Neutering for £10

The phone won't stop ringing!

Wow what a response we have had from our £10 neutering scheme. The phone hasn't stopped ringing the last few weeks! Our County Press advert on the front page obviously worked as well. Hopefully this will help to decrease the un-wanted cat population on the island. This year has been busier than ever for us with so many cats needing our help.

We are offering neutering for a donation of £10 per cat. To get a voucher you need to provide us with proof of benefits or a low income. We will also need some form of identification for example a utility bill, passport or drivers license. Vouchers will be valid until the 31st December. 

Please call us at the centre on 01983 562609 for more information, thank you.

Good news

19 year old Minnie is homed

This week 19 year old Minnie was re-homed. After a campaign on Isle of Wight Radio a lovely lady came up to visit Minnie last Monday. She fell in love with Minnie straight away and she has gone to live with the family. Its also lovely to know that the ladies young son was delighted to be having an elderly cat. 

We wish Minnie all the best and hope she enjoys the remainder of her years, she definitely deserves it. 

Wightbay appeal success

You may remember Bear and Pudding two elderly cats from a previous blog post. They were abandoned at our centre gates a few weeks ago. We put an ad on Wightbay appealing for any information and we were astounded to get a reply. Due to data protection we cannot reveal too much but the cats real names turned out to be Captain and Poppy. They were left at the centre after a tragic marriage breakup. Unfortunately they will not be going back to their owners so they we be re-homed.

Hopefully our ad about Sky and Star two cats also abandoned will get us some information too. We would be so grateful if someone would contact us about them, history about them will help us to home them more easily.

Do you recognise these cats? They are only young and were so frightened at first. They are started to come out of their shell, they have been through quite an ordeal. If you know any information about them at all please get in contact with us on 01983 562609, thank you.

Transferred cats are successfully re-homed

A happy ending

A couple of weeks ago we transferred some of our cats to Ferndown Homing Centre in Bournemouth. We are very happy to announce that all of them have now been re-homed. 

We are all delighted that they have all finally fallen on their paws, well done to the team at Ferndown! We also took on one of Ferndown's cats called Murphy on the same day. Murphy is a gorgeous, fluffy boy with two different colour eyes, very cool! He is such a stunning chap and he is very lucky because today he was reserved. 

A very happy ending all round for all the cats. Even though it was sad to say goodbye to Fluffy, Scampi and Jessie's kittens it is lovely to know that they are all now content in their new homes.

As this has been such a success we will more than likely be doing another cat-swap sometime in the near future! The real message here though is that all of Cats Protection's adoption centres are really feeling the effects of the recession. This year we have had an overwhelming number of pregnant cats, un-wanted litters and cats being abandoned at our gates or at the vets. 

We sincerely hope that next year will be a better year and we really need the general public to support us and adopt our wonderful cats. For more information about adopting a cat from us please visit our website. We will be delighted to show potential adopters around our centre and hopefully reserve some more cats! So please visit us soon, thank you. 

Our address is 122 Marlborough Road, Ryde, Isle of Wight, PO33 1AW. Our telephone number is 01983 562609, we are open daily from 11am-3pm. 

Abandoned

Found in our car park

Last Friday we came in to find yet more cats abandoned in our car park. This is becoming a regular occurrence on a Friday. We understand that times are hard for people but we urge you not to abandon your cats at our gates. This photo is off the two gorgeous cats left at the gates this week. We have named them Star and Sky.

Currently we have no more free pens and are unable to take in any more cats. We are struggling to find homes for all our cats and have a huge waiting list of cats to come into our care. This story is the same all over the country, not just for Cats Protection but for other welfare charities as well.

The worst thing of all is that when a cat is abandoned we have no information about them. We don't know their names, their medical history, what food they like, whether they like other animals, it's just all a total mystery. Having this information is vital for when we re-home the cats and can also help to settle them in when they first arrive here.

Cats Protection are here to help you. We are currently offering neutering for £10. We are doing all we can to help in during this current recession. We are doing our best to help as many cats as we can and if you need your cat re-homed with us we will be able to help you, it just might take some time. So we are asking people to be understanding. Thank you.

Minnie

Can you help fix Minnie's broken heart?

Hello my name is Minnie. I really need your help. My owner had to go into care and after 5 long months living alone I came to Cats Protection for a new home. Sadly I couldn't cope losing my owner and home and fell into depression and for a short while gave up hope of finding someone to love me. 

After the team at Cats Protection rallied round and got me back on my paws they knew that I didn't want to stay there (no offence!). The staff have been fostering me and I'm so happy in a home with laps for cuddles and beds to snuggle on. 

My appeal is please find me that special person who can see past my age and see the real me - a loving, active, friendly cat who's heart needs mending. 


If you are interested in adopting Minnie please call us at the centre on 01983 562609, thank you.

Can you help identify these cats?

