Hello – well here we are again! This year has definitely been one to remember believe me. How some people behave towards their pets is completely soul-destroying, some have total disregard for them, but they seem to forget it was THEM who acquired the animal in the first place, and not the other way round!! We have though turned many sad tails into happy ones, and we are very grateful to all our new owners who have made it all possible.
Firstly I will get you up to date with some of our feline friends mentioned in our Summer Newsletter:
‘BooBoo’ 16 years old and her son ‘Toby’ 13 years old came to us when their ‘Mum’ sadly passed away. They both had blood tests done to find their health status. ‘BooBoo’s’ bloods were all in normal range, but unfortunately ‘Toby’ was found to have the start of kidney degeneration. He was started on supportive treatment straight away, and in every other way he was a fit and happy chap, so I wasn’t about to give up on him. I knew I was looking for a very special person, and I knew it was a very tall order, but thanks to Mo he is now in a very loving home where he is living a totally normal life, and he will remain with Mo for the rest of his natural life. I am SO grateful to you and your daughter for taking ‘Toby’ into your heart and your home. Thank You from all of us and of course from the boy himself!
‘BooBoo’ has moved in with Margaret, Felix and ‘Thomas’ and has settled very well. Thank you SO much for taking such an elderly lady into your life and giving her the love she so dearly deserves. ‘BooBoo’ does potter outside if the fancy takes her but definitely likes her home comforts! In fact she is probably 17 now, as they both came to us back in February. Two very lucky and very happy felines. Thank You.
We told you about ‘Bonnie’ who sadly had leukaemia, and at the time her mum ‘Maisie’ and aunt ‘Bella’ tested negative. To make sure this was a true negative we retested them both 6 weeks later. To our horror ‘Bella’ was positive. We have been repeating the tests at regular intervals, in fact she is due her next one in a weeks time, so we are on tenter hooks to say the least. Her last results were negative so we pray this one is too, then see where we go from there. ‘Bella’ is in a permanent foster home where she is absolutely adored. If she were to remain positive she will stay with Annabelle and Mark as an indoor cat, if, which now looks likely, she is negative she will either stay with them and be given access outside, or she may go for rehoming, and they will then continue to foster for us on an ongoing basis, the decision will be theirs once we know her health status for sure. ‘Maisie’ has already moved on to her new life as all her tests remained negative, so the Vet and the laboratory gave us the go ahead to rehome her. She is very happy and settled and doesn’t mind at all that she has her new owners all to herself, and doesn’t’ have to share them with anyone else!!
‘Thomas’ and ‘Emma’ approx: 7 weeks old were feral when they arrived. The language was appalling, certainly not repeatable!! To cut a long story short they have Hazelgrove after their names now!! They were still here when they were coming up to 5 months of age, with no interest being shown in them at all, so I decided to get the vaccinations done and the neutering, and if they were still here when all that was completed they would stay. As most of the permanent residents at ‘Bo-Jangles’ are ex feral they had the right qualifications!! They have settled very well, love the other cats and all is well.
‘Mitsie’ and her two kittens were also feral ( very! ) and they have gone on to live at a smallholding, having of course been neutered and microchipped first!!
‘Milly’ came to us back in July. She had been living in someone’s garden for several weeks, and needless to say no one had reported her missing! ‘Millie’ was only with us for three weeks before someone fell for her charms, and she was very soon moving in with her new owners and an elderly dog. She showed no adverse reaction on meeting her new canine friend and all has progressed well ever since. She can now come and go as she pleases throughout the day via her cat flap, and at night is to be found on one bed or another, or tightly curled up in some other cosy place. Her days of living in a hedge are over.
‘Tilly’ was brought to us in August from pretty sickening circumstances. She was about 14 weeks old and luckily her spirit hadn’t been affected by the treatment she had endured. ‘Tilly’ was chosen very quickly by a very caring couple, and almost as soon as her velvet paws crossed the threshold she knew she would never want for anything ever again. Ann and her husband already own an older cat ‘Oscar’ but he accepted ‘Tilly’ very well, he in fact was originally a stray, but moved in voluntarily a few years ago with them and their other cat!!
