Success Story - Tipsy and Coszee

Loving life

 

Tipsy and Coszee were here at the centre for a few months. Two sisters who were always overlooked until one day a lovely lady from Brighstone fell in love with them. 

We are so happy to say that the girls have settled in so well. Coszee has proved to be the lap cat of the two and loves company. Tipsy is more independent but seems so happy. It is wonderful to see the girls so happy at last, they deserve it.

More kittens!

Tilly and her kittens

Tilly came into the centre with her newborn kittens last week. Tilly has taken a little while to adjust to her new environment. This image was taken yesterday of the happy little family. A few blurry photos later we managed to get this one, Tilly kept rolling around and purring! 

Smartie and her babies

Smartie came into the centre heavily pregnant. Just over a week ago she gave birth to four beautiful babies. Just look how big they are already! She has certainly got her hands full and is doing a fantastic job so far.

Success Story - Twiglet Matilda

Happy in her new home

Twiglet Matilda was one of Jenny's kittens. Volunteer Rowan fostered her in her home for a few weeks. Little Twiglet was struggling to get enough milk and food and mum Jenny was under so much strain. So the decision was made that Twiglet was to be separated from the litter and hand-reared.

Jenny and all the remainder of the litter have all gone to their new homes. Twiglet is now living with one of Rowan's friends permanently and is happy in her new home. This gorgeous photo is of Rowan with little Twiglet. Without Rowan's love and care she may not have made it. Well done Rowan and well done little Twiglet!

Staying cool this summer

Hot weather tips for cats

Summertime is not always an easy time for our animal friends. Cats can suffer from the same problems that humans do, such as overheating, dehydration and even sunburn. By taking some simple precautions, you can celebrate the season and keep your pets happy and healthy.  

Never leave your pet alone in a vehicle 

Hyperthermia can be fatal. Even with the windows open, a parked automobile can quickly become a furnace in no time. Parking in the shade offers little protection, as the sun shifts during the day. Always carry a bottle filled with cold, fresh water when travelling with your pet.

The right time for playtime is in the cool of the early morning or evening, but never after a meal or when the weather is humid.

Provide fresh water and plenty of shade for animals kept outdoors 

Bring your cat inside during the heat of the day to rest in a cool part of the house. Be especially sensitive to older and overweight animals in hot weather. 

Good grooming - Cats should be brushed often, this will reduce the build of dead hair and will keep your cat cooler.

Do not apply any sunscreen or insect repellent product to your pet that is not labelled specifically for use on animals. Ingestion of sunscreen products can result in drooling, diarrhoea, excessive thirst and lethargy. The misuse of insect repellent that contains DEET can lead to neurological problems.

Having a backyard barbecue? Always keep matches, lighter fluid, citronella candles and insect coils out of pets’ reach.

Stay alert for signs of overheating in pets, which include excessive panting and drooling and mild weakness, along with an elevated body temperature.

Older cats can become disorientated quickly during the hot weather. Recently we have has a few incidents of older cats being brought into the centre looking rather tatty. Even though an older cat can look neglected they are sometimes just old! Their bodies are starting to pack up and they loose condition. Having said that it is very important to keep older cats cool and well hydrated in hot weather. So please be vigilant.

Homes needed for abandoned kittens

Three kittens abandoned in a box

Last Sunday we had a call to say that three kittens had been found at Seaclose Park In Newport. They were found dumped in a cardboard box. This begs the question, how could someone do something like this? Unfortunately this is not the first time that kittens have been abandoned on the Island.

They were brought to the centre and are now safe and well. Around the same time, two kittens were found abandoned in Vectis Road, East Cowes, and four kittens were found in Clarence Road, also in East Cowes underneath a garden shed.

We now have around 50 kittens needing homes, plus a similar number of adult cats. The problem of unwanted cats on the Island remains critical. Unfortunately, we are struggling to find new homes for around 100 animals in our care.

Our kittens are vaccinated, neutered, micro-chipped
Cats Protection are urging people to change the way they think about getting a kitten. Our kittens have had the best start in life.

They are vaccinated, neutered, micro-chipped and come with four weeks free insurance with Petplan. For an adoption fee of only £65.

Neutering alone for a female can cost in excess of £60, a micro-chip is around £20 and a vaccination course is over £50. So that fee of £65, starts to sound very reasonable.

Special offer in July
During the month of July the adoption fees have been reduced by £10.

Fees are now as follows – £40 for a adult cat, £55 for a kitten and £65 for a pair of cats.

Pay us a visit
So please if you are thinking of adopting a kitten or a cat, please come up to Cats Protection’s Adoption Centre, 122 Marlborough Road, Ryde.

The centre is open everyday from 11am-3pm and we will be delighted to meet you. We look forward to seeing you all soon!

For more information call 01983 562609

More than 50 kittens desperately need homes

We currently have over 50 kittens here at the adoption centre, who will all need to find new homes. 

The situation is desperate and it continuing to get worse day by day. We really need your help to find homes for these poor, homeless kitties. Everyday we receive countless phone calls from people asking us for help, if we cannot home our cats and kittens fast enough we are struggling to help those people. 

