Newsletter May 2010

Dear Friends – welcome to CATWEL newsletter number 26.

As I set pen to paper in January 2010, with the Christmas and New Year celebrations well and truly over, I’m hoping we can enjoy a few months of relative peace before the next rush of kittens! By the time you read this newsletter I expect the ‘kitten season’ will be upon us, but meanwhile I’d like to reflect on 2009, and thank everyone who did such a lot to support us throughout that year. Forgive me if I seem to repeat myself in every issue, but we owe so much to so many people that I’m always anxious that someone may have gone unmentioned. I really do want everyone to know how greatly they are appreciated! The Prize Draw for 2009 raised the astronomic figure of £1,400 – the generosity of those who participated in this is truly remarkable. I am thankful too for all the Christmas cards and notes I received, containing donations, from people not participating in the draw. I try to acknowledge all of these personally, but sometimes they don’t include an address, so I would like to assure you that they are all received with gratitude – likewise, the goods donated for us to sell, the donations of cat food in our supermarket boxes, regular monthly donations, and sponsorship of our permanent residents. The kindness and thoughtfulness of our supporters never ceases to amaze and delight me. The cats of Cardiff are so lucky to have you all!

THE 2009 PRIZE DRAW WINNERS WERE: Molly Hughes; Mr & Mrs Davies; Shirley Bevan; M. Watts; R. Edwards; Mrs Catford; Jean Evans; Mrs Watts; S. Bligh; and Jean Culliford.

COINCIDENTALLY…The message was left on my phone at 8.30am. A lady had found two stray kittens on her driveway. She couldn’t keep them, so could we collect? Due to pressure of work I was unable to return her call until the following evening – when she was pleased to tell me the problem had already been resolved. She had phoned her sister, who lived in a rural area, asking if she would like the kittens. Yes, her sister said, because her own two kittens were missing! I’m sure you’ll have guessed by now - the little pair had stowed away in one sister’s car, and hopped out onto the other sister’s driveway!

Sad News. It is with great sadness that I report the recent deaths of two people who were very important to CATWEL: Trustee Jan Jauregui and longstanding supporter Christine Richardson. Their friends and families have our deepest sympathy.

Why was no-one searching for him? During that bitterly cold spell at the end of November, I received a call to tell me that a black and white cat had taken up residence in a lady’s shed. She had started to feed him regularly and, because of the weather, was now letting him into her home. As soon as we had a free place we took him into care – and a veterinary examination revealed that he was about thirteen, and suffering from a thyroid condition. After treatment and surgery, he came to me to be fostered. I named him Billy, and he was soon endearing himself to us. He was affectionate, but didn’t pester, and was very clean. He quickly located the sunniest spots in our garden – and my bedroom – and just as quickly it became obvious that he had found himself a permanent home! My husband and the rest of my family love him, and so, of course, do I. My husband and I are ‘getting on’ and would never have considered adopting a young cat after our lovely old Ginger died – but Billy soon realised that we had a vacancy for a handsome older gentleman like himself! I still wonder where he came from, and why no-one was looking for him. Despite advertising in the South Wales Echo, nobody came forward – yet he is so affectionate and well behaved that I’m sure he must once have had a good home. Another little mystery that will never be solved!

A PERFECT HOMING! ‘My sons would like a little kitten to join our family’ the lady said. ‘We would like a small 8 week old kitten so that it will grow up with us, and we would prefer a fluffy one.’ I explained that the only young kittens in care at the moment were just 3 weeks old, although we also had a lovely natured black and white kitten aged 6 or 7 months. He was called Dylan, and was very friendly. When I met the family next day I was told they would like to see Dylan, and this was arranged for the following week. When the day arrived, Ben (who had been the most anxious for a kitten) only wanted to see Dylan. He went straight into Dylan’s pen, popped him into a carrier, and off they went! That evening I had a call to say how delighted they all were with their new family member – and a week later heard that while cuddling Dylan, Ben had announced ‘My life is now complete’. What better encouragement to continue with our cat rescue work than to take in a kitten found running up and down Westgate Street, then place him in the loving arms of young Ben!

