Binary Blonde

Someone asked what an average day is like here for us in “Kitty City” at Celebration Station. The simple answer is: there is no such thing as an average day here. There are set routines that we follow for the daily AM and PM feedings and meds, but other than that, most of the day is very fly by the seat of your pants.

However, with that said, I will attempt to describe an “average” day here. We begin at 7:00 am, when Mike and I get cats (both feral and domestic) crated for their vet visit. By the time we get them loaded and out the door, an hour has passed. Next, we intake and find cages for all the cats that trappers bring to us throughout the evening. When that’s done, it’s about lunch time. After lunch, I make sure all the intake forms are entered into the system and all the new cats have what they need and are happy and content. Lately, we’ve been receiving several owner relinquished cats per day and they come at all hours of the day, so those are intaked and found cages at that time.

Throughout the day, we both handle visits from the public looking for their lost cats, stealth volunteers wanting more specific information, Celebration Station volunteers, questions from staff and other requests. We also oversee the food/water volunteers and the volunteers who help out by cleaning dirty cages, crates, litterpans and food bowls.

Around or after dinner time, the cats that were at the vet return and we check all their paperwork and put them back into their cages, which takes on average an hour and a half. Some of the cats come back FIV and FELV positive, so they are moved into their respective isolation room. At this time, the volunteers come back to start the PM feeding/watering on all of the cats. This is also about the time that I sit down at the computer and finish all the intake forms, update my “Master Cat List” and file everything away.

Mike and I make the rounds before bed figuring out who needs to go to the vet in the morning and which feral cats are ready for release. There are usually a lot of people coming in and out around this time and we usually have to push back our duties until it quiets down. By the time we are done with everything for the day it’s about 1:00 am. Some nights, when trappers (both dog and cat) are out late, we receive quite a few cats who have been trapped in dog traps, and we are up later intaking them and getting them comfortable for the evening.

The days are very busy, but are fun and enjoyable despite the high stress levels. We crack jokes to keep our spirits up and take small breaks while we eat to chit chat. I am never bored and I learn something new every day. Very, very soon I should have my laptop and will start adding photos with my posts, along with updating my photo albums. 🙂