Newsletter 24 April 2009

Dear Friends – welcome to CATWEL newsletter number 24.

We are having to ask people to be patient! The autumn of 2008 was one of the worst I have known since I became involved in cat rescue. After an exceptionally busy ‘kitten season’ - when priority is always given to mothers and kittens – the phone never stopped ringing, with demands that stray and abandoned cats be taken into care immediately. What some people fail to realise is that the space we have is limited. Also, if we have a mother and kittens in a pen, it could be occupied for at least three months! We don’t home the kittens until they are eight weeks old, and then we have to get their mother spayed – and find her a home, which often takes months. Also, we get occasional ‘bouncers’, re-homed cats which are returned to us. They always get priority as we guarantee we will take cats back if things don’t work out. Added to all this we have the ‘credit crunch’ and mortgage foreclosures, which exacerbate the situation! I do keep a waiting list, but it is long and, inevitably, we sometimes have to let a cat ‘jump the queue’. If it’s a choice between a 5 year-old male who has been waiting for months and a 6 month old female kitten, we have to take the kitten – she could end up having a litter outside, which might be the start of a feral colony. Also, she will be easier to home, thus releasing valuable space. When people phone, the cats are invariably referred to as ‘strays’ – although they may have been feeding them for months, sometimes for years. The fact that they are off on a long cruise next week has nothing to do with it, of course… So what I am trying to explain is that we are doing a difficult job in difficult times, and the situation is unlikely to improve any time soon! If we can’t help someone immediately, it is not because we don’t want to, it is because we can’t. If only we had a lovely farm with lots of ground!

OUR ANNUAL SOCIAL was a great success! Because so many of our supporters prefer not to venture out of doors on a winter evening, we decided to hold it on Saturday afternoon
December 6th. It was a popular decision, and many of our ‘regulars’ attended. It was lovely to see you all, and the time passed so quickly that I didn’t get a chance to thank you properly for coming along, and for your unfailing support throughout 2008. We are extremely grateful.

Our resident cats enjoyed a special Christmas dinner! Marilyn and Gerry Oram were given a turkey, and as they are vegetarians they donated it to CATWEL. Our cats hope Marilyn and Gerry’s nut roast was delicious, too!

Grateful thanks to Lynne Isanski, for donating £100 in memory of her beloved father Ron, who loved all animals, but cats in particular. Thanks also to Sian and Gwyn Davies, who donated £100 in memory of their beautiful longhaired tabby cat, adopted from CATWEL. We greatly appreciate the generosity of people who remember human or feline loved ones by helping us.

WAS IT A HOAX? It was 10.30 on a Saturday night. I was on my way to bed, Iris was already in bed. The young woman who phoned said she had found a four month old kitten in a box in the Bay area of Cardiff. I explained that we would not be able to help until the following morning, when arrangements would be made to collect the kitten at 8.30am. The woman said she could not keep the kitten overnight as she had a Husky dog. I suggested that she kept it in her bathroom, isolated from the dog, and she agreed. Next morning Iris contacted me. She had phoned three times to confirm the arrangements, but had no reply. At 11am she called at the apartment – again, no reply. The strange thing is, I know the particular apartments in the Bay where this person supposedly lived – and no pets are allowed. So why did she say she had a Husky? Could it just have been someone, a bit bored and playing around, who wanted to drag us down to the Bay at 11’0’clock at night? Certainly not my idea of a joke, nor Iris’s.

AN URGENT REMINDER! Flea sprays and powders intended for dogs and containing Permethrin can kill cats. Cats can even be affected if they go near a dog which has been treated with one of these products. Please - be aware!
MANY THANKS to the Jean Sainsbury Animal Welfare Trust for their very generous grant. This will enable us to improve the public area of Ty Mair, our homing centre. We will use it enlarge the office, and improve the storage and toilet facilities. All these areas are essential for the efficient running of the centre. Also, grateful thanks to the Pet Plan charitable trust. They too will be awarding us a grant, and this will be used for other very necessary projects at Ty Mair. Strangely, we receive more help from English charitable trusts than from those situated more closely to us! Help which is greatly appreciated.

All’s well that ends well! During our Spring Fayre a young woman approached me, asking how she could trace the owner of a young cat which had been ‘hanging around’ her house in Lake Road North. She wanted to keep the cat, if possible, but didn’t want to deprive someone of their pet. Her family had already named the cat, and they all loved her, even the dog! We agreed that I should visit the next day, and scan the cat for a microchip. The scan produced a number, and we very quickly established that the owner lived in the Heath area. Regrettably, the ‘finders’ had only advertised the cat around Roath Park. But it turned out that the original owners had only had the cat for three weeks before she went missing – and had been talked into adopting her by their vet, to whom she had been taken as a stray. Unfortunately, their tom cat didn’t approve, and he was spraying everywhere in protest! The solution, of course, was an obvious one - the little cat stayed with the people who had found her, and everyone was happy, including the dog!