Abandoned in our car park

We are desperately appealing to anyone out there with any information! On Friday 11th November two elderly cats were found abandoned in a cat basket outside the cattery gates.We have named them Bear and Pudding. Bear is a ginger neutered male, approx 14 years old, and Pudding is a small tortoiseshell female approx 15 years old. They are both incredibly friendly and have settled in well with us over the past week.

We understand that things must have been very difficult for the owners to have to resort to leaving their two elderly cats here. We are desperate for any information that we can acquire, we don't even know what their real names are. We also don't have any medical history that we may need to know. 

If you think you may know anything at all about these cats, or if they belonged to you please contact us on 562609. Thank you.

Cat re-united with it's owner

Found in a British Gas Van!

This morning at 10am Cat Care Assistant Holly was approached by a man in the car park. The man said that this morning he had opened his British Gas Van up and found a cat inside! Holly and Dave found the cat stuck underneath the drivers seat. We managed eventually to get the cat out after finding out how to raise the seat. 

We put the cat into a basket and took it into our ops room to have a better look at it. The cat turned out to be a grey, short-haired female and by pure luck she had microchip! We checked our lost cat list and a cat matching that description with the same microchip number had been reported missing a few days ago. We left a message on the potential owners answer phone and they got back to us within a few minutes. 

The lady came up to see the cat and it was hers, hooray! The cat's name was Dorrie and the lady was so ecstatic to have her cat back. A happy ending and a very unusual story. We hope that Dorrie doesn't repeat this episode again, the poor girl!

Success Story

Hello all at cats protection,

I just wanted to write a little letter to tell you all about my lovely new home. I don't know if you remember but I came from the mainland and was very poorly when I first arrived, I was a Larry kit.
 

I have settled in very well, I've got so many things to do here. I love scratching on my scratching post and playing with all my cool toys, there are so many I have to play with them all through the night so that they each get a turn to be played with. I don't think my new mummy and daddy mind me running about all night though, they still let me jump on the bed for cuddles in the morning. The best thing about being here though is my amazing new brother Smartie!! Mummy tells me he was once at the cats protection too, he is wonderful to play catch with, we run about in the garden together, eat together and I even get to 'share' his when I've finished mine. My big brother even helps to wash the bits on my head that I can't reach on my own. He is teaching me lots of useful things. 

I am very happy here and love having cuddles with my new family. Thank you for looking after me so well when I was with you.

Lots of love and purrs, 

Toulouse
(Formally Larry Kit 5)

Cat Transfer to Ferndown

Happily settled

Last Friday we transferred mum and daughter Fluffy and Scampi and the last four of Jessie's kittens to Ferndown Homing Centre. All of the cats are happily settled at Ferndown and will hopefully be adopted very shortly.

The staff at Ferndown kindly sent us some photos of Jessie's kittens enjoying their new pen. The pens at Ferndown are newly built and very different to the ones we have here at our centre. 

 

The kittens certainly look like they are enjoying themselves and are not phased by the move.

As well as our cats being transfered we took in a lovely cat from Ferndown. His name is Murphy he is a very handsome loving boy. Sadly he was being overlooked so we are hoping that he will find a home with us quickly. He certainly is eye-catching, he is a stunning white long-haired boy. His eyes are also two different colours, how cool is that?

To find out more about the cats that we currently have up for adoption please visit our website, thank you. 

Neutering

Get your cat neutered for £10

Cats Protection IOW Adoption Centre is offering neutering for cats for £10 until 31st December 2011. 

Please phone us on 01983 562609 or come into 122 Marlborough Road, Ryde for more details. Conditions apply.

Elderly cat re-united with her owner

A happy ending

Today we had a very elderly female cat brought into the centre. She was kindly brought in by a lady who found her wandering around Alexandra Road in Ryde. The cat was black and white, long-haired and she had cataracts in both of her eyes. The poor girl seemed very lost and confused. She was such a friendly girl and also very hungry, she tucked straight into a bowl of whiskas. 

We checked our lost cat records and a match came up to a cat that had gone missing a few weeks ago from the Ryde area. We rang up the people and they came down to the centre with a photograph of their cat Mittens. It was clear straight away that we had re-united owner and cat. Mittens was so happy in her owners arms. Thank goodness for that! A happy ending is what we like to see. We wish Mittens all the best she was a lovely old girl.

If you find a cat or have lost your cat we keep records here at the centre. Please do not hesitate to call us with the information. We can also give you advice on what to do in those situations. Our aim is to re-unite as many cats with their owners as possible.

Queenie's Family

Finding their feet

Queenie gave birth to five beautiful kittens six weeks ago. During that time we have seen the kittens develop and they are now starting to explore their new world. Over the last few days the kittens have become braver and are definitely more active. They have started to venture into their outside run. We peg their cat-flap open during the day time so they can get used to going in and out of it!

Mum Queenie has also been enjoying lots of attention and is relishing the free time that she can have away from her kittens. Motherhood is such a tiring job and poor Queenie has been a mum not only once but twice! Queenie really is a lovely girl and once the kittens are old enough she will be neutered. She will then be ready to be re-homed. She loves to have her tummy tickled, she is so gentle and loving. The kittens are very lucky to have such an awesome mummy!

