The Purrrfect Life: An Interview with Adventure Guide and Cat Charity Founder William Skea
/Will is an epic adventure guide,
guiding people all overt the world on ice, snow, rock and mountains.
AND
all money he raises through guiding goes directly into
helping cats who are victims of animal cruelty, through his charity
William Skea’s Animal Rescues.
Will and his cat rescue room are at Nauti Studios in the Blue Mountains.
We asked Will some red hot Qs to get a behind the scenes look at the world,
and inspirations behind him and his amazing work.
Rescue kittens Papi and Meatball, enjoying an afternoon nap in Will’s cat rescue room at Nauti Studios in the Blue Mountains.
Tea or coffee?
I don't drink either. Despite being 28, my partner says I have the pallete of a child.
I'd much prefer something sweet like a strawberry milk.
Sunrise or sunset?
Sunrise. One of my favorite moments as a mountain guide is seeing the early sunrises from the summits of the mountains we climb. We usually climb from base camp to the mountain's summit from midnight to sunrise while the snow is hard and avalanche conditions are minimal, then descend down the mountain when the snow is soft enough to walk along but not yet warm enough to be unstable.
What scares you?
Mountain lions, grizzly bears, and moose. These three are more abundant in the Canadian Rockies and Alaska than anywhere else on earth, which is where I'm most often climbing. I've turned around more than a dozen times from seeing one of these guys stalking us on the trail. One of my ice climbing partners once climbed a frozen waterfall in the Canadian Rockies to finish in a grizzly bear's cave and be mauled by it before escaping.
Rescue kitten Felix, happy at home with his new owners after being adopted from William Skea’s Animal Rescues at Nauti Studios Blue Mountains.
Rescue cat Rusty, chillin’ and illin’ in the cat rescue room at Nauti Studios in the Blue Mountains.
When did you start being interested in animal welfare?
I've been running William Skea's Animal Rescues for 2 years now. I was travelling the world as a mountain guide for about 5 years prior and wanted to return to Australia to start doing some good for the world. I began a degree in nursing and joined a stray cat rescue group in Sydney. It was with that cat rescue charity that I discovered they weren't adopting their cats. They were hoarding them in their houses and not treating them, with 100-200 cats per home across several homes. These houses were in terrible conditions. The cats were covered in faeces and urine, sick from undernourishment, and many had chronic diseases being left untreated, such as asthma, cancer, flea anemia, and allergic reactions. I saw cats in dozens of 30x50cm cages ringing the walls and stacked 6-cages high, each with litters of kittens and sick cats inside them with nothing between their cages besides old newspaper. I paused my nursing and resolved to get them out of there, medically treated, and found foster homes to be eventually adopted. I must have rescued over 100 cats before I could get RSPCA to step-in and re-home the rest. Once I finished with them, I moved from one animal cruelty situation to the next, rescuing them, raising money for their medical treatment, finding a foster home for each cat, then eventually seeing them adopted. We've rescued about 300 cats in 2 years this way - from breeders, hoarders, abandoners, street cat poisoners, grey hound racers, and abusers.
What inspires you and your work?
I'm inspired by the cats we rescue. They often come from tragic circumstances and nothing beats seeing them find love again in their new home with their foster carers or adopters. They can be so loving, trusting, and affectionate to us despite years of abuse. They might be reserved and shy when we rescue them, but after some love and time with us, they begin to feel safe and we get to see them play for the first time and their personalities flourish.
What’s your fav thing about Nauti?
I love how friendly and helpful everyone has been to me and my cats since we moved my rescue center here 6-months ago. It is also awesome helping others out on their own cool projects and learning new things about it. For example, Natalie is often renovating the studios and teaching me about carpentry when I help her out.
The recent group of kittens in William Skea’s Animal Rescues’ rescue room at Nauti Studios in the Blue Mountains.
Sox, happy at home, after being adopted from William Skea’s Animal Rescues.
What are you most proud of?
My foster carers and volunteers! Many of our cats couldn't have survived without the. They've opened their hearts to their rescues and often end up falling in love with them and adopting them even if the cats don't want to be pet by humans because of their past traumas. I'm always looking for new fosters to replace them so each cat can get rehabilitated in their own home.
What are you working on at the moment?
I don't have any animal cruelty cases on at the moment, so I collected 4 new cats from people who were intending to surrender them to the pound for various reasons (such as their owners passing away). We are giving them much more love and attention they would receive while in the pound until we find good adopters for them.
If you weren't working in animal welfare and being an adventure guide, what would you do?
I have absolutely no idea. I feel like i'm living my two dream jobs and never imagined anything else. I take people on adventures to raise money for the cats I rescue - I wouldn't do anything else.
Adorable kitten Stuart Little relaxing in the William Skea’s Animal Rescue room, based at Nauti Studios in the Blue Mountains.
Ice Cream, a rescue kitten, hanging out with Nauti based artist Ashlee Bucholtz. Nothing like a break from work with the kittens.
Have any artists changed the way you see the world?
Ben Tibbits is an adventure photographer and mountain guide in Chamonix, France. He inspired me to carry my camera everywhere I go and capture the world for others who can't do those adventures themselves. I love to approach my adventure photography like him - not for myself - but for others.
If you could have dinner with anyone dead or alive, who would it be?
Probably the first cat I rescued, Limpy. He was the only cat I adopted and I loved him dearly. He ran away from home while my friend was looking after him and I was away guiding for a month in Victoria. I'd do anything for one more night with my sweet Limpy.
William Skea, at home amongst the snow and ice.
