NEWSLETTER 32

Dear Friends – welcome to CATWEL newsletter no. 32
Spring 2013

I don’t think my last newsletter had any happy stories – despite the fact that I know you like to have at least one cheerful tale!  Well, today something lovely has happened, so I must tell you about it, just in case no other happy incidents occur!  I received a call from someone waiting outside the City Dog Pound, where she had hoped to leave her two twelve-week old kittens.  She had failed to do this, because they do not accept cats, I contacted the Pound Manager and asked her to accept the kittens on our behalf and keep them until we could collect them.  The Manager kindly agreed, but shortly afterwards she phoned me back – because one of the Pound’s trainees wanted to adopt the kittens and his mother was on her way to see them!  The family was highly recommended, and we were delighted to place them in this safe and loving home – and when the time comes, CATWEL will pay for them to be neutered.

What a wonderful result for two unwanted little kittens!

Grateful thanks go to Anne Jeffrey, who so generously donated £1,000 in memory of Babe - dearly loved, and very sadly missed.

Many thanks to all customers who visit CATWEL’s Charity Shop in Whitchurch Road.

A “MUST READ” FOR ALL CAT LOVERS!  I was, as always, curious about a Christmas gift I had been given, and gave in to temptation, opening it two days early.  My reaction, when I saw the cover, was “Oh, not another cat story”.  But when I decided to give it a go, my attitude changed completely, I simply could not put it down, and by Christmas Eve had finished it.  The title is “A Street Cat Named Bob” and it was written by James Bowen (publisher, Hodder & Stoughton).  James’s precarious and seemingly hopeless life was turned around completely when he opened his heart to a stray, injured cat – and his story has completely altered my perception of the drop-outs and drug addicts etc, who struggle to survive on our streets.  I usually pass books on to our shop once I’ve read them, but not this one!  I’m not even going to lend it!  If you want to read it – and I hope you will! – you’ll just have to treat yourself.  CATWEL supporter Grace Jones did, and she was as moved by it as I was, I think you will be, too.

Goodbye, Gwyn.... A sad story now, I’m afraid.  I’m sure all but the very newest CATWEL supporters will remember the white cat, Gwyn (formerly Sebastian) who was homed with Geraint Thomas, the Flour Miller at St Fagan’s Museum of Welsh Life.  Gwyn was a big, placid, friendly boy who quickly developed a large fan base among the museum’s visitors.  He and Geraint became firm friends, and would even walk together in the woods.  Geraint gave Gwyn a wonderful life.  But sadly, he developed serious mouth problems, and although given treatment by the vet on numerous occasions, eventually eating became too painful and difficult for him, and he was “put to sleep” to prevent further suffering.  Geraint writes “I will never forget Gwyn and many thanks to you at CATWEL for introducing him to me.  It was a privilege to have known him and to have been part of his story”.

Many thanks to Jenny McKinlay for her kind donation in memory of her much loved 15yr old cat Jerry, who is greatly missed.

Spring is here and thoughts turn to our gardens!  Please remember to keep your cats safe by being very careful indeed with any chemicals you use, including insecticides and slug pellets.

Echo Wish Event, 2012:   I wonder if any of you saw the CATWEL submission for this event, in the South Wales Echo, November 7th ?  If so, you will have seen two cats viewing the “Wish” 12 Token Box”.   Shortly after that issue of the paper went on sale, I received a call from a lady whose beloved cat had vanished eighteen months earlier.   She was hoping that one of the cats in the photograph was her lost pet.  Sadly, I had to tell her that both cats belonged to one of our volunteers, Sheena – who had spent two hours persuading them to pose so that her patient husband Philip could photograph them.  What was so heartening was the fact that, in contrast to all the poor abandoned cats we are constantly told about, some loving owners are still searching for their missing cats after a very long time.  Incidentally - CATWEL received £356.87p as its share of the money available, so many thanks to all who donated tokens.