‘Sam’ 8 months old came to us having been forced to live outside for the last month or so, with no access into the house. But it also transpired that there was a 12 year old who had lived out all his life. No he wasn’t in any way feral, he had been acquired as a domestic kitten, kept in initially then banished from the house. I tried to persuade her to let me take both of them but it wasn’t to be. ‘Sam’ was undoctered obviously needed worm and flea treatments and was desperate for love, attention and human contact. Rest assured he received oodles of that later!! ‘Sam’ is now dearly loved, has taken over in his new home, loves the two golden retrievers and has convinced ‘Minnie’ ( an ex feline welfare resident ) that she is quite happy to share her home with him!! Thank you Jill and Frank for making this young cats life really worth living.
We received a phone call completely out of the blue from ‘Sam’s’ previous owner, at the beginning of October asking if I could take the 12 year old. I nearly tripped over my own feet trying to get to the car before she changed her mind!! Not before checking with Corinne that she could foster him for me. I could not believe that she was at last thinking of letting him go, but I wouldn’t be happy until I was driving away with him. I had asked her to get ‘Paws’ into the porch, so he would be there when I arrived. It wasn’t long before we were on our way with a promise from me that the rest of his life would be spent in the lap of luxury and that never again would he be out in the cold. Now well I’ll give you three guesses!! He has moved in with Corinne and her other rescue cats on a permanent basis. He LOVES spending hours and hours on her bed, sometimes sharing it with some of the others. Yes he can go out through the cat flap if he so wishes, but why would a boy want to go out there in the cold, wind and rain!! Maybe it might be nice in the Summer to have a few hours in the sun, but otherwise he is definitely going to be a couch potato!! What ever he wants from here on will be granted, and for the first time ever he is now truly loved. Thank you Corrine for making all his dreams come true. I have changed their names to enable me to tell their story.
‘Tiggy’ 14 years old came to us earlier in the year, she did initially go to live with Margaret, Felix and ‘Thomas’ but sadly it did not work out with ‘Thomas’ as she insisted on terrorising him, so we had to take her back. She now has a new home to go to very soon, where she will be the only cat, and will have Ruth’s undivided attention!! Home at Last.
We had a call at the beginning of September about a very young kitten found in someone’s hedge. Believe me he hadn’t got there himself. There were only three dwellings in this very rural area and he was in no way feral! Very original but I called him ‘Bramble,’ well that’s where he was found!! Anyway less than three weeks later he set off to his new home where he has settled really well. He will be a flat cat for probably 2 years, but the adventure playground they have provided for him is amazing. His new owners will be moving in the future, and then young man will have freedom through a cat flap in a cat friendly area, yet to be decided on.
‘Elvis’ I year old came to us having been a flat cat all his life, which obviously hadn’t suited his character at all. In a nutshell he was stir crazy, which resulted in a few temperament problems!! Against all odds though he was chosen three weeks later by a couple in a very rural area, and basically he hasn’t looked back since. ‘Elvis’ doesn’t go very far, but he does have acres to roam in if he so wishes, which is a long way from the life he was living before!! He is one very happy chappy!!
‘Sheba’ 6 months old came to us due to the owner being allergic. I am pretty sure it was the fleabites she was allergic to as poor ‘Sheba’ was very heavily flea infested. The girl must have been eaten alive I should think!! I had to mix her with ‘Suzi’ and ‘Meme’ as we were full at the time, but they soon got used to her scatty ways!! She is now settling well in her new home, which just proves that some people do love black cats, all too often they want anything but!! Personally I don’t understand that, you would only have to visit us here to see that!!
Back in October we were asked to take 5 kittens. We had their mother spayed prior to taking the kittens, so at least now there will be no more unwanted litters being born in that household. The kittens were black and black/white and they were an absolute delight. ‘Lucy’ was homed on her own, ‘Sylvester’ and ‘Mitsie’ went together as did ‘Joseph’ and ‘Jacob.’ They have all been in their new homes for just over two weeks now and their new owners are thrilled with them, and all are settling well.
