Youth Volunteering to Help Animals

Many of my friends love animals and we often think of ways to volunteer to help them. There are a number of animal shelters in our area and one time I had a personal experience of caring for a cat in my own home. I think that caring for animals is a great way for young people to be busy doing good things. Animals really can help us to forget our worries and they offer us so much love and loyalty. Anyway here is my story.

We had a cat at home. He is a white Persian and my friend needed a home for a little kitten. All the other kittens in his litter died soon after birth but Fluffy survived and came to us. His mother was sick so he was very small and weak. Our other cat, Tommy, took on a paternal role and used to clean Fluffy and generally take care of him. Fluffy didn't grow very well and didn't seem to have any sense of how to clean himself or even how to navigate. He used to run into walls and was often sick.

Fluffy got really sick at a time when my big brother left to study in another country. I felt really sad and lonely without him and I kind of clung to Fluffy hoping I could forget about my worries. I have always been close with my brother and when he left I felt a big empty space inside.

Some of my friends thought it would be better to have Fluffy put down but he was so lovable and helpless I just didn't feel it was right. He had been given to us and so was our responsibility. I determined to stick by him to the end, and I did.

Taking care of him and playing with him took up all my spare time. After one year he became weaker and weaker until he couldn't play like before or move his back legs very well. Even though he was obviously ill, he would still try to play and would purr and seemed generally content. He seemed to accept what he was and he gladly accepted all the love we tried to give him.

One day in the summer, on a very hot day my mum told me that she thought Fluffy didn't have too long to live and that I should prepare myself for the worst. At that time, I just couldn't bear the thought of losing him and I believed that if I just took good care of him he would be ok. I used to sit and give him rehydration fluid from a syringe and vitamins and whatever I could find. No matter what I did he grew weaker and weaker but whenever I was near him, he would lick my hand and nuzzle up against me. I know he loved me too.

His weak legs lay limp and I didn't want him to have any discomfort if I could help it, so I partially blew up a balloon to make a soft cushion between his back legs and laid him gently on a soft cushion.

I continued to squirt little drops of fluid into his mouth and tears fell down my face when I realized that he was breathing his last.

There are many animals in animal shelters that need a good home and lots of love and care. So if you find you have nothing better to do, adopt a cat and I'm sure you will learn more about yourself and how to be responsible.

I know Fluffy was just a cat and that animals and people die everyday but Allah let him be a part of my life and that's what makes him different. My mum told me that she was proud of the way I looked after him. She said that if I looked after my own kids one day as well as I looked after Fluffy, I'd be a great mother. I hope she is right.