Volunteer of the Month – Justin Saint

Justin Saint, April’s Volunteer of the Month, is a singing volunteer – who gets bitten in return!

Why did you choose to volunteer at RAPS?

I used to visit the sanctuary on weekends. One afternoon visit, Roe jumped into my lap in the courtyard and proceeded to nap on me for over an hour. She kept doing so on repeat visits, purring very loudly as I would brush her with my hand. She would use one of my arms like a body pillow, and if I stopped petting she would grab my other hand and urge me to keep going. I had never met a cat who snuggled like her before and instantly fell in love.

Justin & Alfie

When the sanctuary closed to visitors, I knew I had to start volunteering so I could keep visiting Roe. Before volunteering at RAPS, I had been volunteering at a different animal shelter and took care of foster cats and kittens. After I got too attached to a very affectionate litter of foster kittens, I decided to take a break from fostering.

It was perfect timing for me to start volunteering at RAPS instead. After speaking to the volunteers during visiting hours, I realized that volunteering at the cat sanctuary would be a much better fit for me. I could allow myself to get attached to the sanctuary cats and not have to worry about saying goodbye as much. It is very fulfilling volunteer work, and the physical space of the sanctuary is like a haven away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

What is your favorite part about volunteering?

I love being greeted with meows and requests for pets upon entering the different sections! There is always a greeter or two in the front courtyard. There are always snuggly greeters in the FIV and leukemia sections. And there is nothing quite like sitting down in the single-wide and being swarm-greeted by so many friendly cats!

My favorite part of my regular shift is definitely feeding the young, curious semi-ferals of Pen Six. While many of them still prefer hiding, they like to come out of their spots and excitedly crowd around their gate when they see me setting down plates of food outside the tea room. The moment I start approaching their gate, there is a sudden horde of mewing cats. Often they will crowd the gate so much that I have to step over them and I end up with a small parade of orange, floofy cats following behind me. I learned how to hold three plates full of wet food with one arm so I can keep filming the adorable Pen Six dinner swarm for as long as it keeps happening.

Do you have a favorite memory or experience about volunteering?

On my first-ever visit to RAPS, I spotted Bentley on a cat tree outside the tea room and was amazed by his size. I tried getting a photo with him and he bit down hard on my forehead. I’ve since learned that Bentley just really likes to bite, but I also learned from the staff that he really likes being sung to!

At Karen’s suggestion, I decided to serenade Bentley on the steps leading to the double-wide and found that he was absolutely entranced by my singing. He kept nuzzling my hand for pets and kneading the blanket he was on. Eventually, he got overstimulated and bit my hand, but the bite wasn’t deep enough to draw any blood.

I kept singing and petting Bentley during my shifts, but eventually he started biting down hard on my face or hands even while I was in the middle of singing. I had no choice but to stop my song and walk away every time.

One day, he was lounging in the tea room bathroom, and I decided to sing to him while I was washing out my cans of wet food to prep for recycling. It turned out to be a great way to keep him entertained, as I could alternate between washing and pets, making it less likely to overstimulate him and get the inevitable bite. And I can actually sing him an entire song or two!

Now when he sees me, Bentley sometimes runs straight to that shelf in the bathroom, which lets me know he’s in the mood for some attention. I usually pet him in short bursts as I start warming up wet food, as I’m cleaning cans, or just because. Every now and then he still manages to give me a love bite, but some weeks I definitely manage to give him lots of pets without getting the chomp.