A sadder tale, but still heart-warming…A colleague of one of our supporters had taken in a stray cat, which seemed to be a little unwell. They loved it already and would definitely keep it, but could we help with the cost of neutering? Of course, I said, and we will also pay for a full veterinary check and any necessary treatment. An appointment was made with our vet, and by this time the cat had taken a particular ‘shine’ to the man of the house, and enjoyed sitting on his lap. But sadly, before the day of the appointment came round, the cat was found curled up in ‘Dad’s’ chair one morning – he had died in his sleep. A sad story; but so good to know that after being a stray, he at least ended his life in the comfort of a very loving home.

In Memoriam: We are especially grateful when our charity is remembered at times of great personal sadness, and would like to thank the following people who have made donations in memory of human, and feline, loved ones – Elaine Blight for her cat Chubby; Joan Clatworthy for her neighbour Gwen Leigh; for Mike & Sandra Clee, for their cat Woodstock; Jim Wilmot for his cat Tiger; and Jenny McKinlay for her friend’s mother Doreen Williams.

Other gratefully received donations have been given by Dawn Tagg’s grandmother who has settled happily in Scotland with CATWEL cat, Alfie; by Anne of the New House Country Hotel, who gave it instead of sending cards last Christmas; and Bob Boothby, who gave us the funds that remained when the target shooting club he had founded was ‘wound up’. There may be others which I’ve left out, in which case apologies – and heartfelt thanks to you all!

And still on the subject of donations! I had a lovely surprise one morning when I opened an envelope and a cheque for £70 dropped out! The surprise was pleasanter still when I read the accompanying letter. It was from a lady in Cheshire who has a monthly coffee morning and donates the proceeds to various charities. Ours was selected via our website (thanks, Graham and Sheena!) and the donation was even Gift Aided. How marvellous that someone in Cheshire should select our little charity in Cardiff. Are there any Cardiff ladies reading this who could try a small coffee morning to raise funds for us? It would be much appreciated, and might even be good fun!

Where had she been, and why? We took a stray cat into care from a lady in St. Mellons. A very plump little cat, so we suspected kittens on the way! But a visit to the vet established that she wasn’t pregnant – and that she was micro-chipped. The chip produced an address in Barry, and Stella was returned to her owners after being missing for two and a half years.

Did you know? Scientists have established that owning a cat can reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes by a third! It seems our feline companions help to relieve stress and anxiety. We always knew they were good for us!

SUMMER IS ALMOST HERE AND GARDENS ARE BECKONING! PLEASE REMEMBER THAT GARDEN CHEMICALS CAN POISON CATS. SLUG PELLETS, FOR EXAMPLE. PLEASE BUY, STORE AND USE WITH GREAT CARE. LILIES ARE DANGEROUS TOO.

‘Twas the day before Christmas and the phone rang, and rang, and rang! Here are some examples of the calls…………………………………………………………………………………..

‘On the 1^st of January I am leaving the country . I have one female cat and three six-month old kittens, all un-neutered. Can you have them?’

‘I am a medical student and my ex-partner has left her five-year old cat with me. I am leaving for London for six days. I can’t take the cat with me on the coach, so can you arrange for someone to look after it while I am away. I can’t afford to pay.’

‘I have two twelve-month old cats. I will soon be moving, so can you take them.’

‘I have a young un-neutered tom cat I’ve been feeding for six months. I don’t want a pet and have been getting the run-around!’ (This ‘young’ cat turned out to be about thirteen years old, with serious health problems.)

‘I inherited a cat when I moved into this house three years ago. He sprays and needs to be found a good home.’

‘Two cats are being fed twice daily at Splott Market, and they will starve over Christmas and New Year when no-one goes there.’

‘I have found a young starving distressed kitten and none of the charities will help.’

‘I have been feeding a cat for about six weeks but I’m leaving on January 6^th, and anyway I’m doing my PhD so I can’t take it to the vet to get it neutered.’

