It doesn’t seem possible that we are half way through July already. At least we are having decent weather for once, long may it last!
I will now give you a quick update on the cats mentioned in our last Newsletter.
‘Rosie’ and ‘Rupert’ are about to put Hazelgrove after their name! They came to us back in October as feral kittens and although they have come round very well, it still isn’t good enough to persuade someone to fall for their charms! When they first meet new people they tend to hide or at least hold back, but once they know you ‘Rupert’ in particular is really affectionate.
‘Suzi’ tortoishell 11 years old and ‘MeMe’ black/white 4 years old have now been with us for 3 years!!! Why I will never know. We homed them both when they were kittens, but unfortunately their owner’s marriage broke up so they came back into our care. Initially they would hide if they saw someone they didn’t know, but now they go to whoever comes in!!! They really are a lovely pair; both are lap cats and just have lovely temperaments. Because they have been with us for so long I would consider splitting them if the home was right, but would prefer if it was ‘Suzi’ who went first if that was the case, as I could then mix ‘MeMe’ with another cat or kitten. ‘Marmite’ is actually in with them at the moment, she is a little tortoishell about 10 months old now.
‘Smudge’ tortoishell/white 3 years and ‘Roxy’ tortoishell 2 years have been with us for a year ! You wouldn’t find a more friendly and outgoing pair. Whether it is pairs people are avoiding because of the expense I really don’t know. This delightful pair are being fostered by Linda and Colin who absolutely adore them.
‘Amie’ and ‘Alfie’ both black and white and we think about 20 months old are also still waiting patiently to catch someone’s eye. They are at present being fostered by Corrine but like all the others are desperate for a loving home to call their own.
If you feel you can offer these adorable cats a happy, safe loving future please call us. They would all love to feel grass under their paws once again, and to feel the sense of freedom that cats naturally need and enjoy.
‘Geri’ now 13 years old has found a super home with a retired lady and they really are sole mates. ‘Geri’s’ previous owner went into care and sadly passed away shortly after, but ‘Geri’ has gone on to make another older lady very happy, and the feeling is mutual believe me!!
‘Megan’ approx: 5 years old abandoned and left to fend for herself. Now, well she is totally settled with her new owners and has her very own garden to laze about in – correction – she has to share ‘her’ garden with a rather bossy tortoise, I am not joking I have seen it for myself!! ‘Megan’ being the lady she is though takes it all in her stride!!!
‘Mally’ and ‘Pickles’ had a terrible start to their lives but they are now in a lovely home with ‘parents’ who adore them. Never again will they have to worry where the next meal is coming from and never again will they be shut out in the cold. Home at Last.
Just before Christmas we were called out to an 8 week old kitten who had spent several days sheltering under cars. Every time someone stopped and parked their car he would try and jump in, the same happened when people opened their front doors he would try and run in. Thankfully a young couple eventually took him in and called us at about 11 at night. He was soon warm and cosy at ‘Bo-Jangles’ with a very full tummy. Now, well he is happily settled in his new home with ‘Jasper’ an ex Feline Welfare resident and a large Labrador X who is also rescued.
Last November we were called to help with a colony of nearly 30 farm cats and kittens. An impossible task, or so we thought. The County Press did an article to highlight the plight of the cats, as originally the farm only wanted 6 cats back, but luckily as time went on we did manage to return 10. Without the help that this article provided it would have been a completely different outcome, so we are very grateful to the County Press for agreeing to offer their help in this way. All the remaining cats, bar one, were found alternative outside homes, and 5 of the kittens are now in fact domestic pets. All needless to say needed to be neutered, flea’d, wormed, microchipped and health checked again this would not have been possible without the financial help from the RSPCA Animal Home at Godshill and the Cats Protection at Ryde. We are obviously very grateful to both Centres for making this all possible and in turn enabling us to help these cats in their hour of need.
Calls involving feral cats and kittens have continued to come in. Our first little family were trapped in January. The mother originally had 4 kittens, one unfortunately was killed on the road but where the other two went is a mystery. We did remove the Mum and her remaining kitten and unfortunately they are still with us, still waiting for a suitable outside home. Her daughter is now about 10 months old and both are spayed, microchipped and health checked. We would prefer them to go back to the original area but the lady who was feeding them is not to keen unfortunately, and obviously we wouldn’t release them back unless they were going to be fed and kept an eye on.
We were called back to a colony in March where we had neutered and released 7 adults and rehomed 2 kittens at the end of last year. We think, and hope, we have now completed the colony, as on our return we managed to trap ‘Dad’ and 3 kittens, all have been released after being neutered and spayed. All quiet at present so we live in hope!!!
June saw our next little feral family – Mum and two tabby kittens. Mum is now back and it being fed on a regular basis and has also been offered shelter by the kind people who own ‘her’ garden!! The kittens are now living in the lap of luxury with Linda and Al, their feral days now completely forgotten!
Family No:4 appeared 2 weeks later in another part of the Island. This time it was Mum and 4 babies! Mum has been spayed etc and has been returned, she too is being fed daily and the kind couple keep an eye on her well-being. The kittens are now rehomed in pairs and all settling in well. All were a bit feisty as they really did not know what humans were, but now they are being gently persuaded that not all are bad and they are responding well!
We still have a single feral to trap and release once we have worked our way through our present colony, most of these being pregnant just to complicate matters!!
We have also had to remove single ferals who were causing problems with neighbouring cats, and so it goes on.
Now onto our domestic friends:
‘Murphy’ came to us as a stray and although the people put posters up in the area there was no response. He wasn’t claimed while in our care so a few weeks later he set off to start his new life. He is very much loved and will never again be out in the cold wondering where his next meal is coming from.
