Catwel's Christmas newsletter 37
Dear
Friends, The Festive Season is already upon us - it seems to arrive
quicker each year - maybe it is just that as one grows older, life
seems to pass so rapidly.
When
we first acquired the property which became our Homing Centre years
ago, during the winter we had generally older cats in care and
kittens did not appear until what we called the 'kitten season' which
was late April/May. How things have altered, despite Catwel spending
a huge sum of money, also other National Charities handing out
vouchers, the kitten season seems to last longer and longer and we
presently have many beautiful 8-9 month old kittens which have been
with us either from birth or from around 8 weeks old.
Every
cat and kitten which is homed by Catwel is neutered and micro chipped
by the Charity. We do not sell our cats and kittens we look for
permanent loving homes and accept a donation which is the choice of
those adopting the cat/kitten. We do not set a price on our cats.
I
have, over the years, met many kind, generous people. However, I was
totally unprepared for the lovely surprise I received today.
I
was in the office of the shop and heard Teresa (my Daughter) giving
directions to somebody who wanted to visit the shop. Sometime later I
was introduced to a lady and gentleman. They were, of course, cat
lovers and knew of Catwel's existence because we have a collection
box in Morrisons in the Bay. They had also seem the photograph of me
being presented with flowers by the South Wales Echo.
Consequently,
when the gentleman received a totally unexpected legacy, they decided
to share the proceeds with Catwel. I was handed a very generous
donation which was greatly appreciated and will, of course be put to
very good use.
Thank
you very much to the gentleman and his wife for including us in his
good fortune.
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CARDIFF
HALF MARATHON
I
wish to place on record Catwel's thanks for the tremendous effort
made by Henry Morgan. This young Man completed the long difficult
race which took place on Sunday 4th October, 2015. He achieved this
after having very little sleep, as he was flying home from a holiday
the previous night. Thank you Henry for your hard work and commitment
to our cause in raising the sum of £450. A wonderful and much
appreciated effort.
========================================================================
PussPuss
We
rescued a beautiful cat called Pusspuss from Llanederyn a few months
back. The poor cat was in a terrible state. Not only did she have the
worst matted fur she was also missing one of her front legs (this was
an old injury that had been sorted by another vet it seemed). We took
this sweet girl straight to Michael (The Cardiff Cat Clinic) where he
had to shave her totally except for the tip of her tail and her
little feet. She looked so sad and she was so thin it was really
upsetting for all who saw her. Pusspuss was
IN
MEMORIUM
They
say things usually arrive in a sequence of three.
Sadly,
this has happened very recently to Catwel.
We
have lost three, plus one of our dear and staunch supporters, who
have helped us by giving cash donations or items to sell when we had
fairs and auctions over many years. Continuing the support once the
shop was opened.
My
deepest sympathy to the families and friends are extended in memory
of :- Mrs
Phyllis Carlson, Mrs Mary Crocker, Mrs Gwenda Palmer, Mrs Hilda Lewis
All
these dear ladies loved cats and were wonderful supporters, they will
be greatly missed by their friends in Catwel.
Alli Cat
Some
years ago a lady phoned to ask for assistance to help her Husband
trap several feral cats located at his place of employment. A few
days later I visited the factory which was located at Dumballs Road,
Cardiff. All Javid wanted was the loan of one or two cat traps. He
used the equipment and had the five feral cats neutered. He did all
the work and financed the neutering himself. Some years later, Javid
was faced with another problem. His factory was to be closed. He was
concerned about the cats and needed help with trapping and re
locating of the cats. We once again were more than happy to help.
There was just one problem - one of the cats had gone missing.
Javid
tried and tried but could not find the missing cat. Eventually Javid
was forced to reluctantly give up hope of finding the little feral
cat.
In
a completely unbelievable turn of fate Catwel received a call from a
factory on Dumballs Road some 10 years later, requesting help to
catch a feral cat which had been seen near some dangerous chemicals.
The cat seemed elderly and very emaciated. It had clearly entered the
factory in search of food and shelter. Simon went to the factory and
managed to collect the little cat who was indeed very thin and very
frightened. He then placed a photograph and the story of the little
cat - affectionately called 'Alli-cat' on the website.
Javid
saw the story and immediately contacted me. He then arranged to visit
the cat at our homing centre. - Yes, you've guessed it! After all
these years Javid was delighted to have found his little missing cat.
Little
'Alli-cat' was kept and nursed back to health for a number of weeks
and was regularly visited by Javid and his wife Sara.
The
little cat was given a clean bill of health and now has a loving home
with Sara and Javid.
I
hope they have many years to enjoy the little cat's company!
