Shaky cats

“Our three rescued cats most likely believe that they rescued us rather than the other way around,” says Diane. “There is some truth in that, as they came to our house and moved in of their own accord. We felt it would be another blow in their lives to move out and try and relocate them while the repairs were underway. They all suffered quite significantly in the quakes. “One cat, Mr Splitty, was so traumatized he ran away constantly to live in the foundations of a local school where he felt safe and we had to keep retrieving him after every major aftershock. Pip, our tiny female cat, was under a bed in the quake and she was only saved from being crushed by a rolled- up carpet under there with her. We had to push her food and water bowl under the bed for days as she refused to come out following the main event. She was prescribed cat Prozac for anxiety but it made her so chilled out that she kept falling over, so we dispensed with the drugs and focused on giving her a stable bolthole to live in.”