‘There’s a young stray cat that is desperately trying to get into our house to find shelter, it’s even trying to get into the car. We can’t take it in because we have dogs.’

‘My daughter has two cats. She is moving to new accommodation and can’t take them, so can you collect them?’

All these messages were left on my phone during the twenty-four hours immediately before Christmas. With limited space and a list of cats waiting to come in, we had to decide who would get priority – a very difficult and distressing task!

It seems to get earlier every year! On the 23^rd of February it was bitterly cold, and there were snow flurries – and I had a call asking me to take three 7-week old kittens into care! The kitten season had begun.

Appointment of new Trustees: I am pleased to inform you that two long-standing and hard-working members of the CATWEL group have agreed to become Trustees of the charity: they are Liz Palfrey and Marilyn Oram.

Thankfully, not everyone who finds a stray cat expects instant help. Charlotte, a lovely young lady, who is living in Cardiff and studying at the university, phoned to enquire whether a tabby cat had been reported missing. We did not know of one and, as all our accommodation was full, we put it on our waiting list. Just before Christmas Charlotte phoned to say that she was going home to Bath, and would take the cat with her and call again when she returned. She did so – to tell me that she had ‘fallen in love’ with the cat and would be keeping it, as long as her landlord didn’t object. If he did, her mother would be prepared to give it a home! Lucky cat! I must say that during my 19 years of cat rescue work I have always found the majority students to be a very caring when it comes to animals, particularly cats. Students can get a lot of criticism from older citizens, when maybe a lot of them deserve more credit!

Around the middle of November 2009 I was feeling particularly exhausted. We had hoped we were almost at the end of the kitten season, despite having just taken an 8 week old kitten into care, also a mum with three 2 week old kittens! But still the phone rarely stopped, though now it was mostly people wanting to get rid of adult cats. It was so bad that for the first time ever I was tempted not to reply to the calls, because all our pens were full and we don’t have elastic walls! We keep a waiting list and try to ensure that cats come in strictly according to it. Nevertheless, some cats do have to jump the queue if they are living in threatening circumstances. But the calls that really annoy me are those from owners who want to get rid of their cat because they are moving to accommodation where pets are not allowed. There seem to be far more properties for rent these days, with landlords desperate for tenants to cover their mortgages. I feel sure that some of my callers, if they really ‘shopped around’, could find an animal-friendly landlord. Yet they go ahead and make arrangements, then expect animal charities to solve the ‘problem’ of their now unwanted pet. If I couldn’t take my cat, I simply wouldn’t move, and I feel sure all CATWEL supporters feel the same way.

Homes needed! We always have cats in need of homes, but some are with us for a long time and deserve a special mention. For example, Sally and Teddy, who have been overlooked by prospective owners because they seem a little timid when first ‘introduced’. Sally is a beautiful fluffy black and white cat, aged just 18 months. She has a lovely temperament with humans, but hates other cats! Teddy is a huge tabby and white boy, aged about 3 years. He is placid, with not an ounce of aggression. We all think Teddy is a real sweetheart, and although he might seem nervous at first he would make a wonderful, gentle and loving pet. Can you help? They’d love to meet you!

