This man, Bobby Knight, is a dear friend to all of the Greenville cat advocates and he has made for himself a name nursing sick kittens and cats back to health. He is from Greenville and is 55 years young. Back in 2009 he had to retire due to health issues(physical.)
Within a year, he was battling depression coupled by an overwhelmed with feeling useless. That’s when a friend of his invited Bobby to tag along with her to Greenville County Animal Care (GCACS), which is well known as a high intake and high kill shelter for cats. In 2014, 53.4% of the cats entering the shelter did not get out alive.
After visiting the shelter quite a few times, Bobby was eager to learn how he might be of assistance the cats. He spoke with Susan Bufano, a wonderful cat advocate who is no longer employed by GCACS, and asked what he could do to save the cats there.
Susan explained how short-staffed the shelter was (and still are) on foster parents and Bobby soon learned his gift was in caring for sick cats and kittens. And now, he takes them home and nurses them back to health, at which time they go up for adoption or to a rescue when they are healthy enough for a forever home.
Bobby still gets overwhelmed at times, for example when a kitty is simply too sick to be saved. However, the joy that comes with seeing his babies getting adopted or rescued puts him on top of the world again. Cats formerly in his care have found homes all over the United States, and Bobby gets updated stories, as well as photos of them, on a regular basis.
Although the shelter has become his second home, Bobby is like all of us and recognizes the problems shelters face. For one, there are never enough foster parents for the number of felines who end up in the shelter.
People just keep coming and coming and coming with litter after litter of unwanted kittens or to drop off cats they no longer want sometimes with no excuse.
Bobby would like Greenville to have a better TNR program to curb the stray cat population. Greenville recently got approval on a program called the Free Roaming Cat Program, and will have to report back to Greenville County Council in a year with information on whether the program is a success.
In addition to thanking the staff and volunteers at GCACS, Bobby also has a special message for his former charges (the kittens) saying
“I would like to thank the hundreds of kittens I have fostered for helping me to beat my depression and feeling useless. I have received a lot of kitty love for the last five years.”