‘Spike’ 2 years old came from Southampton originally. The couple rang us to say the girlfriend had been evicted and the cat’s only accommodation was in a basket in the back of the car. They had been driving round the Island trying to find someone to take him. We were full but luckily Corinne managed to accommodate him and as soon as we had space here he came over to No:3. ‘Spike’ was undoctered so that was remedied straight away needless to say! He is now very settled in his new home and has a canine friend who he loves to play chase with!
‘Sky’ 6 years old came to us having been used as breeding machine and she was living in complete squalor. She was covered in scabs and bald patches due to a heavy flea infestation, but once she had been treated her skin improved dramatically. We had her spayed to draw a very definite line under any more kittens being produced, and she has turned into a very loving little cat, whereas when she first arrived we saw a very different picture. ‘Sky’ is now settling well into her new home, her past now just a distant nightmare.
‘Marmite’ tortoishell now 9-10 months old is a very sweet little character and is waiting patiently to catch someone’s eye. She is in with ‘Suzie’ and ‘MeMe’ at present so at least she has the company of other felines. She does play with ‘MeMe’ but ‘Suzi’ is too superior to join in!!!
‘Tasha’ 12 years and ‘Lucy’ 10 years were homed by us 10 years ago but unfortunately their owner has had to dramatically down size and has moved into an apartment having sadly lost her husband. The girls have always had access to a safe garden and have been free to come and go as they please, so it would not have been right to take that freedom away from them. They have been together all this time so we are trying to find a suitable home so they can continue their life in the custom they have now come to expect!! They are lovely affectionate cats and very easy to live with.
‘Daisy’ came to us in an appalling state. She was obviously of advanced years. She was covered in deep infected scabs and very little hair on her back end, tail and legs. She was skin and bone and very heavily flea infested. She probably had arthritis in her back legs as they used to give way and she didn’t have a lot of power in them. She was absolutely starving. We had to feed her little and often as she ate whatever you gave her instantly. Over the weeks she gradually filled out and her food anxiety went. Her coat came back completely and she just looked like a different cat. The only thing still lingering was the weakness in her back legs. We took her to the Vet once she started to improve only to be delivered with the devastating news – she was FIV positive. I know her owners probably could not have prevented her getting the Aids virus, but they certainly could have looked after her a darn sight better, they hadn’t even bothered with her day to day care, so why have her in the first place? I will never understand some people as long as I live.
‘Ellie’ was abandoned in a car park in a cardboard box just e few weeks ago. She is about 7 months old and is actually at the Vet being spayed as I write! This is not an isolated case either as several have now been found left in various places in cardboard boxes. There is so much indiscriminate breeding going on, and kittens are being sold for profit, but when they can’t sell them they are dumping them without a thought for the animals welfare. A lot of people have caught on to the fact that they can advertise animals on the Internet free off charge, and it has basically turned into a meat market. There are endless ads for kittens ranging from £10 – £40 and it is fact that some are being sold with heavy flea and worm infestation and some are noticeably unwell. When they find they cannot sell all the kittens the problem escalates. Sites like Wightbay are encouraging indiscriminate breeding of all animals and unfortunately the animal’s best interest is not being considered. ‘Ellie’ is just one example of this and when the Vet opened her up to spay her todaythey found she was about 2 weeks pregnant – I wonder if her previous owner knew that? They didn’t want the bother of one let alone half a dozen!! She is safe now and will go on to a caring home in time. Probably in the long term her owner has done her a favour, what sort of life would she have had with someone who could abandon her the way they did.
We are still running our Neutering Scheme; in fact we are now offering Microchiping at a very reasonable rate to those coming through the Scheme. Unfortunately the RSPCA have now withdrawn their support for the Scheme, so we have no alternative but to raise the amount we charge the owner. This is having an effect as not all of those who enquire can afford the increase in price, even though they are still getting the operation done for nearly half the full price charged by the Veterinary Surgeries. We are desperate for this scheme to continue, as without it the cat situation will be in an even worse state than it is already, and no caring person wants to see that happen. It would help us a great deal if we could find someone to sponsor the scheme. Maybe a business could help us as it is vital this kind of support for low income families is available. We are going to be struggling, so if you know of any way you can help us, or maybe put us in touch with someone else who may be able to help please call me. If the Scheme can be sponsored we may be able to lower the price so as to make it more attractive and more in reach of people’s financial situations. This Scheme has worked really well for nearly 10 years, please help us help those who really need this kind of support, and in turn draw a line under these poor creatures being breed for human gain.
The residents at ‘Bo-Jangles’ now have a very dedicated ‘Auntie!’ Jenny has been a cat cuddler for about 3 months now and spends several hours with the cats on an almost daily basis. It is a great help to me and it also helps to socialise the cats in our care, especially if we have any who are a little timid. Jenny was recommended to us by Linda so we are very grateful to you both, as it is working out really well for all concerned.
If you feel you can offer one or two of our furry friends a loving home please do not hesitate to contact us. Or if you would like to help by fund raising or maybe you may like to foster on a short term basis. We can always do with help housing our rescue cats and we pay all expenses whilst in your care.
We are always on the look out for bric-a-brac, unwanted gifts and raffle prizes etc. In fact our stocks are dangerously low so we would be very grateful for anything you may want to send our way!! Liz, Doug and Vanessa have been fund raising since the weather improved and they would love to hear from you if you find you have some items you wish to pass on to us. There telephone numbers are: Liz and Doug:298882 and Vanessa:883402.
I will close now but will return later in the year with more stories to tell. I just hope the cat situation has improved by then, but I fear there will be no magical cure. We will endeavour though with those who come into our care to make their sad tails into happy tails.
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