Animal Keepers Research Papers

For my Graduation Project, there could not have been a better project experience than working with animals. I have always been fond of animals, and particularly interested in rescues and shelters. Therefore, nothing else could compare to helping animals in need. My mentor, Mary Anderson, has been the president and owner of Animal Keepers Rescue throughout the time it has been open. She has been incredibly helpful and informative throughout this journey. I was originally nervous going into the rescue, as I have not previously worked within one. However, the nerves quickly melted as the rescue gave off a sense of love and kindness. I had planned to learn more about the cats and the care they need, but ended up learning even more. It has been an amazing, educational experience, which has allowed me to follow my

passion. These experiences and research have taught me responsibility, dedication, and patience.
In most rescues, chaos will erupt at every entrance with numerous animals begging for attention and love.

They are abandoned, mostly neglected, and unfortunately, some abused. Contrary to those rescues, Animal Keepers Rescue did not give off a feeling of chaos, but rather one of love, warmth, and kindness. Generally, people are greeted at the door by the cats, and the friendly owners are helpful and informative. The owner’s responsibility was to maintain this scene, and to provide care and homes for the cats that come in. The volunteers need to be responsible, and help give the cats the care and love they deserve.
Animal Keepers Rescue turned out to be completely different from what I had expected, but in a wonderful way. It was a small, private shelter run out of the home of Mary and Bruce Anderson in Acme. For over a decade, they have helped cats of all ages, while being no-kill and non-profit. The shelter has been open for over a decade, and was actually started by accident. Mary has been a wonderful mentor and has told me numerous interesting stories that I could also tell in my project. However, this one in particular, I found extremely

interesting.
At first, they did not intend to start a shelter for cats. It came into their lives by accident, which was extremely fortunate for all the cats they have helped over the years. When they used to rent out the trailer by their house, cats were abandoned in that area. Mary and her husband trapped the cats and took care of them, while also trying to find them homes. Eventually, more cats were left around their area, or someone would call Mary to pick some up. It grew to the point where they had so many cats, that Mary thought they might as well acquire the permits to be a true private shelter. They have worked with countless cats and finding forever homes since then. Mary and her husband also keep the older cats and the unfriendly cats that are not adopted, so they have a home in a way. Thus, an incredibly loving shelter had begun.
In the beginning, I felt nervous and overwhelmed with the responsibility of volunteering the first couple of weeks. However, my nerves quickly disappeared with the kindness of the owners, and the responsibility of caring for the cats turned into a great reward. It has taught me how dependent the cats are upon the volunteers and the owners, which in turn, has made me more responsible with my work. While the work was relatively simple and free, this small amount of time from all the volunteers has been incredibly helpful to all of the cats that have been in the rescue.
I was an afternoon volunteer, which meant that I took care of the cats in the cat room. All of the cats in the room had to be fed and watered, while also taking care of the water fountain and food dispensers. Next, the floor and cages needed to be cleaned. After all this was done, it allowed plenty of time for handling or brushing the cats.
I was easily able to complete almost all of my goals for my project. I told everyone I knew about the shelter, and took various pictures of some of the cats I work with. However, I was not quite able to complete my goal hours. My goal was to complete 45 hours volunteering total, but I was only able to complete 40 hours and 40 minutes of volunteering. I unfortunately missed four weeks than what was originally planned due to weather, not being able to find a ride, being out of state, and then switching my volunteer day. Since I passed my hour goal date, however, I have spent over a dozen hours researching and writing my paper and presentation. I have also continued to volunteer once a week and I plan to continue volunteering there each week, as it has been something I love. It has taught me how to be dedicated to the cats in order to help them.
Not only has volunteering been fun, but it has also been educational and extremely rewarding. I was able to learn more about handling the cats and kittens to try to have them be people friendly. I was also there when they had a one-day-old kitten, and was able to observe how they handle feeding it when the mother was separated too early. I was able to witness how they help adopters with any questions even after the adoption, the adoption process, and the lengths they go to try to have the cats adopted. This project required dedication not only to the cats, but to helping the owners as well. Since the beginning, I have become dedicated to their organization from volunteering each week to selling tickets for donations.
Nevertheless, the most interesting matter for me to learn from this project was how a small place can handle so many cats. Lists are made when trying to have all the cats treated. The unfriendly cats are caught first, and sometimes sedated if they must go to the vet. In addition, all the kittens are put back into their cages at night. Yet even with a large amount of cats, each one gets love and attention, even if they do not always want it. For simply one reason: everyone has been dedicated to helping them.
The rewards have been numerous throughout this project. There has been nothing like working with an unfriendly cat, and slowly gaining their trust. However, this took a lot of patience and time. When I first began, I did not have much patience. Nevertheless, the cats are extremely loving and it has been rewarding to help them, which made me gain plenty of patience when working with them. I have worked especially slowly with several of the adults, and have been gradually gaining their trust. Numerous cats are nervous, and it has been great to know how much they are being helped. Then when a skittish kitten was adopted, it was amazing to see someone else care for them. It was also remarkable to watch a once skittish cat be adopted after becoming extraordinarily friendly. Without the owners and volunteers patience with constantly trying to help cats like this, they might not have been adopted. Moreover, all of that begins with giving the cats the attention, time, and handling that they need.
While I have learned much from my time volunteering, I did some research on shelter information, and about cat behavior and care. This will hopefully enable me to use more of what I have learned when working with the cats.
In a 2015-2016 survey, there was an approximate 85.8 million pet cats, with around 42.9 million households containing cats (Pets by the Numbers). About 46% of the cats were adopted from a shelter, while 27% were strays (Pets by the Numbers). While the numbers have considerably increased over the years with adopted cats, there are still countless more sitting in shelters. Despite the push for having pets spayed and neutered, the number of animals continued to climb. Unfortunately, this means many without having homes, and for some all their lives. Around 3.4 million cats are brought into shelters each year, and only about 1.3 million are adopted (Pet Statistics). An estimated 1.3 million cats alone are euthanized each year (Pet Statistics). In addition, while people work hard to find the cats new homes and help, there are still a great deal that can be done with reducing the numbers.
One of the ways to possibly have additional cats adopted, was by working with them one on one. Adult cats are not adopted as much as kittens and cats with behavioral problems are adopted much less. They are much more likely to spend their lives in a shelter. Therefore, by working with cats one on one, they will have a better chance of being adopted out than they previously had.
In order to handle cats properly, one should learn more about cat behavior, body language, and handling. Cats are complicated animals, and proper knowledge will help with understanding cats. A nervous cat will most likely crouch down or cower when on edge (Edney 80). An aggressive cat will bite, scratch, kick, and bare his teeth and claws (Edney 86). A tail between the legs means that the cat was scared by something (Edney 84). However, if the cat has been content, his tail will be straight up, and he will purr often (Edney 18-19).
When one has not properly handled a cat, he should learn by moving slowly and gently petting and lifting the cat, making sure to support the legs and body (Edney 40). The cat should be held gently, but never push the cat too much, as this can cause him to distrust (Edney 40-41). One should also hold the cat whichever way the cat feels most comfortable (Edney 40). It will take time and patience for a new cat to gain enough trust when being handled to be comfortable.
After everything I have done in this project, I am extremely grateful to Mary and Animal Keepers Rescue for allowing me to volunteer there. Not only have they allowed me to follow my passion for my project, but I have also been able to grow as a person with responsibility, dedication, and patience. The experience will stick with me in life, and I will continue to grow as I continue to work with the cats needing help.