(Southern Alberta Humane Society/ Facebook)

By Tiffany Goodwein

River Ridge Seniors Village cats put up for adoption

Jul 12, 2022 | 4:48 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Hanging out at the seniors’ home, cats Doc, Mama, Cheryl and Mallory were regulars at the River Ridge Seniors Village, calling the long-term care area home for five months. But just recently the facility decided to remove them and put them back up for adoption.

“I was heartbroken only because I saw the difference that they made,” said Jodi Thorimbert.

Thorimbert is a former registered nurse at the facility. She helped adopt the cats from the Southern Alberta Humane Society during COVID-19 when many of the seniors faced lockdown restrictions that limited visitors and activities.

“The cats, they offered this unconditional love, they came into their space, spent time with them. They didn’t require anything of the residents. Just their sheer presence brought them joy, and I think they really helped in the dementia unit,” she said

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Kathy Nduwayo is the vice president of operations for Park Place Senior Living, the company that owns River Ridge.

“It’s actually an unfortunate set of circumstances it was a pilot program, we had taken on to see if this is something we could do. Four cats is a lot to take on for care and you know make sure that we are meeting all the regulations for environmental Health and Safety and Occupational Health and Safety,” she said.

Nduwayo said they were told in audit reports that they had to keep the cats in check.

“Keeping them off the tables, and things like that were becoming a greater challenge. As much as everyone loves having them, absolutely, it became a challenge for infection control and environmental health and safety and a fair bit of added work to our over inundated care staff to now take care of four cats,”she said.

A requirement for the cats to be locked in a room if a COVID-19 outbreak occurred also weighed heavily on River Ridge’s decision to re-home the cats.

“If you are going to be a good animal owner, you have to take that into consideration as well,” she said.

River Ridge does offer a pet therapy program which they are hoping to revive in the near future. Pets are also allowed at the independent and supportive living quarters of River Ridge, and families are always encouraged to bring their pets in while visiting.

As for the four cats, two of them have been adopted by a River Ridge staff member, and the other two are still waiting for their forever home, and are available for adoption at the Southern Alberta Humane Society.