FOR most Australians, you either grow up in a house that loves cats or dogs, but rarely it’s both, so for Animal Studies and Veterinary Nursing students who grew up with dogs, learning to look after cats can be daunting.
The TAFE NSW Richmond Animal House is working with the Animal Welfare League of NSW to provide practical learning opportunities for students to work with cats while finding them a new home.
TAFE NSW Richmond Head Teacher of Animal Studies, Rebecca Coventry, said: “Unlike the guinea pigs and rabbits that students have studied and learnt to handle in the past, cats are a much more demanding and engaging animal.”
The Animal House is providing a warm home for two cats who will benefit from low stress handling, socialisation and interaction with students. All cats have been de-sexed, vaccinated and microchipped.
TAFE NSW Richmond student Tori Schaecken who is studying the Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing was always surrounded by dogs as a kid.
“When I was growing up, my family had dogs and not just little dogs, really big breeds like a Bullmastiff and Great Danes’. It wasn’t that I didn’t like cats, I was just never around them, plus I always thought they were snooty creatures who would just swipe at you,” she said.
“The first time I had to work with cats at TAFE NSW I didn’t know how to handle or approach them, but having the cats on-site has been great and I’m learning a lot.”