ and wasn’t too keen on human contact (or being restrained for vet checks!) and was a long-stay cat as she tended to hide from visitors rather than show herself off.
It was a cold, wet day when I visited this huge 220 cat capacity centre but the team at Glasgow were helpful, informative and even carried out a home check as was done at the time, to make sure our house was the right match for this lady. When we arrived at her pen it was love at first sight when this big, fluffy lump peered out from underneath her hide and, once home, we spent the next few weeks helping her learn to trust us.
Cats Protection Glasgow Adoption Centre
In time she developed some aches and creaks of arthritis.
We managed these at first with supplements and dietary adjustments, then later with lower and softer beds, higher food bowls and regular, slow exercise around the house. By the time she was 16 her hearing wasn’t quite what it used to be and she’d started to play less and less. In some ways she became more affectionate – enjoying snuggling down next to you on a soft chair where she used to prefer sitting in her own bed. Eventually the time came to make the difficult decision but after over 7 years of happiness we were both sad but ready to let her go.
Joni, the opposite of Pan in many ways, was similar in colour – a black and white fluffy cloud of a cat.
Joni had been brought to Belfast Adoption Centre as a stray, with no microchip and unfortunately nobody had come forward to claim her. At the time I was working in Northern Ireland and also volunteering for a Cats Protection branch and could not get this one of a kind, clumsy, affectionate cat out of my mind.
She had been named Nefertari by staff there who were kind, considerate and helped me stay involved in their decisions around her care until the time came we were able to bring her home. Joni was thought to be around 11 year old when we brought her home but with strays it’s often difficult to know. We spent many happy years with our clumsy feline friend – her falling asleep and rolling out of her cat bed, of accidentally sitting in a plate of spaghetti bolognaise – she really was the most accident prone cat I’d ever met.
It was a surprise then that when she did begin to become unwell it was with a relatively normal condition in older cats, hyperthyroidism, rather than a silly accident she’d somehow caused! Hyperthyroidism can be controlled in a few different ways – medication, a course of radioactive iodine or surgery. At health assessment medication was chosen by us and the vets as her best outcome and she had many years before dosages needed to be changed and reviews made. When Joni peacefully passed she was an elderly lady we think of around 19 or 20 years old.
Although each Adoption Centre look and work slightly differently each are the same where it counts; care for the cats, prioritisation of their needs first and a team with a strong understanding of the right cat for the right person (and vice versa).
Cats, just like people, age. Adopting an older cat you already have a good idea of their temperament – their quirks, likes and dislikes, and they’ve got so much to bring to a home. Although kittens may be playful and adorable (and I’ve fostered many myself!) they’ll soon grow up to be big cats too…once that leg climbing and clothing shredding is out of the way first! When it comes to adopting, for me, it’s the often over-looked middle aged or golden-oldies that call out to me and if you’re lucky enough to adopt one, you’ll see that in giving them a second chance in life, they’ll soon make your home their own and steal your heart.
If you’d like more info on caring for your older cat Cats Protection have a helpful guide here;
https://www.cats.org.uk/help-and-advice/health/caring-for-elderly-cats
The furry clan!
Emzi has been a dedicated member of Team Tyneside since 2018 in the role of Adoption Centre Manager. Emzi’s background is in education and the sciences, having first studied Zoology at undergraduate level, Ecology and Biology at postgraduate level followed by a PGCSE specialising in STEM subjects. When Emzi isn’t busy at the centre being our fearless leader, she occupies her spare time with CPD, ornithology, exercise and a good read.
Cats Protection Tyneside Adoption Centre 