Who's Really the Boss Around Here?
- Emily Evans
- 19 minutes ago
- 2 min read
By Jessica Pellington, Volunteer Coordinator
Did you know Wolf Haven has a CEO? That, of course, stands for Cat Executive Officer. Papas the cat currently resides in the education office, where he is doted on by various staff members who make sure he has all the essentials and lots of love. He suffers from some unfortunate ailments in his ripe old age and receives medications twice daily, as well as prescription food. He can be a bit of a handful sometimes, but he has earned his spot as the "top dog" in the eyes of those who care for wolves.
Papas showed up at Wolf Haven in 2013, fully grown and angry at the world. He wandered the grounds, often hiding and hissing when someone got too close. Staff at the time referred to him as "Cowcat" due to his black and white coloring, and tried to win him over. Slowly but surely, he began to warm up to those with a slow approach and plenty of treats.
One day, our former Volunteer Coordinator, Cindy Irwin, was working in the administration office when she heard meowing. It was a Sunday and there weren't many staff onsite, so she and our former Sanctuary Director, Wendy Spencer, followed the sound to an old storage building that was being demolished. Only when they crawled under it did they find the source of the sound: a litter of kittens!
Rumor had it that Cowcat was the father of the bunch and from then on, he was officially dubbed "Papas". The mama cat and kittens all found homes, and Papas was neutered. His affection for humans grew during his recovery from surgery and there were a couple of attempts at finding him a home. However, his dislike of other animals and extremely territorial personality made this difficult. It seems he was destined to live out his life at Wolf Haven.
In many ways, Papas is representative of so many human and non-human animals who come to this place: needing something we couldn't define, looking for a sanctuary, and ultimately finding a home.
