The old proverb "it takes a village to raise a child" is a concept a group of women on the mid-north coast of NSW have been working to bring back. The village aunties' are all about cooking meals for new mums in need of support.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00 It's a core vaccine generally referred to as F3, so it protects cats against feline
00:06 parvovirus, feline callusivirus and feline herpesvirus.
00:11 Most cats, if they receive their full course of vaccinations as kittens and receive boosters
00:16 as adults, they'll be fairly protected, so if they're not getting an update at the moment
00:21 the delay won't be crucial, but the issue is with kittens who don't have that immunity.
00:26 It's a yearly job, is it?
00:29 Usually it depends.
00:31 As a kitten they'll usually get a course of three or four, one at six months, then at
00:36 a year, and then after that it might be yearly or it might be less frequent, depending on
00:40 the cat's circumstances.
00:42 If they're regularly boarding or at high risk they might be annual vaccination, the period
00:47 in between might be a bit longer.
00:48 That's usually a matter that's discussed with the vet.
00:51 So your vets just simply can't get it?
00:54 A lot of the vets we work with have completely run out.
00:59 Some still have some supplies and in line with the AVA recommendations they're prioritising
01:04 kittens because they're most at risk.
01:07 We still have some supplies at our shelter and we've been able to vaccinate our kittens,
01:11 so we have a fantastic shelter manager, Nerida Atkin, she's always prepared, but it is a
01:17 really difficult time because we're in kitten season and kittens are the most vulnerable.
01:23 It must be difficult to turn away kittens as well.
01:26 So what happens?
01:28 You just say, "I'm sorry, we can't take any more now."
01:31 We have a waiting list and we typically have a waiting list anyway because we're a managed
01:36 admission shelter, so as cats are rehomed we can take more in, but we also have a lot
01:42 of foster carers and they're an absolute lifeline to us and thank you to all our foster carers
01:46 and to all the people who do fostering for rescue because they're so important, because
01:51 they help you to manage those peaks and troughs of cats coming in and cats going out.
01:57 Might we see, Christina, an increase in cat illnesses then if this problem persists?
02:04 I think for cats who are homeless it's going to be a very, very high risk period and kittens
02:11 will be most at risk and it can be fatal, things like pavovirus can be fatal, even feline
02:17 herpesvirus can leave a cat blind.
02:22 These can be really severe diseases.
02:24 [BLANK_AUDIO]