The
Catwel Cardiff Charity Shop 17 Whitchurch Road – Gabalfa - Cardiff
Since
the start-up of Catwel, I have encountered many surprises - some
good, some bad. However, today something happened which really made
me realise how kind some people are. I was in the shop when Teresa
handed me an envelope which contained £50. A gentleman had called to
the shop and handed her the money. He had won £100 on the lottery
and shared half of his winnings with Catwel. I honestly cannot think
of many people who would be so generous sharing half of his winnings,
so amazing. I'd like to think that I would be so generous, but I'm
not sure - what about you??
Please
remember our charity shop is always in need of quality merchandise to
sell. Bric-a-brac, jewellery, childrens toys etc............ To
contact our shop please call 02920 694019
SHE'S DONE IT AGAIN!! Smudge's 2nd Charity Pet Show
In
my last Newsletter I wrote about the tremendous fund-raising
achievement of one of our young supporters, Zoe Preece, who
successfully raised £1,235 by single-handedly carrying out an online
pet show. Supplying all prizes by canvassing for support and
sponsorship all on her own - a huge and very successful undertaking.
You can imagine my surprise and pleasure therefore to have been
informed by Helen that Zoe had not only repeated this achievement,
but exceeded the amount raised.
On
Friday, 18th September, Helen and I were presented with a cheque for
£1405 by Zoe, which we very gladly accepted on behalf of Catwel.
Thank you so much Zoe, we are over the moon! Zoe and Smudge will be
running a 3rd show starting on 1st January
2016. For more information visit Smudge's page
https://www.facebook.com/Smudges-Charity-Pet-Show-342283875944669/
Or send an email to smudgeboy2012@gmail.com
Just
a few stories of cats and kittens we have taken in recently
We
still have the following gorgeous cats who will be looking for homes
in the new year:
Bridgette black & white young female who was found on the A470 - she is still very frightened and still requires cage rest, but we are hopeful that she will make a complete recovery.
Duke gorgeous tabby male stray cat with a horrific abcess wound on his shoulder, it will take time for this to heal but again once he is able to put weight on his leg he will be looking for a new home.
Misty who currently has total paralysis in her front leg, the nerves are so badly damaged that it will be some time before we will know whether she will recover full use of her leg. At the moment it is hindering her but we hope that with cage rest and TLC that we can avoid having the drastic measure of complete removal.
Bob
who
is gorgeous now, but was living as part of a feral colony and brought
to us by Fran and Joyce of Homeless Cats. He still requires
daily medication for his ulcerated eye and may also require an
operation to remove part of his tail as we believe it was bitten off
by either a fox or a dog whilst he was living outside.
William our gorgeous tabby who had his spine severed in a car accident and subsequently had his tail removed.
We also have a number of young semi-feral cats who are coming around extremely well and will be looking for understanding loving homes in the new year.
And of course, not to mention our two remaining gorgeous boys Peter and Dave who were abandoned in a property along with around 6 other cats with no food of water that we helped with earlier in the year by taking them in via Sam Murray of New Start in Usk.
Many of the above little cats will require costly operations and many weeks of rest while they recover, but as long as we have the space we will always help a cat in need. Keep an eye on our website to see when these gorgeous little cats are ready to go to their new homes.
We have even been able to re-home cats that have been on our waiting list to come in even though we haven't had the space to take them in and are delighted to have found such a lovely home for Honey with Anna and her family, a long time supporter who sadly lost their lovely cat Amber who they also had from Catwel.
William our gorgeous tabby who had his spine severed in a car accident and subsequently had his tail removed.
We also have a number of young semi-feral cats who are coming around extremely well and will be looking for understanding loving homes in the new year.
And of course, not to mention our two remaining gorgeous boys Peter and Dave who were abandoned in a property along with around 6 other cats with no food of water that we helped with earlier in the year by taking them in via Sam Murray of New Start in Usk.
Many of the above little cats will require costly operations and many weeks of rest while they recover, but as long as we have the space we will always help a cat in need. Keep an eye on our website to see when these gorgeous little cats are ready to go to their new homes.
We have even been able to re-home cats that have been on our waiting list to come in even though we haven't had the space to take them in and are delighted to have found such a lovely home for Honey with Anna and her family, a long time supporter who sadly lost their lovely cat Amber who they also had from Catwel.
We
are always looking for good homes for some of our cats and kittens so
please if you can find it in your heart, (and home) to offer the
love and care that they so deserve - we would be delighted to hear
from you
A
story by Mrs Esme Eyres, a long time Supporter of Catwel :-
ALL
WELL THAT ENDS WELL by FELIX TOM.........
I'm
a much loved cat. I'm very lucky but there I've been told I have a
“great personality”. Armed with this as well as as strong purr I
aim to keep the humans in my life happy! As a kitten I soon learned
that this was the way to a full tummy! I digress
I
belong to my Dad, Mum and Son (17) and daughter (15). Some years ago
Mum and Dad collected me from my Mum and brought me home for their
daughter. It seems she had wanted a girl cat. Bless her she had
bought a pink cushion, blanket and collar. (I've never told her that
it didn't matter as I can't see colours in the same way as humans.)
