As jobs go, this one is the cat’s pyjamas.
If you have a fascination with felines, the Westgate Ark Centre in Newcastle is looking for you.
The shelter has put a call out for “volunteer kitten cuddlers”.
As most of the cats homed by the centre are feral or semi-feral, the cuddling programmes is part of the attempt to help the animals become used to humans through repeated socialisation.
Paul Black of the Westgate Ark Centre, said, ‘We rescue a lot of pregnant cats and semi-feral kittens and they all need handling so that they’re nice and used to people, which makes them much more suitable for homes.’
For kittens, socialisation between their third and seventh weeks is especially important.
Mr. Black told The Independent: “If you miss that window of opportunity and they’re not exposed to people extensively by that age then they become feral or semi-feral, and the older they become the harder it is to domesticate them.”
We can think of a few volunteers already…
