“Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” - Fred Rogers
The heart of Visiting Nurses Association (VNA) is the desire to help, it is just what we do and who we are. Each and every one of us.
But it is the act of going above and beyond, far from any job description, that makes VNA really beat. So, when a plea was put out to assist in the rehoming of a patient's 13 cats to improve the lives of both the humans and cats, we did what we do. We helped.
VNA's Community Wellness Liaison, Kristine, poses with a Lawrence Humane Society staff member and cats caught for rehoming.
With such a “cat” astrophic task at hand, VNA was able to partner with Jeannie Furst of Project Lively, Kisha Steineger of Care Patrol, and the Lawrence Humane Society (LHS) to make the impossible, possible. A plan was put in place; as long as we could trap the cats the shelter would graciously take them in, not asking for a single dime. Those are the kind of helpers who are heroes.
But let’s be honest at this point in the story, cats aren’t the easiest creatures in the world. At best, they are ungrateful jerks. And in large numbers - let’s just call them what they are, a gang. Their willingness to make things remotely easy for humans, well that’s just nonexistent. You can’t reason with them, but you can certainly bribe them. Armed with an ungodly amount of canned tuna, numerous traps, and a certain amount of brave stupidity, the VNA Community Wellness Liaison (and author of this tale) began her descent into the world of cat wrangling. In a team effort, we became an assembly line of cat capturing. Filling 3 traps at a time, transporting them to LHS, reassessing our sanity, and returning to “re-tuna” the traps and begin again. Now if cat wrangling ever becomes an Olympic sport, I will be retiring from VNA to pursue this. Each cat caught was a victory, not only for the cat, but for their owners who had all but lost hope.
Within two weeks, 12 cats were caught. Number 13, well she was my favorite. She was smarter than the traps, the trapper, and the tuna. Her name was Callie. She was beloved by her owners, and their only wish was to have Callie join them at their new place. Pets make a house a home. The Great Callie’s kryptonite and ultimate demise came in the form of sardines. Stinky fish in a can for the win.
Callie “vacationed” with me for a week as her parents received the medical care they needed and prepared for her return. She was opinionated, stubborn, and quite convincing that I should be employed as her staff of one. As if I expected anything less from the leader of the feline 13. I grew attached, even in my newly underpaid position. But as much as I enjoyed her company and complaints to upper management, I was excited when the day finally came to reunite her with her family.
The moment I opened the cage and Callie found her way into the arms of those she loved, all the trapping and tuna became so very worthwhile. If cats do have nine lives, I would like to think I had a part in making this the best one for the gang, for Callie, and for her humans.
VNA is a unique organization where our passions can be put into action every single day. We help because we can. Volunteers, donors, and those who share our mission make our path possible. Because it is highly unlikely a cat will ever show one ounce of gratitude, I will be their spokesperson. They thank you from the bottom of their tiny hearts and I thank you from mine. All the support you give to VNA, in any capacity, allows us to make an impact on so many lives in our community. But it goes beyond your unwavering support, it is that you believe in us to do what we are meant to do. To help.
Kristine Weinberger
VNA's Community Wellness Liaison
*Author disclosure - I truly love cats. All descriptions and assessments of cats were purely for dramatic flair.
A special thank you to our community partners in this endeavor:
Jeannie Furst - Project Lively
Kisha Steineger – Care Patrol: https://carepatrol.com/northeast-kansas/team-members/kisha-steineger/
Lawrence Humane Society - https://lawrencehumane.org/donate/