Educational activity of Koteria - information for trainees

"A few times I have heard the opinion that if something happens (during the operation) to a free-living cat, no big deal as nobody will hold any grudge against us. So if somebody would like to learn how to perform an operation, it is best to do it on a homeless cat - it is safer that way. Such an attitude, even sometimes displayed by the vets themselves, is outrageous - it is the weak, sick, neglected and abandoned cats that should be taken care of with attention and thoughtfulness.

It is very probable that nobody will look for such a cat and hold no grudge against me, but still it would be very difficult for me to convince my own conscience that nothing really happened. I cannot understand such an attitude, because we are doctors and every animal should be treated equally. I feel extremely sorry when I hear such opinions. We all have graduated from the same faculty so our attitude to animals should be independent of whether the animal has its owner or not. If somebody has a wrong approach to animals, there is no place for him or her in Koteria, but if one wants to learn and strive for perfection in this vocation with all the reverence and utmost care for free-living cats, just like we do, you are all very welcome!" Iwona Kłucińska-Petschl

Koteria is a center dedicated to city cats, and these animals constitute our main patients. They are untamed and have no wish to maintain close contacts with human beings. On the contrary, they tend to avoid city dwellers. After all, thanks to this wariness they have a chance to survive in a city. Often their stay in Koteria is the only possibility in their whole life to meet a veterinary doctor. We know very little or next to nothing about their health status. What is their general condition, what is wrong with them, even their age is a puzzle to us. They are a totally different sort of patients than domestic cats, pampered couch pets. Moreover, they are not easy patients to deal with - cleaning their cages, medical check-up or drug administration - all this may pose a challenge and all this makes them the patients of special care. Often, everything we can do for them is to sterilize them under an aesthetic. Later, we put them into a cage where they stay under observation for a few days and then they are let go back to their environment. Within this short time when they are kept in a cage stressed out, we have to decide whether their health status allows us to release them, whether the treatment is not detrimental to their health instead of helping them, because the stress may be so great that it may neutralize the medicament effects. The treatment must be performed with utmost care, because after the cat is released it will be almost impossible for the carer to observe whether something negative is happening to the animal. They demand greater attention and care from vets than domestic cats.

We would like to invite to Koteria all those who will make every effort to help homeless cats as best as they can. We will guarantee you that you will have an opportunity to learn from the best, but you will have to earn it at least through your attitude worthy of a true professional doctor.