WE ARE STILL DIGGING FOR GOLD! PLEASE CONTINUE TO LOOK OUT FOR SCRAPS OF GOLD AND SILVER – LIKE BROKEN CHAINS OR BROOCHES, AND SINGLE EARRINGS! OLD MEDALS AND BADGES, TOO. WE CAN CONVERT ALL THESE INTO CASH. AND WE ALWAYS WANT BOOKS AND BRIC-A-BRAC,ETC!

A home for Gabby! My husband and I were emptying the food donation box in Sainsbury’s Thornhill Store when a lady approached us. She explained that someone she knew was terminally ill. The person had made provision for the care of her own cat, but no help was forthcoming for the stray she had been feeding. The lady confirmed that the stray was a domestic cat which had been thrown out by the resident of a Gabalfa flat. At that time he was an un-neutered kitten of six months, and in the three years since then he had never been loved, or had a home. Even the person who had been feeding him tried to shoo him away, but where could he go? We agreed to take him into care in early September 2008. He was not even litter trained, but with a lot of patience Helen put that right. However, during this training process it became clear that he had a bowel infection. A stay at the vet’s and a special diet greatly improved things, and he – now named Gabby – was soon using his tray and enjoying normal food. He was almost ready for homing, but nobody wanted him. Being chased away had made him timid, and when anyone visited his pen he ran away and hid. All the CATWEL helpers loved Gabby, but other people wouldn’t give him a second glance. That is, until a lady called Christine saw him! Her fourteen year old cat had died the previous Saturday, and she was desperate for another. When Christine phoned me, I told her about the various cats we had in care, but it was Gabby she was interested in. No, she didn’t mind that he was timid and not especially beautiful, nor if he didn’t turn out to be a ‘lap cat’. She just loved big tom cats. So they were introduced, and it was love at first sight! Gabby didn’t hide, he rubbed against her and purred. No other cats were viewed, they had chosen each other. We love it when this happens – because there really is a cat for everyone, if we can just get them together!

Can cats return in spirit? A gentleman recently told me of a strange happening, following the death of his old cat. He used to cook frozen fish by quickly bringing it to the boil in a pan, then removing it from the heat so that the house would not smell of fish. It was then mixed with tinned food and thoroughly enjoyed by his cat! When the cat died he gave the remaining fish to his neighbour, who lived on the other side of his drive. A few weeks later he went downstairs one morning to be met with the unpleasant smell of boiling fish. The smell did eventually disappear, but it came back a few days later. He assumed his neighbour had been boiling the fish, and when they met he remarked that it had not taken long for her to use it. But no - the fish was still in her freezer! A Spiritualist friend suggested that maybe his cat had returned to thank him for his kindness. What do you think?

CATWEL’S WET AUTUMN AUCTION! Once our fund-raising events are over they are usually forgotten as we start planning future ones. However, the auction held on September 5th 2008 was an exception. Everywhere was soaked, there were floods, and despite predictions that the rain would stop on the 5th, the weather disagreed and it continued to pour down. The ‘gang’ worked hard in transporting and setting up, and by evening everything was ready. I looked around the room despondently, wondering how we would clear it later if the rain kept everyone away. I felt certain that would be the case! Then, a miracle – one by one our supporters turned up, the room was full of smiling faces, and we raised £967! You will never know just how greatly you are appreciated, for your generous donations of money, and goods to sell, and for your unstinting support of our fundraising events. Thank you all so very much.

Sometimes we just get lucky! Hugo came to us from the home of an elderly gentleman. The reason for re-homing him was that he was terrified of going out, for fear of being attacked by local youths. Pippa was not keen on children, either! She was a young tortie and got on well with adults. However, she hated being penned and used to shake with fear. Fosterer Roz decided to put them together in a bedroom. The two complex little cats quickly became firm friends, playing and sleeping together. But how would we find a home for them? Then along came Rachel, a lovely professional lady who was used to having cats with funny ways, and who wanted to adopt two ‘indoor’ cats! When I told Roz, she thought Christmas had come! So Hugo and Pippa went with Rachel and have settled wonderfully. And not only did Rachel give two ‘difficult’ cats a home – she is now a valued member of our team, and helps with our fundraising, and at Ty Mair most Saturdays. What a result, for Hugo, Pippa and CATWEL!