Happy cats

Toy enrichment

Earlier today Cat Care Assistant Holly put some new toys in the cat pens. One kitten in particular really loved his new toy. This is a photo of him playing with it.

After the toy was given he took interest straight away and put his front paws into the wholes at the top to try and get to the plastic ball inside. We could hear lots of thrashing and banging noises. Hopefully this will keep him occupied for some time and give mum a rest! 

Here at the adoption centre we believe in making the stay for the cats as happy as possible. Toy enrichment is very important not only to young kittens but to older cats as well. We also like to give the cats catnip, cat grass, carpets, puzzle feeders, cosy bedding and scratching posts. A more relaxed cat is more likely to find a home quicker.

We would be very grateful to receive any cat toys or scratching post donations. We are always in need of supplies to keep the cats entertained!

Mia's family

Growing up quickly

Mia one of our nursing mums has four gorgeous babies. We have been following their progress over the last few weeks. They are now five weeks old and have started to tuck into kitten food. Their sight is also fully developed at five weeks of age. They have also started to use the litter tray, although they still do have some accidents! 

As you can see from the photographs the kittens have really started the bulk up and are much larger now. They are now starting to explore the world around them. The kittens mustered the courage yesterday to go down the ladder to their outside run. Before we know it they will be running up and down full of beans! 

Mia is still doing a fantastic job as mum and the kittens have still been suckling occasionally from her.  Poor Mia was feeling a little poorly about a week ago though. She had developed mastitis. Mastitis occurs when the mammary glands of lactating queens become inflamed, blocked or infected. This happens because the kittens are now not suckling from Mia so much and as a result Mia's milk went off! After a small course of anti-biotics the mastitis cleared up and Mia is now back to her normal self.

An update on Cupcake

Almost ready for re-homing

Cupcake had her tail amputated a few weeks ago. We are happy to say that she is doing really well. Her wound has healed quickly and her fur is starting to grow back around what's left of her tail. 

Next week she is due to move into our homing block so fingers crossed she will find a new home soon. We are confident that she will have no trouble winning someone over. She is such an affectionate, gentle cat. 

Smartie

Another water baby!

What is going on with our cats after neutering? They all seem to develop an obsession with water! You may remember from a previous blog post that Poppy turned loopy after her op a few weeks ago and drenched her house with water. It happened again yesterday with an adorable cat called Smartie. She purred the whole time from when she woke up from her op. She really was adorable all afternoon. All glary eyed after the anaesthetic and rolling around purring in one of our recovery op cages.

As soon as she was put back in her pen with her litter-mates she went straight to her water bowl knocked it over and soaked all the bedding and the floor. Not too sure her sisters were that impressed with her antics! So we decided that the best option was to give her a stone water bowl in the hope that some water would stay in it. How wrong we were! She proceeded to put both of her paws in the water bowl at the same time and start splashing water all over the pen. Very funny indeed, so in the end after several re-fills of water we gave up and left her too it! At least this makes a change to grumpy cats are neutering, we much prefer happy ones!

Recently we decided to put a feliway plug in diffuser in our ops room whilst the neutering session takes place. Maybe this is has something to do with the chilled out nature of the cats recently. Feliway is a synthetic copy of the feline facial pheromone, used by cats to mark their territory as safe and secure. By mimicking the cat’s natural facial pheromones, Feliway creates a state of familiarity and security in the cat's local environment. As a result, Feliway can be used to help comfort and reassure cats, while they cope with a challenging situation and/or help prevent or reduce the stress caused to a cat during a change in their environment.

Ashley - a handsome chap

Misunderstood

Hello my name is Ashley. When I first arrived at the centre I was so frightened, I am now really starting to come out of my shell. I am becoming much more confident and I really love all the attention I am getting. I absolutely love my food, it's the best part of the day for me being fed!

I would love a home with a garden to roam in and I would prefer a home with an older family. Please give me a chance I have so much love to give to that special someone. If you think I could be the purr-fect cat for you then please come to the centre to visit me.

Poppy

Fallen on her paws

You may remember Poppy from previous blog posts. She was re-homed last week to a lovely lady in Ryde who had had a cat from Cats Protection before. Sadly the ladies previous cat had recently passed away. When she came up to the centre she immediately fell in love with Poppy, who wouldn't?

A few months ago we received a call about a cat that had been hit by a car. Emily and Kelly went out to find Poppy lying underneath a car injured. She was rushed straight to the vets and she had a x-ray. The x-ray revealed a fractured pelvis and we later found out that she also had a broken tail. Poppy had to have her tail amputated and due to cage rest her pelvis started to heal itself.

We are all so happy that Poppy has found a loving home. So far she is doing really well.  Hopefully we will have some photos of Poppy in her new home to put on the blog very soon. A happy ending at last.