On this day 365 days ago a dishevelled looking raggedy kitty entered our Cattery.
He wasn't coping in the home and he wasn't getting along with the children or the other cat
His new family also struggled with his maintenance, his coat was not in good condition when they got him, and despite their efforts it just seemed to get worse, a sad reality for a lot of long coated cats. Knowing he needed more they had reached out to us for help.
We named him "Ruben" and we scheduled his vet work. Ruben came back with a new hair do, or lack of hair to be more accurate and a long list of medical issues including - Chronic Gingivitis, IBS (down to a poultry allergy we finally discovered), an Ocular issue which means his vision is permanently compromised and a high grade heart murmur which means he needs to be kept as stress free as possible.
Coupled with fact that, despite seeming like his perfect home, his previous home wasn't suitable it's begged the question, what was the right next step for Ruben.
He wasn't coping in the cattery, he craved people too much and so to keep his stress levels down we moved him to our adoption room that looks out onto our charity shop.
Discussions had already been in place about reintroducing a "Shop Cat" after our previous cat Chesney decided he didn't like being the center of attention and wanted a more outdoor lifestyle and so we found him his Purrfect home where he lives happily.
Any new shop cat would have to be a very special cat!
A cat that could be kept indoors
A cat that was social but not intrusive
A cat that wasn't easily scared by new things
A cat that could cope with an array of visitors both young and old, feline and canine (and sometimes even Avian)
A cat that would be happy to be part of our team
We took a gamble and decided to give Ruben a try. The term like part of the furniture comes to mind as Ruben took over the shop like he had been born for the role!
He became a firm favourite with a lot of our shoppers, especially the younger ones who love to come in and play with him and is happy to be admired from afar by those who are not too sure about cats.
Ruben greets our 4 legged shoppers with enthusiasm, but is also happy to retreat to the stock room for a while if they are not as happy to see him. He keeps our volunteers in line and is our chief donation inspector! Ruben has become a much loved and adored member of our Briarhill team and extend family.
We are often asked the same questions about Ruben, so we are going to try and answer some of the more common ones:-
What is he???
He is a cat but, more specifically, we don't know as he was sold to his original owner and rehomed with the title Ragdoll. But his face isn't Ragdoll nor is his size.
He is possibly a Persian cross or there could be multiple breeds mixed in there!
How old is he?
When Ruben came to us we were told he was about 11months old,
We don't have exact dates but for our own piece of mind we have set his birthday 11th of October.
Would he not be happier in a home?
With any animal we take into our care at the GalwaySPCA the goal is always to find out what that animal needs the most and finding the home that matches that need. We are under no illusion that if he appeared on our website tomorrow we would be inundated with applications 
So why not "let him go"?
Ruben isn't a prisoner, far from it, he is the king of his castle!
Ruben will never be a cat that could be allowed outside, his vision would be an issue as would the risk to the rest of his health, His diet would need to be maintained which would be difficult to do in a multipet household.
Ruben has quite a short attention span, he likes things to be busy and changing constantly. When he gets bored he gets frustrated and the shop offers him the opportunity for new people, new items and new experiences daily keeping him stimulated and entertained for hours.
Ruben "works" 6 hours a day being adored fulltime by our shop staff as well as the customers. By 4 pm he is more than happy to go to bed for the night, and if he isn't his "Shop mom" makes sure he gets extra cuddles and plays tag around the shop. Most evenings he doesn't even acknowledge the cattery team when they come in to do their evening shift. On the 2 days the shops are closed he has the cattery team to tend to him and make sure he has his cuddles and games.
He often hangs out in the cattery managers office on the days she is tied to her desk as well as interacting with her animals and kids when they visit.
Ruben has been in 2 homes already in his short life but, from what we can tell, he is much happier running his shop than he has ever been anywhere else.
He has stimulation, adoration and more space than he knows what to do with.
If at any stage we felt that Ruben needed more than we can offer him then we would absolutely re-address it!
Who owns Ruben?
Ruben is currently owned by the GalwaySPCA as a whole, the shop manager and cattery manager share the responsibility for his overall care and needs.
Can we give him treats?
Unfortunately not as Ruben has a strict diet that took us months to get right. His food has to be specific so we can't allow any outside treats. He does, however, happily donate any treats brought to him to all the other cats and kittens in the cattery!
Is his coat hard to keep?
YES! Not only is his coat very difficult to maintain because it had to be shaved, he absolutely HATES being brushed! Thankfully we have a wonderful groomer who takes care of his coat every few months, while we maintain it as best we can in-between.
What will happen to Ruben if the shop ever closed?
While we have no plans on going anywhere we do have several plans in place for Ruben both short and long term should the need ever arise! For now, and as long as he will have us, Ruben will be found somewhere in our Galways SPCA Charity Shop in Briarhill just waiting to say Hi!
Is he cross?
No, that's just his face! Ruben is honestly one of the sweetest cats we have ever met, he is gentle and sweet (as long as you are not brushing him!) While he does have that Grumpy expression, he is a very good boy.
♡♡♡Happy Gotcha Day Ruben ♡♡♡
Here is to the next 365days and beyond!