So much for family promises… The old gentleman knew he was dying. His only anxiety was for the welfare of his beloved companions, a cat and a dog. However, his worries were over when his daughter agreed to care for the cat, and his son for the dog. After their father’s death the dog was quickly removed by the son. There are rumours that it is not being looked after properly, but I don’t know if that is true. However, I received a phone call from one of the old man’s neighbours, telling me that his council flat was being redecorated and that nobody was caring for the cat. Iris visited the neighbour regularly and took cat food. Then, at last, the daughter made an appearance and remarked to the neighbour that the cat was still there. She then drove away, making no provision for her father’s cat, which was living in a makeshift shelter that would no longer be available when new tenants moved in. Not surprisingly, the cat came into CATWEL’s care! A gentle fourteen year old, who deserved much better treatment from the family of her late owner. After a great deal of veterinary treatment, including the removal of a benign leg tumour and four teeth, she was given the usual flea and worm remedies and blood tests, and pronounced fit for re-homing. The treatment, naturally, was expensive – but so worthwhile, that’s what cat rescue is all about! Then two lovely young ladies offered dear old Mitsy a home, where she would be warm and safe. However, Claire and Menai had adopted her when their CATWEL cat Monty went missing - and via his microchip he was eventually found! Claire and Menai told us ‘we were concerned with how our two elderly residents would get on’, but apart from some hissing, all is well. ‘Mitsy’s coat is glossy and she has put on weight… and Monty is as friendly as ever’.They added ‘we may not have planned on owning two cats, but we are very happy with these two and are sure they will keep us entertained for many years to come.’ So are we!

This bloomin’ recession – as soon as it hit the headlines the throw-outs started. How much does it cost to feed a little cat? During the frugal thirties, the war years and those following, money was scarce but people still fed their cats. These days, many of them just get dumped!

Welcome to Jenny - fostering again after a serious illness. We’re delighted to have you back!

A MICRO-CHIPPING MYSTERY – As you know, I’ve frequently related stories of our micro-chipping experiences (see page 3 of this newsletter!). Sometimes we take in cats which have been chipped, but the owner has abandoned the cat. It is then necessary for us to prove that we have tried to trace them by advertising in the local paper, to confirm that the cat has indeed been abandoned. Alternatively, we have to prove that a chipped cat has been officially signed over to CATWEL. Not always straightforward! However, the most complicated mix-up occurred recently, when we accepted a cat from an owner who had been evicted from her home. She told us where the cat could be found - sitting on the front doorstep of a house in Splott. We collected the cat, found it a lovely new home, and set about getting the micro-chip details changed. There was a snag, though – the number had been allocated to a horse! Fortunately, a further scan located another chip, which did give the cat’s real details. But what about the horse? It can be mysterious, this cat rescue business!

Our first kittens of 2009 were born on March 25th - the little family is doing well!









A HAPPY ENDING – we do get them, and they make all the work we do worthwhile. A number of years ago I was asked to help with a cat which had given birth in a young lady’s house. We had the mother cat spayed and homed her kittens. The young lady wanted to keep ‘mum’ and named her ‘Precious’, and we were very happy for them both. Until recently, that is, when a neighbour phoned to advise me that the owner had moved away and no longer had any interest in Precious. Also, the poor cat was suffering from a severe flea allergy, which must have been causing her terrible distress. It was agreed that Iris would investigate, and a place was set aside for her at our homing centre. However, when the day to take her into care arrived, she had disappeared! We managed to track her down at a kind gentleman’s home where she had been spending some of her time. He was happy for us to take her to the vet, and although we had been told she was timid he brought her to the door in his arms. Precious was examined, given an injection to relieve the irritation and ‘Stronghold’ to eliminate the fleas, then returned to the new home she had chosen for herself – and where ‘her’ gentleman was anxiously waiting for her. It has been agreed that Precious will be treated on a monthly basis to avoid further problems, and she is now living permanently and very happily only yards away from where she was ‘dumped’. A wonderful result.

Many thanks to Waitrose, Pontprennau for including us in their March 2009 charity collection.

And ever onwards!
Below we have news of our future fundraising events:
Saturday, May 30th – Summer Fayre at Christ Church Hall, Lake Rd North, starts 2pm.
Saturday, July 11th – our stall at Roath Park, part of a charity event beginning at noon.
Friday, September 4th – Auction, Christ Church Hall, viewing from 6.15pm, bidding 7.15pm.
Saturday, October 2nd – Autumn Fayre at Christ Church Hall, starts 2pm.
Saturday, December 5th – CATWEL social afternoon, starts 2pm.
NB: subject to the availability of sufficient goods, we may hold a second auction sometime in November (possibly 6th). This will be confirmed by notices in the South Wales Echo.

HOMES NEEDED! NB: All the cats currently on our web-site have been homed. It is in the process of being updated. Some new residents looking for homes include:

1. Two 3year old sisters - one tabby and white, one black and white.
2. 2year old tabby male, very good natured.
3. Black mother and kitten, kitten a bit timid. Need to stay together.
4.12-18 month old female, white with black patches.
5. 1year old black male, super temperament.
6.1year old black & white male.

Thank you very much for reading our 24th newsletter - we do hope you enjoyed it, and we look forward to seeing you at our fundraising events.