They called me Phoebe, such a pretty name for a girl cat! (honestly
at this point I have to control a slight spatty hiss.) They had a
suprise when they took me for my first vaccinations and location chip
(no it didn't hurt). Mr Vet said I was a lovely boy cat - a big
surprise – so they called me Felix. Yes, I look just like the
advertisement on the t.v. - and I am told I am just charming!!!!
As
I was so young they kept me indoors for quite a long time. We went on
holidays to their caravan and I had to wear a cat harness in case I
chased after rabbits – as if I would.
Life
progressed and I was let out more and more. I had a bit of a suprise
when I went next door to Grandma as she had a big, grown up man cat –
he bopped me on my nose and made it clear that I might be the new kid
in the block but he was in charge of the territory. I accepted his
warning and kept out of his way.
Let
me tell you about where I live. It is what the call a cu-de-sac. Good
for pets because no traffic rushing through which is such a danger
for us. A field adjoining on one side and a green sward in front of
the houses. Sometimes Mr Fox and family lie out on this in the sun
but I keep out of their way. Alongside is a small wood. This
separates my cul-de-sac from another one. Cars and people cannot get
through from one side to another. I can. It's great because I can go
from one side to the other and no-one can follow.
One
day I went right through exploring and I found Fleur sitting outside
her home. What a beautiful cat I thought, a grey tabby, long soft
fur, slanting green eyes. I put out a paw to say hello but she was
nervous and hissed at me. What is a boy to do. I made up my mind to
make her my friend. Gradually we got to know each other and went on
hunting trips together. One day we took a catch home to her Mum. I
now call her Aunty. Fleur warned me that when she took such prizes
home as gifts to Aunty she was not best pleased. Anyway we took our
prize home to give to her and Fleur was quite right. Although Aunty
seemed to understand it was a gift all she said was “please cats
take it away”. Humans can be odd sometimes.
A
word here about Fleur. It seems she was a “Christmas Kitten”.
Very attractive and fun at Christmas but when she grew up she was
thrown out. Some humans are cruel. Fleur became pregnant and was
starving. A kind neighbour found her and took her to Catwel where she
was looked after. Fleur had four lovely kittens and Catwel found
homes for them. Like me Fleur can no longer have kittens but she is
now very happy.
Aunty
has always had cats and when she was at a sad time in her life her
god-daughter found Fleur at Catwel. They now take care of each other.
Life
seemed good. Mum and Dad worked full time, children at school. I
would wander over to see Fleur and Aunty. In the summer I would stay
out hunting, going home when I felt like it. I supplemented as
necessary by dashing past Aunty and raiding Fleur's food. It was a
pleasant life.
Then
I started to itch. Not much at first. My own fault. I did not go home
to show them that I needed flea treatment and Aunty was hesitant to
treat me. It became very difficult. I felt unwell and I scratched and
scratched. I drew blood and had sores. Aunty tutted and worried and
then rang Margaret at Catwel for advice. We eventually went to
Catwel's Vet. He was very gentle with me and diagnosed a severe flea
allergy. (This affects about 1 in 10 cats). He read my chip and
although he could diagnose me he could not treat me as I was not
Aunty's cat. He needed Dad and Mum's written permission before he
could treat me. What a predicament!!!
Aunty
took details and contacted Mum and Dad. They glady gave their written
permission for Aunty to take me to the vets for treatment. As Aunty
said they are busy at work and she is retired with plenty of time.
I
really did feel most unwell when we arrived at the Vet's clinic. I
was given an injection and I had flea treatment lotion put on my
neck. It did not hurt. I felt very tired for a few days but I stopped
itching and felt better.
Aunty
was quite strict with my stealing Fleur's food so eventually I took
to going home at night. They are delighted to see me as they love me.
One
Sunday morning Aunty rang Mum and Dad and they had a long chat about
my well-being.
I'd
had a good feed at home but thought I'd pop across to see Fleur. We
were sunning ourselves when much to my suprise Mum and Dad arrived in
their car.
They
had flowers for Aunty, thanking her for looking after me. They were
invited in and I heard them discussing how they could keep in touch
to help me cope with my allergy as I have to have special flea
treatment. I wandered around the home – never been able to do that
before – and Fleur sat on her chair and ignored they whole
proceedure.
Life
has moved on and I have regular flea treatment. I understand that the
humans text each other – whatever that means – so they know where
I am and what I am up to.
So
readers please remember a lot of people really care for their cats
and those who visit them. If you have any concerns about your cat
seek advice.
As
my humans said “To-gether we did it”.
We
at Catwel would like to say to all our loyal supporters Merry
Christmas and Happy New Year Thank you xxxxx
Useful
Catwel links:-
email
address
Catwel
Cardiff Charity Shop – 17 Whitchurch Road – Gabalfa 02920 694019
posted by Catwel Cardiff @ 1:52 PM
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