A cat welfare scheme in Sheffield is looking for Cat Smart volunteers to champion neutering and help reach more pet owners in the community.
Cat Smart is an RSPCA scheme which aims to help raise awareness of the importance of neutering and microchipping cats as well as offering discounts or free neutering to owners in the South Yorkshire City.
The scheme is now looking to reach more people in the community and is recruiting a team of Cat Champions to help them.
The help they’ll give will include raising awareness door to door, attending neutering and microchipping events and talking to members of the community about cat welfare.
Carrie Stone, RSPCA’s Cat Population Control Manager, said: “In South Yorkshire, the RSPCA received 3,825 calls about cats, from abandonments to neglect. Nationally, we receive a call about a cat every three minutes which is why spreading the word about their welfare is so important. We and many other cat and vet organisations believe the solution to the cat overpopulation crisis is neutering cats from four months old to avoid unplanned litters and reduce the thousands of cats who end up in the care of the RSPCA and other charities.
“This is an exciting opportunity to volunteer your time to help spread the word about cat welfare. If you’re an animal lover and a good people person then this could be an idea role for you.”
Carrie added: “These are flexible roles, but we are looking for individual with free time on Monday’s and Thursdays in particular each week to support Cat Smart. The applicants must be able to drive, expenses will be paid, and training given. The Champions will play an important role in making Cat Smart visible and recognisable, talking to members of the community and spreading the world about Cat Smart and how the scheme can help cat owners in Sheffield.”
The key tasks include:
- Talking to people or groups about Cat Smart to tell them about the aims and objectives
- Listening and gathering people’s views about cats
- Identifying new groups to get involved
- Supporting the door to door programme
- Being supportive, respectful and empathetic to others
- Accurately reporting the views gathered to the Cat Population Control Manager
- Attending local events and meetings
- Undertaking an introductory training session and participating in ongoing training if necessary.
If you are interested in volunteering for this role, you can contact Carrie Stones on [email protected].
