NEWS AND OPINION: Having read about cat news for getting on for two decades, I can say with some confidence that it is not unusual for new management to decide to get rid of a domestic cat that is set up home in some commercial environment or in this case a London ambulance service station, at Walthamstow, London. Defib is a black-and-white cat who was adopted as a kitten at Walthamstow ambulance station around 16 years ago.
He has lived at the station for 16 years and been cared for by ambulance staff happily. He has provided a calming influence to ambulance staff and everything was settled until new management decided to get rid of him. The reason is one which I often see namely the risk of infection and disease in I guess what is a controlled environment. It’s important that ambulance staff live in a disease-free environment as best as possible.
However, I also suspect that there has never been any evidence whatsoever of any diseases being passed from Defib to ambulance staff and so his presence has always been beneficial.
When new management decided to get rid of him an online petition was set up on the change.org website which received 60,000 signatures, sending a clear message on behalf of Defib to management that he should stay. The new management listened to this and have changed their mind and he can stay.
The chief executive of the London Ambulance Service tweeted on Thursday that he had “listened to the views of the public and many of our staff and we have now agreed that Defib can remain at Walthamstow ambulance station.”
He added that he had “heard all the feedback about Defib the cat. I do believe that my team are trying to make the best decision for both Defib and all our staff.”
A former member of the ambulance staff who worked at the station said that Defib is very friendly and therapeutic. They said that they were happy there’s been a change of mind and that it gives Defib “a safe, secure place to live for the rest of his days, and also provides staff [with] that outlet and stress relief that pets bring.”
Defib’s message on the petition website concluded, saying: “Thanks so much for giving one small cat such a huge voice. I cannot express how grateful I am.”
I’ve seen this before. The general public rally around under these sorts of circumstances regarding companion animals. The public see the sense of the arrangement. Why disturb it? Particularly when Defib is 16 years of age. He is at the end of his life anyway and the initial decision to remove him from the station, in my view, was a bad one and they’ve come to realise it.
