IVREA. The world is left out by crossing the gate of the cattery in Piazza del Mercato. The sly looks and the soft footsteps of his guests cause in the visitor a dizzying deceleration of the rhythms of daily life. However, this place needs, today more than ever, for the world to enter its enclosure. The number of volunteers is not sufficient to cope with the care and attention required by felines and the increase in those awaiting adoption leads those responsible to launch an SOS.
“At the moment we have about 25 volunteers operating weekly to which are added those supporters who help us occasionally”, says Elisabetta Manisco, communication manager of Eporedianimali, the association that manages the structure. “This number should double. Offering one’s availability to cover even just one weekly shift would be a great help as long as commitment is guaranteed, ”she adds.
Ivrea, the cattery is looking for new volunteers
Every day the volunteers are divided into two shifts, one in the morning and one in the evening, of about two / three hours each dedicated to cleaning and feeding food. Nurses or stallholders are extremely important because «they take care, in their own home, of the nursing of puppies or of the treatment of temporary pathologies even of adult cats. The affection that these animals receive individually becomes a fundamental part of the therapy: this is why the number of these figures should increase », Manisco emphasizes. “Decisive is the desire to move from emotion to action, from the little heart posted on the social network to the desire to commit to save a life, and the gift that people can give us is their time and their competence”, adds Stefania Monge , responsible for adoptions. How to become a volunteer? Call 348 3056087 or go directly to the shelter on Saturday afternoon.
Finally, the head of communication highlights: “The prevention action through the sterilization of the cats, both in the domestic and territorial context, in the feline colonies, through the help of the administrations, is fundamental, because birth control would make our work easier. “. The cattery currently has 45 resident cats, who live free inside the structure, to which about twenty are added awaiting adoption. In all of 2021 there were 273 cats, of which 214 were adopted. And again: 36 were the residents while 121 animals were nursed. Finally, 150 cats from the feline colonies were sterilized. In the current year 220 cats have been welcomed. Adoptions take place mainly in the shelter every Saturday from 3 to 6 pm. A pre-adoption questionnaire consisting of 25 questions is available on the website www.eporedianimali.it. Its compilation allows to verify the presence of specific, indispensable conditions. «The answers provided allow first of all to establish the suitability or otherwise of the adopter and then to be able to compose the best couple between the latter and one of the cats – explains Monge -. For us it must always be the person who will take care of the cat to find his companion and we recommend arriving with an open heart to also accept being chosen. Basic is that, through the contact that animal and human being have during the tour we do through the cattery, you shoot the spark, that is, that understanding and that attraction that translate into love at first sight ».