Cat Culture: The Social World Of A Cat Shelter

2. The World of Whiskers

2 The World of Whiskers WHISKERS DID NOT originate as a shelter. It began in 1982 when Jane Donne opened a storefront thrift shop to earn money to spay and neuter stray cats. It was not long, however, before people began leaving cats at her door. Jane took them in, of course, and tried to find homes for them. During this period, Megan, a fellow cat lover who lived in the neighborhood, visited the thrift shop and became very interested in Jane's efforts to rescue stray cats. She began helping Jane in various ways and would soon playa central role in the evolution of this effort that, as yet, had no name.1 As more cats arrived, Jane moved to a larger store with more space in the back to house them. There she met Kate, an upstairs neighbor, who was very sympathetic to Jane's efforts. Other neighbors, however, complained about the cats, and in 1986 Kate helped her rent an apartment that became the first official shelter site. One evening in Albany during the preshelter period, Jane was trying to trap a stray cat when Regina passed by and thought she was trying to harm the feline. Angrily, she asked Jane what she thought she was doing. Jane quickly explained herself and won Regina over. Regina helped her rescue this cat and many 27 Copyrighted Material 28 Chapter Two others later on. When Jane's health began to fail because of a fatal illness, Megan, Kate, and Regina began to shoulder the burden of what had become a shelter. Regina soon began to take a leading role and became the president of the Whiskers Animal Benevolent League. In 1987 she unsuccessfully attempted to form a board of directors to give Whiskers more credibility and expand the shelttr 'S activities. Meanwhile, the apartment in which the cats were housed was in extreme disrepair. The landlord was not willing to make repairs and Whiskers did not have the money to do so. Regina and her associates moved the shelter to the first-floor apartment of a house Kate's father owned. Although they originally saw this arrangement as temporary while they looked for an alternative site, the shelter remained there from 1988 until 2000, which included the entire period of this study-from 1996 until the move to the new shelter site in March 2000. During Regina's tenure as president the essential philosophy of the shelter emerged and has not changed substantially since that time. From the beginning the goal was to take in stray, abandoned, and abused cats and to maintain them until homes could be found for them. When Whiskers had enough space, they also admitted cats from homes whose owners could no longer care for them. Whiskers was (and continues to be) a ''no-kill'' shelter, which meant that if homes were not found for the cats, they could stay at the shelter indefinitely. It also meant that euthanasia was considered only when it was the sole humane alternative available , as in the case of terminally ill cats with painful conditions . The shelter was also committed to spaying and neutering to control the cat population. Everyone associated with the shelter strongly believed that animals did not exist for the convenience of humans. Copyrighted Material The World of Whiskers 29 Rather, they exist for themselves and should have rights that guarantee humane treatment. These beliefs led to the idea that every life was worth saving and that no expense should be spared to save the feline lives in the shelter's care. Shelter volunteers always caged newly arrived cats to ensure the health and order of the shelter. They recognized, however, that as beings who existed for themselves, the cats had a right to some freedom to associate with others and run their own lives. Thus, the healthy cats were always allowed to roam free at the shelter after a period of socialization. Finally, since the cats were valued as individuals, all cats were given names, and photos of all residents were posted so names and faces could be matched. During Regina's presidency an organizational structure began to emerge. By 1990, she had succeeded in forming a board of directors and had created some regular positions such as volunteer coordinator, fund-raising coordinator, and vet transport volunteers. She also attempted to find a veterinarian who would visit the shelter regularly. In spite of...