Cat rescue can be a tricky business! Primarily, CATWEL was set up to help stray and homeless cats. We do try to assist people who need to re-home their pets, but these cats are not our priority as they do have owners who are responsible for their welfare. The problem is, how should we define the terms ‘stray’ and ‘homeless’? ‘I have been feeding this cat for three or four weeks’ – ‘it is living and sleeping under a bush in my garden’ – ‘it visits my house every day, crying and starving’ – etc, etc. On the surface, a cat rescue group would consider it safe to take a cat into care after it had been begging people for food. Normal procedure for CATWEL is to first check for a microchip. Next we check our ‘lost and found’ register, to find out if it has been reported missing. Finally, when we’ve ascertained from neighbours that it hasn’t been left behind by people who have moved away, we advertise it as ‘found’ in the South Wales Echo. Then it is given a thorough check-up by our vet, receives any necessary treatment, and is neutered if this hasn’t already been done. The cat is then ready for re-homing! But even with all these precautions, there can still be problems. Recently, we had an incident where three people reported a cat that was straying in the car-park of a supermarket. One lady who rang had been feeding the cat every day for weeks, and had placed ‘found’ notices around the area. So the cat was taken into care according to the usual procedure. She was lovely, but very distressed, so we were delighted when she was quickly homed. She had hated being in a pen. However, two days later her owners turned up, and demanded she be returned. Fortunately, although her new owners were very upset they agreed to let her go, and accepted a lovely little kitten as a replacement. The original owners said they had an 8 year old child grieving for the cat. The reason they hadn’t been searching for her was that they had four cats, who all spent a lot of time outdoors, and it was ten days before they noticed she was missing! We really do need to be very careful – but then, so do owners!

FUTURE EVENTS, 2010

June 19^th, Saturday – participating in Roath Park table-top sale. All day.

July 10^th, Saturday – participating in Llanishen Leisure Centre table-top sale. All day.

Sept 17^th, Friday – Autumn Auction, Christ Church Hall, Lake Road North. Viewing 6pm, bidding 7pm.

Oct 16^th, Saturday – Autumn Fayre, venue as above, starts 2pm.

Dec 4^th, Saturday – Annual Social Event, venue as above, starts 2pm.

AND AN EXTRA SPECIAL DATE FOR YOUR DIARY! On Friday August 20^th at 7pm, there will be a CATWEL summer quiz night at the Cardiff Bus Sports & Social Club, Tudor Street. The tickets are just £3 each, and there will be a free buffet, provided by CATWEL group members. If you don’t have transport, we will try to arrange lifts. For tickets/more details phone Sheena (02920 498935) or Jan (02920 712543). PLEASE HELP SUPPORT THIS SPECIAL EVENT!

The following page contains an article which is to be printed on coloured paper and enclosed with newsletter 26.

My dreams for the future of CATWEL (Cardiff).

As most of you know, CATWEL acquired the property which is our re-homing centre with the very generous legacy left to the charity by the late Mrs Mary Williams. In fact, the re-homing centre has been named ‘Ty Mair’ in her memory. She stipulated in her will that her legacy was to be used to provide a cat sanctuary located in Cardiff. It was very difficult to find suitable premises with the amount of money available, because of the high price of property and the lack of large garden plots in Cardiff. However, luck was with us, and we managed to find a place in Radyr which suited our purpose.

‘Ty Mair’ has now been open for five years and we have turned it into a centre to be proud of, due largely to the efforts of our Trustee/Manager Helen Powell. Helen designed all the facilities, and ensures that our feline residents are cared for to the very highest standards. Secondly, CATWEL has a group of dedicated helpers, who work hard to raise the money that enables CATWEL to pay its bills. They also carry out home-checks, and transport cats being brought into care or taken to the vet. We also have a member who writes ‘begging letters’, and she has succeeded in getting substantial grants from various charitable trusts. These have enabled us to pay for a lot of the work which has been carried out at the centre, including the refurbishment of our office and toilet facilities. We have also received several generous legacies; and I now feel it is safe to say that CATWEL (Cardiff) is no longer a small charity which may not keep going. Indeed, I feel certain that if the goodwill and support we are currently receiving continues, CATWEL is most definitely here to stay!

So now to my dream for the future of the charity, which no doubt I will not live to see.

I would like our existing re-homing centre to be maintained and to retain its present function, but hope that we can extend our boundaries by purchasing a second property, one with land in a rural area. There, permanent residents who cannot be re-homed (elderly cats, feral cats, FIV cats and those with special needs) could wander freely, and live out their lives safely and in comfort. This rural sanctuary is, of course, just a dream – but who knows? One day it may become a reality. A large city like Cardiff really should have its own cat sanctuary, so please help to make this one dream that comes true!

Margaret