We want to use this blog post to highlight areas you can pick to join our Love Kuching family and extended network.
Where can you volunteer in 2015?
#FosNet
The first dire need we have, is for you to join us as a Foster Caregiver in our Foster Network. This volunteering option allows you to work from home, around your schedule, at a level you can commit. You will not be handling boisterous kittens that need a lot of poop scooping and play, nor need to host any adopters in your home. Your only liaison is with our Foster Network Volunteer, Amizadai.
The cats we will farm out to you will be sick or injured cats: this is so we can expand our current brick and mortar space of 5 suites for sick/injured cats. We often have more requests to shelter stray cats needing medical care than we actually have space for. Many people turn instead to expensive hospitalisation or boarding options for these stray cats, and their welfare is not great being in such locales because the human to cat ratio is not optimal. This is not counting many other stray cats that get sent to SPCA. Our other option to a Foster Network is to -actually- increase our brick and mortar space. But with rentals very high right now and our cash flow not optimally in excess, 2015 is not the right time for Love Kuching to move into that yet. You being in our Foster Network is the only way we can save more cats.
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| Foster Caregivers can give more dedicated care |
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| Bring home a cat to foster, free up a space for another cat |
But what if you have very little experience in medical care for cats? Medical care varies from cat to cat, as do the durations each cat will need fostering for. The simplest commitment will be a short 2 week duration, with oral medications you can mix in food. The most extended and intensive type of care will be those that need topical wound cleaning and medication application, injections, and some may will need fostering until they die because they cannot be released back to their original stray territory (terminal illness). You can commit to any level, the simplest, the most intensive, or anything in between. We will match the right case to you.
In case you worry that your cats might get into a fight with the foster cat, we will provide you a cage if you need one. Besides that, all medications and medical supplies will also be provided. You will also get food and litter supplies from us. And before you start, as well as along the way, you will get training support. This way, you can also learn and grow in your cat care skills.
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| Learn hands on medical care from us! |
Adoption is a lifelong commitment, but fostering is not. Because we as cat lovers simply cannot adopt every cat in need, fostering is one way we can make a difference in the lives of cats that need help. If you want to find out more and/or sign up as a Foster Caregiver, drop an email to ami@lovekuchingproject.org
Foster Care
Currently, we have 6 Foster Care Volunteers who are paired up to cover Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday nights weekly. They come in every week to do cleaning of the foster space as well as medical care of the cats, hosting ad hoc play/clean volunteers, and interacting with the kitties that are for adoption in order to socialise them.
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| Shelter kittens need a lot of positive human contact |
This job scope is expanding to preparation of medications, supplements in food, on three other nights: Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. However, on these nights, whoever is on duty will not need to clean; the focus will be on the medical care of the cats and preparation of supplements. The time slot will also be different: instead of 7-9pm, it will be 8-9:30pm.
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| Application of topical medications |
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| Learn clinical care like fluid administration |
We have Foster Care Volunteer slots available for Wednesday nights weekly, and Friday nights weekly, from 8pm to 9:30pm. You can volunteer alone, or as a pair with a friend or loved one.
We do not need any experience in medical care of cats from you. The key attributes you should have are availability, teachability, and passion. As it is a weekly, long term commitment, you should be available on the night you choose (Wednesday or Friday) over the long haul, ad hoc personal commitments aside. Being great at learning on the go is also something we want - a hunger to learn is always better than experienced minds unwilling to learn. You will not only learn from Elaine who is in charge of the medical care on most days, you will also get a chance to learn from other Foster Care Volunteers during joint sessions with them. Also, we want passionate people - you should be interested in critical intensive care of medications, learning about holistic therapies, keen on hands-on work.
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| Basically, helping sickies feel better! |
(Psst. Have we yet bragged about how great a place we are to volunteer at? We bond over common interests, our common passion about cats, be it with other volunteers in the same portfolio or across other portfolios during our gatherings. We are also open and don't hold back, and everything is about the 'we' not the 'I' in our work. All of us share the same goals and agenda in Love Kuching, and there is mutual respect for one another. 32 people have helped create it as such a community, why not come be a part of making it too? We are an all-inclusive community!)
And, as always, if you are keen on ad hoc volunteering instead, you can always join the play/clean sessions hosted by our volunteers on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday nights. Volunteering is fun with friends or family so you can also feel free to volunteer with someone instead of going it alone.
Share this post with people you know might fit the bill for any of the volunteering opportunities listed above. We want our family to grow!
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