We are urging people to change the way they think about getting a kitten. Our kittens have had the best start in life. They are vaccinated, neutered, micro-chipped and come with four weeks free insurance. For an adoption fee of only £65. Neutering alone for a female can cost in excess of £60, a micro-chip is around £20 and a vaccination course is over £50. So that fee of £65, starts to sound very reasonable. 

So please if you are thinking of adopting a kitten, please come up to our adoption centre, 122 Marlborough Road, Ryde. We are open everyday from 11am-3pm and we will be delighted to meet you. We look forward to seeing you all soon! 

Little Eric

A day in the life

6:30 - 8:30am: Feed time for Eric, after a night in the land of nod. It's important to make sure you help Eric to empty his bladder and bowel before and after every feed if he needs to go! After his feed Eric loves to play and have snuggles. Sometimes he needs a bath and he loves having his face washed after a feed. 

8:30- 10:30am: Back to bed for little Eric, he's tired after all that fun.

10:30am - 12noon: Time for more cuddles and some more milk if he is hungry.

12pm - 2pm:  Depending on how tired Eric is he usually has a sleep and maybe some more play time. He really loves all the attention he receives.

2pm - 3pm: Time for another feed! Eric is hungry every 4-5hours. Eric loves having tummy tickles and has his favourite toy fishing rod to play with. He soon gets tired and starts to fall asleep on your lap.

6pm - 11pm: As above Eric is hungry again, then he sleeps for an hour or so and loves to have more cuddles, he really loves cuddles!

11pm - 6:30am:  Eric has a feed before bedtime and sometimes he will sleep through the night. If he doesn't then a wake up call of 2am or 3am is normal.





Eric is such a little angel, how could anyone not love him. He is a well socialised kitten, having already lived with fours other cats and a dog whilst staying with Emily. He has listened to the guitar, been dried with a hairdryer and he has been handled by lots of different people. 

He is now four weeks old and he is starting to look like a little cat. He is now walking with more confidence each day and is becoming a cheeky little monkey. We are delighted with his progress. This week Emily is on holiday so she is going to try and wean Eric onto solid food. He now weighs 480g, he is little porker! Being on solid food with make him grow even stronger and he will slowly have less milk feeds. 

We will continue to keep you all updated on how Eric and Emily get on this week. Hopefully the weaning process with go smoothly!

Success Story - Carmen

Dear Sally (CP Receptionist)

As promised a photo of Carmen the day after she moved into our home.

She is absolutely adorable and has settled in surprisingly quickly. She has a great routine which she has devised herself and runs rings around us at home. You will not be getting her back as she's with us for life! She uses her new scratcher post after only being shown it once.

Please give my regards to all the staff and thank them for their help in finding me the 'purr-fect' furry friend. 

 

Best regards,

Jacqueline Townsend

Success Story - Nala

Loving life

Some of you may remember Nala from previous blog posts. Nala was in dire straits until our Manager Mel decided to take her on. We are so happy to say that Nala is doing very well and has settled in happily in her new home. 

Mel was worried that Nala wouldn't tolerate living with three other cats, but she has surprised us all and is not bothered by it.  Nala really enjoys being out in Mel's garden during the day and comes in at night and sleeps on the bed. She is eating very well, her coat feels amazing and she is at a healthy weight. 

It just goes to show what a home environment and lots of love can do for an older cat. Nala has definitely been given a new lease of life and its lovely to see.

Success Story - Bear

Hasn't stopped purring

Hi guys

Just thought you would like to see Bear's favourite place at night time, forget her newly purchased basket she spent her first and second nights on my bed with me! 

She seems to be settling in very well, no squiffy moments and eating well. Thank you for letting me have Bear, she hasn't stopped purring yet! 

Many thanks

Fleur

Kitten update

Lily's, April's and Sooty's kittens

Lily and her babies all went to their new homes last week, good luck all of you. April and her kittens are all reserved, neutered and ready to go! One of the kittens has already gone to it's new home.

Sooty's kittens are being vaccinated tomorrow and neutered on Thursday, so with any luck they should be going to their new homes over the weekend. Poor Sooty (pictured)  is still yet to be reserved though, She is a gentle natured, loving cat who would suit a family. We find it much harder to find homes for the mums than the kittens.

Rowan's kittens

Just look how cute Rowan's babies are! Can you believe these little ones are almost six weeks old. Soon they will be available for reservation. 

The strain of nursing has been tough for poor Rowan. She has become rather thin, so we have been making sure that she is getting enough food.

Jenny's family

Since little Twiglet as separated from mum and siblings Jenny seems more relaxed. Jenny was feeling the stress of being a mum and five kittens was just too much for her. Her four remaining kittens still in with her are gaining weight and are looking fantastic.




Tammy's and her babies

Now almost three weeks old and how proud does Tammy look and so she should be. Her babies are doing so well and growing up so fast as kittens always do. 

Twiglet Matilda

Growing up fast

Little Twiglet is not longer little! Since being with Rowan she has gotten so big and looks like a cat now and not the scrawny little kitty she once was. 

