New! Intro to Handle session: Hands-on skills to nurture welfare of cats

Participant reading Claire Bessant's classic 'How to Talk To Your Cat', with Benatar the cat.

by participants in our newest Intro to Handle session, introduced in September. Each of the participants in this group are eager to pursue careers in animal care, with a particular passion for cat welfare and socialisation.

In this session, participants are developing a more nuanced understanding of cat behaviour and building more hands-on skills than in our traditional Care sessions.

One example recently, was when the group observed a litter of kittens and noticed one showing signs of fear. Participant Ivy, identified key body language signals in the kitten, sparking a discussion on how environmental changes can impact stress levels.

To help the kittens feel settled, Trainer Juliana guided a special co-regulation exercise, using music and Claire Bessant's classic 'How to Talk To Your Cat' read aloud in a calming voice. Participants drew parallels between what relaxes humans and animals, applying empathy, patience, and observation skills in real time.

The participants were encouraged to imagine entering the ‘cat’s world’ and their fine-tuned senses, to better understand their feline friends. They explored what is it like to be in a shelter setting having such acute hearing, smell and sensation? Why are cat toys colourful when they see in dull shades of blue and green? Participants pondered and enjoyed developing a deeper sense of just what it might be like to have cat senses!

These sessions foster both animal wellbeing and participant skill growth, demonstrating the positive impact HPHH participants bring to shelter cats.