Here we go again!!  -  I had a phone call from a lady who wanted us to take in two kittens she had acquired a fortnight earlier.  Because – guess what? – her daughter, it seemed, had developed an allergy.  And how had she acquired them?  You’ve guessed again – from “Gumtree”.  She paid £90.  I just can’t understand why the Welsh Assembly Government doesn’t take action to end this unregulated trade.  The poor animals are sold from unknown sources, with no health guarantees and no assurance that they can be returned if things go wrong.  They are just handed over, without home checks – as long as the money is right, of course.  IT MUST BE STOPPED.

Our Prize Draw Winners were Mrs E Kynaston, Miss C Llewellyn, Mrs B Card, Mrs E Catford, Miss M Chambers and Mrs M Armstrong.  Many thanks to all who entered – and to the New House Hotel in Thornhill for donating the Afternoon Tea Voucher, which was won by Mrs Kynaston.

LILLIES KILL CATS:  you may have heard about the three cats who died in terrible pain because of their owner’s Valentine’s Day bouquet.  Lillies are highly toxic to cats.   Please, never have them in your house, or garden.

A wonderful gesture!  There are so many ways that people can support CATWEL, and they are all greatly appreciated, whether monthly donations by “standing order”, food donations in our supermarket boxes, or lovely goods for us to sell in our shop.  But I have now been told about a wonderful way of donating that has never crossed my mind before!  A lovely young couple who recently adopted two of our young cats are busy arranging their wedding, which will take place this August.  One of the items requested on their gift list will be a donation to CATWEL!!  We sometimes receive donations in lieu of funeral flowers, but this is most definitely the first time we’ve been included on a wedding gift list!  Even if none of the guests chooses the CATWEL option, it is still a very kind and generous thing for the young couple to do.  We are extremely grateful, and wish them a wonderful wedding day – and future.

Our black cats haven’t been lucky!  Tabbies, torties, gingers – they all seem to get chosen first, and our little black darlings get “left on the shelf”.  We have quite a few of them and would love it if some kind new owners came along, to turn them into lucky black cats!

We were invited to participate in the monthly draw at the Asda Store in Cardiff Bay.  Although we didn’t get enough votes to win the top prize of £200, we came second and received a cheque for £50.  We were very grateful, and thank Mrs Iris Williams for nominating us, and Asda for donating the money.

It’s all about team work!   During the Christmas season we received many generous donations, which were greatly appreciated and have enabled us to carry on with our non-means-tested neutering scheme.  Many thanks to you all, we have so many loyal supporters!  We have great fundraisers, too – so many people are working to ensure the success of CATWEL.  Editing and typing the newsletter; transporting cats to and from the vet; carrying out “home checks”; working in our shop; and of course, the very important job of looking after the cats we take into care.  So, whether you support CATWEL by giving donations, or by providing practical help, you are all part of a wonderful team. Editor’s note:  It’s a pleasure Margaret!  I love reading your stories, even the sad ones.

IRIS WILLIAMS – ABOVE AND BEYOND THE CALL OF DUTY!  Iris normally helps at our re-homing centre every Saturday, carries out the home checks, and occasionally does some trapping.  So it was only when she had replaced the receiver after our telephone call that she realised what she had agreed to do!  A South Wales Echo reporter had phoned me, asking if I could attend a “photo shoot” at the City Football Stadium in Leckwith.  This was for an article about people likely to be working over the Christmas period.  For CATWEL, this would of course be Helen, Roz and Jennie, who have to look after the cats in their care whatever day of the year it is!  However, as all these ladies were too busy to attend, poor Iris was elected to go instead – complete with cat carrier as the “tool of her trade”.  So off she went to Leckwith – to discover that, despite the cold and the pouring rain, it was an outdoor “shoot” – and Iris shivered along with many others including members of the Salvation Army; a priest; nurses; police; firemen (with engine); and road gritters (with vehicle).  Iris thinks she deserves a medal, and so do I – any ideas?   One thing is certain – she will either be too busy next time I phone to ask “are you doing anything tomorrow?” or interrogate me fully before replying!.