Rowan was concerned this week because Twiglet had an upset tummy, we are happy to say that it just seemed to be a one off and she is now back to normal.

Here are the latest photos from Rowan, how adorable does Twiglet look. Twiglet enjoys a snooze, tries her luck at licking Rowan's ice cream and has a good old stretch.

 

Little Eric

Our little fighter

Here he is everyone's favourite little kitten Eric. We all love him so much and are rooting for him. We think there is going to be fight between the staff over who wants to adopt him! Cat Carer Emily is particularly taken with him after looking after him for almost every night since he arrived here at the centre.

Little Eric is doing very well after a week of feeling off colour. He has had a poorly tummy and has been on antibiotics. We have been mixing synulox palatable drops in with Eric's milk so that he doesn't realise it's there. The synulox drops have made cats froth at the mouth in the past because of the horrible taste. We decided that mixing it in the with the milk was the best option. 

Eric has even started to walk and explore this week, he really is growing up fast. He is such a sweetheart and he seems to be through the worst of the teething process. Teething has made him restless and he has been finding things to chew on like a baby does for comfort. We can't quite believe that little Eric is three weeks old now. 

We will continue to update you on his weekly progress. 

Brooke

Pyometra Uterine Infection

Followers of the blog will remember Rook and her kittens who came to the centre from Rookley Country Park. Since then we have re-named her Brooke. Her kittens have grown up so fast and are thriving. Brooke and her kittens have now been separated, Brooke has been quite poorly recently. 

We started to notice that Brooke's general condition was deteriorating, she was grumpy, very thin and she had lost coat condition. The vet suspected that Brooke had a conditon called Pyometra Uterine Infection. 

Pyometra is the medical term used to describe an infected uterus. This infection can be open (draining pus from the vagina) or closed (pus is contained in the uterus by a closed cervix).

Pyometra can be a life threatening infection and may even require emergency surgery. A closed pyometra is more of an emergency than an open pyometra, since there is no drainage of pus in a closed pyometra. If left untreated, cats become very ill and some may not survive. With early treatment, about 90 percent of affected cats recover.

Since pyometra is an infection of the uterus, all unspayed cats are susceptible.
 

Symptoms

• Vaginal discharge
• Lethargy
• Lack of appetite
• Depression
• Vomiting
• Diarrhoea
• Drinking excessive amounts of water and urinating often   

Treatment and recovery

The ideal treatment for pyometra is an ovariohysterectomy (spay). Brooke went to the vets this week to be neutered. She has been on a course of anti-biotics and seems to be recovering well. We were lucky that we caught the infection early. This case just proves how vital it is that you get your cats neutered. This infection could have been fatal for Brooke.

Billy

Recovering well

Poor Billy has been recovering from a urine infection this week. He was rushed to the vets last week because he was unable to pass urine. The poor boy has to have a catheter fitted.

Since then he has been on medication and is now on the mend. He is much happier and is passing urine as usual. We are so happy that Billy is feeling better. We will continue to keep you updated on how he is doing over the next few weeks. 

Twiglet Matilda

A little beauty

Regular blog followers will remember Jenny and her kittens. Jenny has five babies and the smallest of the litter (tortie girl) wasn't putting on weight. Last week we made the decision to separate her from mum and her siblings. 

We have named her Twiglet Matilda, yes we are serious! Volunteer Rowan has kindly taken little Twiglet home with her. She is being spoilt with chicken and regular milk feeds. Since being with Rowan she has put on a tremendous amount of weight and is going from strength to strength.

Rowan has said that Twiglet is very much a people person and is quite the little madam. She loves her cuddly toy goat and alligator brothers.

Twiglets siblings are all doing well and are almost fully weaned. Jenny has also fully recovered from her nipple infection.

We will continue to keep you all updated on how little Twiglet Matilda is doing.

Finding a stray cat

 
It’s cold and you find a cat that is looking thin and bedraggled – what do you do? In this extract from The Cat magazine, we explain some of the best ways to find the owner.

 Read the article

e-petition

Make it a legal requirement to report a road accident involving a cat.

Under the Road Traffic Act 1988, section 170, it is a legal requirement to report any road accident which causes damage to any animal which is not on or in the vehicle involved. The definition of 'animal' however does not include cats. Currently only dogs, horses, sheep, cattle, pigs, goats, ass and mules are included. 

New Start Cat Rescue, a Gloucestershire based cat re-homing charity believe that this Act should be amended to include cats. This will ensure that cats hit on the road can be dealt with appropriately and perhaps in some cases, prevent fatalities.

Cats are peoples' possessions, their loving pets and part of the family. We strongly believe that this Act should be amended.

Sign the petition

Little man Eric

Two weeks old

 

Our little man Eric is doing very well. Just look how adorable he looks in this photo. He is now two weeks old and growing fast. Earlier in the week he opened his eyes. He now weighs 240g which is a good weight for a kitten of his age. Hand-reared kittens should gain between 10-15 grams each day. 

Well done little Eric and what a brilliant job mummy Emily has done.