‘Kit’ 6 months old came to us as her owner was unable to cope. She had originally come from London, so she was already well travelled! Her stay with us was very brief, because she set off to her new home a week after she had come into our care! She is now living with ‘Holly’ who we homed in May and their other cat ‘Justin.’ On meeting ‘Justin’ she really let the side down and fell madly in love with him, refusing to give him a minutes peace!! I think things have settled down a bit now, and if not already, she will be allowed out soon, which also will be a completely new experience for her, as she has never ever been outside. Don’t know what she will think of all this wind and rain – but I can guess!!
‘Sooty’ came to light in our area towards the end of October. I went to see him, scanner at the ready. He was actually chipped but the registered address was in north Yorkshire and the landline was no longer in use. Luckily though the owners had reported him to one of the other rescue centres and they had the owners current phone number. ‘Sooty’ had been missing since April. The owners came to the Island due to a family crisis and his lordship went awol on the day they arrived.
Linda and Colin very kindly offered to foster ‘Sooty’ while a way was worked out to get him back to Yorkshire. A relative on the Island collected ‘Sooty’ just over a week later, they took him over to Southampton and the owners met them there. We have heard from them since and now their family is complete once again, everyone is very happy. They honestly thought they would never see him again, so when we spoke to them on the phone to say he had been found they couldn’t believe their ears!! A happy ending indeed.
We have been involved with 5 feral colonies so far this year. Some have been returned to the same site once neutered/spayed, microchipped, health checked and treated for worms and fleas, others have been rehomed. At present we still have ‘Rupert’ and ‘Rosie’ 7 months old. ‘Rupert’ has come round quite well but ‘Rosie’ is struggling a bit!!
We are at present just starting another colony, but it seems there may be some tiny kittens camouflaged somewhere on a bank in the area, so we have our work cut out now to locate them before we attempt to trap the mother. Nothing is ever straight forward, especially with ferals!! Never mind at least I know I will never be bored!!
Those are just some of our ‘happy tails’ but we obviously have some still patiently waiting for the chance of a loving and settled future:
‘Murphy’ we think is about 3 years old. He is a very handsome blue longhair, and again his sole accommodation was under a hedge. He had been living like this for some time, and despite notices being displayed by his finder no one came forward to claim him. Yet another one who had obviously fallen out of outer space!! The people whose garden he was in were unable to take him in as they already owned a cat, and she definitely was not pleased with his presence!! They did start to feed him though as time went on, especially as they were getting no response from their posters. He is a very gentle chap and would probably be fine with other cats, and possibly even a cat friendly dog.
All our cats looking for homes can be viewed either on Wightbay or on our website: www.felinewelfareiow.co.uk
‘Suzi’ tortoishell 10 years and ‘Meme’ Black/white 4 years have now been in our care for over 2 years. There is no feasible reason why they should be passed by all the time. We have in fact had three people interested in them, but ALL were from the area where they came from!! Unbelievable!! Linda and Colin did try them for about three months, but unfortunately it didn’t work out with ‘Fred.’ When they first came to us, due to a marriage break up, they were quite weary of people they didn’t know, but now they are much braver and generally don’t hide when people come. They just love laps and are really loving little characters. If you feel you have room in your heart for this lovely pair please call us.
‘Smudge’ tortie/white two and a half years and her daughter ‘Roxy’ torti eighteen months came to us in July and are still waiting patiently for a loving home. They are absolutely adorable, really affectionate and outgoing – what more do they have to do to catch someone’s eye. We would love to think they will be in a loving home in time for Christmas, but if the last few months are anything to go by that seems unlikely. We may consider splitting them if the circumstances were right, as to a certain extent ‘Smudge’ lives in ‘Roxy’s’ shadow. If you feel you can offer these lovely cats the home they yearn for please call us.
‘Geri’ torti tabby/white 12 years old is with us because her elderly owner has gone into permanent residential care. She is an affectionate little cat, and would really love a quiet home like the one she had grown to love and has now lost.
‘Megan’ torti/white approx: 5 years, maybe younger was yet another abandoned by uncaring owners. She had taken up residence in someone’s garden. Luckily the weather wasn’t too bad as we managed to take her at the end of October, but I don’t think she would have been very happy if she was still out there now!! No one has claimed her needless to say, so she is now looking for someone who really cares.
