How working with cats at HPHH increased Emma’s confidence

Emma was one of the first participants at Happy Paws Happy Hearts (HPHH) in Hobart, located at Ten Lives Cat Centre. She saw an ad on Facebook just after Christmas and knew she wanted to join the crew because she loves cats and likes learning new things.

Emma has worked as a carer for eight years, and in her spare time, she loves to garden and spoil her cat named Grace. Her favourite animals are Zebras and cats.

In her time at HPHH, she estimates she has worked with over 30 cats. She loves meeting all the different cats and kittens, learning about their personalities and spending time with them.

Her most memorable experience so far with us was working with Jemima – a beautiful cat that the HPHH team worked with for a couple of months – and how she came out of her shell over time.

“She went from not coming out of her little igloo to coming out and loving pats and being a completely different cat after that interaction with people,” Emma says.

“Then she got adopted, which was the best thing ever.”

Emma is proud that she could crate-train her cat Grace after learning to do this at HPHH.

Grace didn’t like her crate. Following the crate training instructions she learned at HPHH, Emma got Grace into her crate after about a week of patience and lots of treats.

“We went to the vet last Friday, and she did not make one noise the whole way in and the whole way home,” Emma says.

“[Before this], she would not go near the crate if she saw it; she’d run away. So that's something I’m quite proud of, and I’m proud of my girl [Grace].”

Since joining HPHH, Emma says she has gained a lot of confidence.

“I feel a lot more confident within myself,” she says.

“Every Wednesday morning, I get excited, coming to [Ten Lives] and doing something I enjoy. I just love it.” 

Senior Program Trainer at Happy Paws Happy Hearts, Rhianna Peters, says another thing that sticks out to her is how calm she is with the cats.

“When you’re in with the cats, you’re calm, and they just gravitate towards you. They’re really relaxed, even the nervous ones that are a bit scared and they might be hiding,” Rhianna says.

“You’re so gentle in your approach and calm, and they come out of their shell so quickly with you.”

Emma says it makes her excited to come to HPHH and she looks forward to it each week. She would recommend it to anyone who loves cats.

“I’m so happy [HPHH] finally started down in Tassie. Thank you for running this program and I’ve got a lot out of it,” she says.