VIDEO: Sherbrooke Community Centre home to adorable adoptables

When you enter the double doors of Sherbrooke Community Centre, you may be greeted by the cheers of a group game or live music in the hallways.

But as you journey further into the community, you’ll begin to hear the gentle melodies from live birds, a bark or two from family dogs visiting residents, and maybe, if you listen closely, the quiet mewing of foster kittens.

The beginnings of a partnership

Alison Fox is the manager of the therapy department at Sherbrooke Community Centre, and has been a foster mom herself for Saskatoon Street Cat Rescue.

“We are moving away from the medical model, and more towards creating all the things in a home that you would have in your home, such as pets and animals and plants and children,” Fox explained.

For about a year she had the idea in her brain.

“How could I make these two worlds collide?” she asked. “How could I create these two passions in one place?”

Listen to Alison Fox on Behind the Headlines:

Fox decided to bring together her love of helping animals and her joy from engaging with residents by introducing a foster cat program right inside the long-term care home.

At the entrance to Sherbrooke’s Veterans and Kinsmen Villages, there is a bright room full of windows, which was once a smoking room. This is the space where eligible foster kittens now live and play, entertaining residents and staff alike.

“I thought that would be a perfect place to foster kittens, cats, where our elders and residents — they can sit and watch in the antics and all the playing that could happen and all the joy that is created by watching animals,” laughed Fox, stepping into the glass room herself.

The first round of adorable adoptables joined Sherbrooke in 2019. Since then, there have been 48 foster cats and kittens that have earned the love and friendships from residents.

Adorable adoptables loved by all

Lorraine Sauve and Linda Miller are long-term residents at Sherbrooke. They’ve both been enjoying the feline antics from outside the glass room. They said watching the kittens is better than anything on TV.

“You’re sitting there watching them and they’re nice and quiet, and then all of a sudden, one goes flying through the room, pounces on another one,” recalls Miller, who has been a resident since February.

“Growing up I had two, and on my own I had one, but I’m allergic to cats,” admits Sauve, who still enjoys watching the kittens, even though she can’t pet them.

Sauve actually named the kittens after the five W’s – who, what, when, where, and why. Their names have transformed into Wholio, Whatson, Whendy, Whereverly and Whynona.

Beneficial cuddles and cutness

But fostering the kittens isn’t just about entertainment and company. Fox said there are therapeutic benefits, especially for those living with dementia.

“We see these opportunities to reminisce. So I have conversations with people the animals that they had growing up, if they lived on a farm or the pets that they had and the good stories and the bad stories, it’s this opportunity to connect with another person, and think about all the things that growing up they had,” she said.

With many residents confined to wheelchairs or with mobility issues, having cats, birds, and dogs within reach is an exposure to nature that they may not otherwise have the opportunity to experience.

“It’s good for therapy. It cheers people up,” Miller said, while alongside the kitten room.

“The last home I was in, they didn’t really like animals there, so the Head of Recreation was the only person that had a couple of dogs. And they were nice dogs and I really liked them, but they were only accessible at a certain time.”

Plus, no one can deny the pure joy that comes from kittens playing with their toys, or chasing a feather on a string.

Foster homes desperately needed

Fox is hoping the exposure to cats from Saskatoon Street Cat Rescue will encourage more households to become foster families.

According to Fox, Saskatoon Street Cat Rescue has been able to help up to 700 cats in a year. But this year, the number is sitting at around 150 due to a lack of foster homes.

And while Sherbrooke only fosters two to three times a year, Fox said a partnership like the one between the community centre and Saskatoon Street Cat Rescue is one that other care homes can benefit from.

“We’d actually love to help other care homes maybe be a part of such a fostering opportunity. I think it is an untapped resource that has nothing but mutual benefits,” Fox said, hopeful that the idea will take off.