The odd couple came next!! We had a call from a lady about two cats who were basically living under cars in the street. As soon as anyone opened their front doors they would do their best to get into the houses, which wasn’t going down very well with some people
‘Mally’ probably between 12-18months and undoctered. ‘Pickles’ on the other hand barely 5 months old, a very strange combination, and not one you’d expect to see!
Anyway ‘Mally’ has now been neutered, microchipped and blood tested for leukaemia and aids, it is ‘Pickles’ turn this week! They will soon be looking to start their new lives in a caring, permanent home. Please call us if you feel you can help.
The same weekend we took in two more young cats from a completely different area. The people didn’t know if they were connected because ‘Alfie’ was at the front of the terrace and the little girl was in the back garden, but they were almost identical!! We took ‘Alfie’ first only for them to arrive with the little female the following day! ‘Amie’ ( as she is now known! )had walked in on them and then refused to leave!! We put them in together and it was very obvious they knew each other; again they have not been claimed. They are going to the Vets this week to be neutered and spayed etc so in a couple of weeks they will also be looking for a new home. We think they are about a year old or just under. It would, at times, be interesting if these animals could talk, but perhaps it is better we don’t know what has gone before in some cases!!
We have been finding instances of leukaemia and aids this year, which is associated with mainly undoctered toms and indiscriminate breeding. Some cat owners are jumping on the bandwagon seeing an opening to make easy money by breeding from their pet cat/s. On the internet moggie kittens are being sold for an average of £40 each. The health status is not at all clear and obviously none have received any vaccinations. We have taken several kittens from people who have acquired them privately and we have then been faced with serious health issues, not all of which being visible.
We are trying to promote the Special Neutering and Spaying Scheme as we need more people with un-neutered cats/kittens, who are unable to afford the full Veterinary cost due to a low income, to come forward as we may be able to help.
The cat situation on the Island is now at crisis point, the calls to all the rescue centres to take in cats and kittens are endless, but there are not enough spaces to help them all, and the waiting list just gets longer. The Island Gazette did an article in November highlighting the problems being faced, which we are very grateful for. We did find several homes following the article, so we were able to take quite a few more in, but we are still not keeping up with the demand.
If more people were to get their pets spayed and neutered there would be less of a population crisis and we would see fewer cases of serious disease and neglect.
I would now like to thank everyone who has made our rescue work possible. Some people give regular donations of food and litter, which is a great help. Many continue to provide us with saleable items, which we do need on an ongoing basis.
Liz, Doug and Vanessa have again worked tirelessly raising much needed funds to enable us to continue our work. They also clock up a lot of miles a year collecting from people and going to various functions and events. Thank you all very much for all your help and great support in more ways than one.
Sally has helped several times this year with fostering and also has given no end of moral and practical support for which we are most grateful.
Linda and Colin have been fostering for us this year, and they have also taken on the task of keeping our entries on Wightbay and our website up to date, which is a great help to us, as I wouldn’t know where to start!! They have also been very supportive in every other way for which I am most grateful.
Nigel and Katrina have helped in various ways. They are usually the ones who turn out if a crisis arises while I am at work during the night, and they are always willing, whatever the time, to collect the animal in trouble. Nigel regularly joins in with the feral colonies and also see’s to all our printing requirements. Katrina’s cooking skills also come into action for our Fayre’s! Many thanks to you both.
Harry has helped with the cats on an almost daily basis throughout the year, for which we are very grateful.
We would like to thank all the Vets, Nurses and Receptionists at Green and Forster for all their hard work during the last year with all our animal friends, some, as we know, being easier than others!! I am of course referring to our feral friends!!
Creature Comforts have again provided a fantastic service, so thank you both very much.
If anyone is interested in helping in any way just give me a call. You may like to spend some time with the cats in our care while they are awaiting new homes, or perhaps you may like to foster on a short-term basis. There are lots of ways you can help and we would be very pleased to hear from you.
If you are able to donate any unwanted gifts or bric-a-brac or a raffle prize etc for our fund raising stalls please contact Liz and Doug on: 298882 or Vanessa on:883402
Thank You All Again Very, Very Much for Your Help and Support – Making All Our Work Possible
