Carol McBride and MeowSpace® helps cat with Kitty Alzheimer’s
Carol McBride did not grow up with cats. Her mother was Mrs. Clean, and animals did not fit the picture of cleanliness in her mind or home, so Carol remained pet-free until adulthood.
Then one day, while Carol was going home from her job at the local tv station, she heard a cry. Carol found a pure black kitten, no bigger than the palm of her hand, mewing and nursing a bloody paw. She took him to the nearest veterinary clinic for treatment, and the vet techs placed a little blue bow on his head. Carol named her new gift, “Mr. Lincoln,” since he was found on Lincoln Park Dr, and took him home. He was her soul-mate and read her mind with amazing accuracy.
For the next 3 years, “Linc” enjoyed the status of being the only cat. Then one day, while Carol was out biking on a highway, she happened upon a solid gray cat. She draped him over her arm, and the two of them biked home together. “Slate” was not well received by Lincoln at first, but within 5 days they were cuddling together in a chair. Thus began Carol’s cat dynasty, and from that moment on, her life, and the lives of many rescued cats would never be the same.
After finding Slate, cats just seemed to find Carol until she had 18 of them. Today, Carol is the mother of 12 elderly cats. She rescues because there are so many “beautiful babies out there who need homes.” “I love everything about my cats—but most particularly the way we connect—they talk to me all the time. I have most of them in bed with me very night. And if I’m down or do not feel well, they are well aware of this and make an effort to comfort me.”
A Family Affair
Carol’s husband suffered with Alzheimer’s and kidney cancer, and during his illness, the “babies” were excellent care-givers and companions. He loved them, and they would sit on his lap in multiples. As the result, her husband never wandered (due to the Alzheimer’s), and she was able to continue working as an office manager, watching him from work on a webcam.
Even Carol’s oldest daughter has caught the cat bug. She runs a non-profit feral cat colony rescue in Oneida County, where they spay, neuter, and vaccinate the healthy cats.
Carol & Cats Today
Carol McBride is technically retired but keeps busy as a traveling notary, working for signing services which act as outsourcing avenues for mortgage lenders who need notaries willing to go to people’s homes and close paperwork involved in mortgages. She also does site inspections to determine the genuineness of businesses before pulling credit reports or running credit cards.
Carol continues to rescue and foster adult cats, and has made legal provisions through a trust and a pet guardianship to be certain that her cats will be cared for should she cross the rainbow bridge ahead of them.
Carol’s MeowSpace® Connection: Teaching a cat with Feline Alzheimer’s to use the MeowSpace®
In caring for her cats, Carol has found it necessary to feed one of them, Ms Cissy, who struggles with kitty Alzheimer’s, an expensive wet food. She noticed the MeowSpace® brochure in her vet’s office and ordered one in order to keep the special food away from her other kitties. Ms Cissy learned to exit the MeowSpace® right away. But it took more than a month to teach her how to enter. When she finally did it, Carol was high-fiving everyone around her. Now, Ms Cissy likes to “play it cute” with Carol. She stands in front of the MeowSpace® and won’t go in until Carol freshens up the food and helps her in. But if Carol simply ignores her, Ms Cissy huffs a bit, then enters by herself.
Thank you, Carol for your love and devotion to your beloved felines. You are an inspiration!
Some Topics On This Page: feline alzheimers | cat alzheimers | multiple cats | cat rescue
