IMPROVED CAT FACILITIES

Basically the shed where a number of the cats for re-homing are kept has been completely re-vamped. Here's what it used to look like.

In the last week, we've had the inside boarded up to provide extra insulation, using white boards to brighten the shed up. Lino has been put down and shelves and perspex screens fitted to provide compartments for individual cages.

Nice little story about the lino. Susan told me the size we wanted would probably cost about £60.00. We went to a place called Frank's Carpets (emblazoned on the outside of the building: "I love carpets, me", cringe. When we told the guy helping us that we needed it for cats and we were a rescue he immediately offered us some smallish offcuts for free but they were too small. He then found a very large offcut which was ideal and he let us have it for £10.00 and promised to drop some stuff of his own off at the shop. As you'll see from the photos below, the lino was more than enough for the floor and also lined out the new shelves.

 

There's a double socket fitted into the wall facing the door for lighting and heating. The way it's set up now minimises any chance of cross-infection should any cat we taken in have an illness. In the past we've been guilty of taking in too many cats but now there will be no more than 8 in the shed at any one time; excluding, that is, if say two have come in together from the same household, then we'll keep them together in the same cage. Incidentally, the cage above is a carrying case and poor little Prince (re-homed last night) had just come back from being neutered at the vets. In the purple carrier behind is the father of the kittens from the previous post and he's had his last litter.

It will look better once the new cages arrive and we get some cats in them. That should be in about a week and I'll be there with my camera.

KITTENS WEEK

I haven't been doing an awful lot this week -took one re-homed cat to have her neutering stitches out, and took a couple of bunnies to Seaham with their new owner, picked up a 5 month old male from a nice young couple who were having to go back to Cyprus unexpectedly, did a couple of tip runs and a food drop. On the other hand, we've taken in two small litters which were caged together and, just today, a one year old dad, the 10 month old mother and their four kittens.

And that's enough from me. Enjoy the photos. Remember: 

There is nothing cuter in the whole world than a kitten.

OKAY, WHERE WERE WE NOW?

Just let me consult my diary.

Ah yes, Wednesday 6th April. Out early (7.45am so no swimming) to collect two cats from a lady who was moving into rented accommodation. Despite being full, we managed to find homes for them both before I even picked them up. I dropped off one at Carol's to be collected later, and kept the other in the van as I'd be taking it to Seaham after having first taken another two females to Roker Park vets for neutering. I'd no sooner got through the door of the vets when C was on the phone for me to collect a mother and her five 2-days old kittens, one of which had been rejected, from Millfield and taken them over to her. In the meantime, the cat bound for Seaham had soiled the cat carrier. 

No matter, I delivered the mother and the kittens and set off for Seaham. I did get a little lost but quickly got back on track. The house was clean, the new owner a single man in his 50's whose mother had just gone into a home and I needed to explain a few basics of cat care to him but otherwise I was happy with the cat's new home. It did go behind a couch but allowed itself to be stroked.

Over a week on, the two cats new owners are both delighted with them. The mother and young kittens are all doing well, including the rejected one which C managed to get it to accept -photos in a week's time, maybe.

Time for some photos.

These tiny kittens and their mother are being fostered by Lynn.

These four are new arrivals and need a little fattening up before being re-homed.

This one's just my 9-month old Little Bob, playful, destructive, friendly, adorable and prone to bite my toes under the bedclothes at 5.30 in the morning.

Saturday 9th April.

Late morning and I was pottering about on the internet when I got a call to go to the shop to take a lady to pick a cat. Fair enough. she was elderly, lived in a quiet cul de sac and her previous cat had died not long ago. Carol had a youngish cat which she thought would be quite suitable -it was one of the two I'd taken to be neutered a few days earlier. Turns out the cat was a few weeks pregnant. Anyway, the introduction was a success and the cat has been living in its new home for a week now. Here she is.

Pretty, isn't she?

Monday, 11th/Tuesday 12th April.

Delivered a van load of dog food and bedding to Stray-Aid rescue at Coxhoe (see their website in the sidebar). While there I checked out the cattery and was pleased to see that a 10 year old cat (but thought 3, see earlier post) had been re-homed while a lovely fat long-haired ginger male was still there after three months.

Later that day I got a call to collect a cat the next morning. Again, we were full but Stray-Aid had spaces and they were happy for me to bring it as long as I got there by 9.45am.

Next morning I collected the cat from one of the filthiest flats I'd ever been to. The cat, another neutered ginger tom, had a scabby head and back, clearly the result of a flea allergy. Yet he was obviously loved as he was very friendly and the person giving him up was in tears; but she didn't know how to look after him. When he got checked over by Sue the vet at Stray-Aid, it was obvious that he was crawling with fleas. Sue gave him some basic treatment and he's probably well on the way to making a full recovery and when that's done he'll make a very attractive proposition for re-homing.

The rest of the week involved a couple of trips to the vets, a food run and a council tip run. So far for this week there's only taking the cat above to have her stitches out, but I'm sure something will turn up. The kitten in the photo below was re-homed within hours of it being taken.