Another goodbye.... Over ten years ago I took Jamie into care, a beautiful ginger cat with a lovely nature.  He had been kicked in the jaw.  Someone had taken him to the PDSA, where his jaw had been wired.  This was before the opening of our re-homing centre “Ty Mair”, so Helen agreed to foster him until a suitable home was found.  A suitable indoor home, because Jamie had sadly tested positive for FIV (feline Aids).  Then after about eighteen months, a housebound student asked if he could give Jamie a home.  We agreed, and undertook to pay any veterinary expenses.  Jamie was much loved, but he desperately wanted to go outside and this became a problem – until a young lady involved in the homing offered to take him on, and provide him with an outside run.  On December 10th I learned that Jamie had been “put to sleep”.  This was due to an illness completely unrelated to Jamie’s FIV status, and CATWEL paid for the euthanasia.  It just shows how long FIV cats can live when they are loved, well cared for and their carers are offered some financial assistance.  I feel very proud that CATWEL was involved in saving Jamie.  He was a beautiful, gentle cat with so much love to give - despite the cruel treatment he received in his early life.  The money that helped him came from all of you who support CATWEL so generously.  Grateful thanks to you all.  And rest in peace, Jamie, you were worth every penny.

CARDIFF HALF MARATHON:  I would like to say how grateful we are to Mr Matthew Close, for choosing CATWEL to be the recipient of his sponsorship money when he completed the Cardiff Half-Marathon run last October.  The princely sum of £320 was raised, a marvellous contribution to our funds.  What really amazed me was that Matthew not only received donations from his friends and colleagues in Cardiff, but from far-away places like Newcastle, London and Northumberland.  Thank you Matthew, and well done!

Remembering Margaret Watt – a loyal CATWEL supporter who died a year ago and is greatly missed.  Margaret left us £1,000 in her Will, for which we are very grateful.

CAT RESCUE – NOT A BED OF ROSES!   In every newsletter from now on, I’m going to tell you about incidents over the years which illustrate what a “minefield” cat rescue is!  They also highlight how, unlike the RSPCA, we smaller charities have very little power, yet are subjected to huge pressure from the public!   Incident 1 :   A young lady reported a number of feral cats which kept visiting her garden.  We neutered them all, and she and her husband built them a shelter and fed them.  But over the years, despite the neutering, more young cats kept joining them.  It transpired that the source of the problem was a family in the street behind them, who kept acquiring more kittens and allowing them to breed.  Eventually, a young man from that family approached me, via our vet, asking for help with the cost of neutering, and with re-homing.  I helped with both, and for about eighteen months things quietened down.  Then he approached me again.  Would I take four kittens into care?  This I did, collecting them from his home.  They were unwell and he seemed very glad to get rid of them.  I then fostered them myself.  However, a week later - "out of the blue" - he phoned again and demanded that I return them.  I refused, as the kittens had been handed over to me and were being treated for "cat flu".  Shortly afterwards I received a call from the police.  He had reported me for not returning his kittens!  I explained the situation to the police and they were happy to do no more about it.  But one morning, when I had been out, I returned to find my husband in distress.  It seems he had been sitting in the conservatory at the back of the house when he heard a terrific crash.  Someone had broken in!  He went to investigate and found a young man running up and down the hall shouting "where are they", "where are they".  My husband, though elderly, is a tall man, and he grabbed the intruder by his clothes and was about to throw him out.  Then he realised he was talking about the kittens, which by now were terrified and hiding in a cupboard in my dining room.  My husband, not knowing the full story, let him have them and he took them away in a taxi.  I reported the incident to the police, told them to warn him never to contact me again, but did not press charges.  He had obviously given me the kittens because they were sick and he did not want to pay for veterinary treatment.  He must have assumed that their treatment was finished - but it wasn't, and I never found out what became of the poor little things.  We repaired our front door and replaced the lock, but felt extremely vulnerable for a long time afterwards.  Cat rescue is tougher than it looks !.

A belated “Happy New Year” to you all – and here is a little slogan for 2013 If you don’t like it, don’t use it, don’t put it in the attic! Give it to the CATWEL shop. Someone else might love it !

Thank you for reading our 32^nd newsletter, we hope you enjoyed it.  There will be another in the Autumn.  Meanwhile, maybe we’ll see you in our shop!