Catwoman on the prowl

PURR-FECT COMPANIONS Benosa with two of her furry housemates. —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

The persistent mewling sound stopped Sherma Benosa on her tracks one drizzly night while she was on her way home. She traced the sound to a white kitten scavenging for food in a heap of trash. Although she had no experience in handling a stray, Benosa couldn’t just look away and leave the stray.

“I picked her up and brought her home, all the while feeling I was doing the right thing, but also wondering how in the world I’d be able to care for her,” said the award-winning author and editor.

Benosa didn’t grow up taking care of pets.  Sure, her family in Nueva Vizcaya province had dogs all the time she was growing up, “but they were more like guard dogs,” she said.

Today, six years later, Benosa has a household of 15 cats and three dogs—all rescued from the streets.  In fact, she had to hire a pet nanny to care for the animals when she’s at work.

For life

The original foundling kitten Poinne (pronounced Powin), now 6, awakened the animal-lover in her, said this Linguistics graduate from the University of the Philippines-Diliman, who works in the communications department of a nongovernment organization that deals with zero-waste management.

But no, she doesn’t consider herself a pet hoarder, she said, because all the pets are cared for properly and get the needed food, vaccines and medication they need, plus quality time with her.  Benosa even had an enclosure built in her house so the cats won’t be able to run off and would remain indoor pets.

“I have decided long ago that they will be staying with me for life,” Benosa said. “That said, it makes sense that they get their ‘own part’ of the house.”

Like humans, the cats have their own designated areas to eat, sleep, poop and pee.

“(The enclosure) is also for easy management so we’d know which area needs the most attention,” said Benosa.  “It would be chaotic if I allowed them all over the house at the same time. I do allow them inside my room, but only two or three at a time.”

Benosa learned to care for the cats on her own, from research on the internet, and consultations with veterinarians. All the cats are spayed. She used to go to the Philippine Society for the Prevention and Cruelty to Animals (PSPCA) to have them spayed, commuting from Quezon City to Manila and waiting for hours on weekends at the group’s office with her cat carrier in tow.

Except for regular visits to the vet for vaccines and checkups, Benosa has not availed herself of the pet services offered in malls or pet shops such as grooming or boarding.

Attention and love

“I don’t believe in spoiling cats by bringing them to pampering services,” she explained. “I think the best pampering we can give our pets are free—our attention and love. What I do is play and cuddle with them, and talk. ”

And despite their number, Benosa said she had managed to maintain a household budget ratio of 1:2 on normal months, with expenses on human food easily double that for pet food.

Dogs later became part of Benosa’s household as well.  She had adopted a dog that she didn’t know was pregnant at the time. She kept two of the pups and had the others adopted.

The two-time Carlos Palanca awardee feels the animals have changed her life completely.

“(Life) became more meaningful, especially when I play with them and realize that they could have died or suffered on the streets if I had not taken them in,” she said. “I also realized that while I’ve saved them, they’ve saved me as well.  They make me happy. ”

Nine lives

But being an animal lover also means enduring a lot of heartbreaks, said Benosa, especially when she sees how  people treat strays.  While still living in Quezon City, she saw a neighbor throw one of her foster pets into the creek.

“I howled, heartbroken at the thought of the cat drowning,” she said.

But Benosa forgot that cats have nine lives. Three days later, the cat returned to its home.

Word about her soft spot for animals, particularly cats, soon spread and she became the go-to person for rescued kittens in the neighborhood.  She would help find fosters or adopters for the strays or arrange a visit to the vet for checkups, spaying or neutering. Pet guardians also get Christmas gifts from her, usually vitamins for their pets.

Rescuing strays has become a lifetime commitment for Benosa, who would adopt rescued animals or foster them until she has found them a home.  Pets are family, she said.  Like kids, they’re all over her and even on her laptop.

“They give the most wonderful love,” she said of her four-footed family. “They look at you like you’re all that matters to them in the world.”

That of course doesn’t stop Benosa from living life beyond her circle of furry friends.  In fact, she has a love life.