Fife Cat Shelter Winter Newsletter 2017 This has been one of our busiest years ever! From the 1st of January, requests to take in cats has not lessened. Often we are asked to take cats in immediately e.g. the same day, or there are 2, 3, 4 cats in the same household. We try our best to respond, but sometimes there are too few spaces and too many cats! You can follow us on Facebook, visit our website www.fifecatshelter.org or phone between 10am and 6 pm 01383830286 At the start of this newsletter, I want to say we could not have taken in and helped the number of cats we have this year without the extraordinary support and help, over and above the call of duty, of Rhonda and Emma at Causeway Cattery and Carol and Tommy at Gairneybridge Cattery. The work they have done has been amazing and the Shelter could not have managed without them. Thank you! We also want to thank everyone at Lomondhills vets, who offer us a service second to none and give our cats the very best of care Fife Cat Shelter is a Registered Scottish Charity SCO21654 1
Our unit of pens built last year at Causeway Cattery specifically for Fife Cat Shelter cats, has been very successful. Rhonda was instrumental in the design of these pens and her advice on their layout was invaluable. We have within the unit, a vet room, which our vets can use when they come out to check the cats in the Shelter. An excellent idea of Rhonda s has been incorporated in our unit. We have two holding pens which can be used for a short period of time if a cat needs to be kept in a smaller space to recover from an injury, or simply needs 24 hours to adjust to being out of its familiar surroundings, and to settle in a quiet space. Fife Cat Shelter is a Registered Scottish Charity SCO21654 2
Examples of the kind of situations we are contacted about and have helped: 3 cats left behind in an empty flat with no food or water and an overflowing litter tray, thankfully discovered and collected by the Shelter. Cats and kittens sold on social media to people who discovered the kitten was too young to be away from its mother/ the cat had medical problems/ the cat was antisocial, again in these situations we have been contacted many times throughout the year and have stepped in to help. The all too familiar stray cats who have been living rough and are in poor condition The abandoned pregnant cat who then has her kittens in a garden. An increase in the number of older cats we have taken in because of the death of an owner, or an owner being taken into care. Many of these cats have not seen a vet for years and need a lot of treatment, mainly dentals. Fact: 1 dental costs 70.20, if X rays are needed that is a further 36.72, in October there were 6 essential dentals done, it all adds up! Fife Cat Shelter is a Registered Scottish Charity SCO21654 3
Fund Raising is a constant focus. We hold craft fairs, Facebook auctions, Open Days and apply to Trusts. Our money goes towards doing our very best for the cats in the Shelter in terms of care and veterinary treatment. Every cat handed into the Shelter is vet-checked, wormed, flea d, neutered, microchipped & given a first vaccination before rehoming. We are now in our third year of offering members of the public a neutering amnesty, where cats can be neutered for 25. This is principally to help those people who struggle to afford the cost of neutering. In 2017 we have not had the same uptake on the amnesty as in previous years, but have neutered, via the amnesty, around 90 cats so far this year. We plan to continue this amnesty offer into 2018. We would be delighted to receive items for tombola, cat ornaments (in very good condition) and unwanted/ broken gold / silver jewellery which we can sell for scrap. You can also become a regular supporter of Fife Cat Shelter by donating a sum of your choice each month via Virgin Giving using the green donate button on our web site. Jackie organised a sponsored walk across the Forth Road Bridge and it raised just over 1,000 thank you so much to all who took part, and well done! New fund raising idea always welcome! Fife Cat Shelter is a Registered Scottish Charity SCO21654 4
We are so pleased that we had funds to help this owner and her lovely cat Marshall, see below. Fife Cat Shelter is a Registered Scottish Charity SCO21654 5
Success stories Round about summer we were asked to take in 2 cats from a house. Only when the house was reached was it discovered that the 2 beautiful cats, 1 year-old had never been handled! The cats owner had anxiety issues and had not coped with the cats at all. After half an hour, going round and round the room, across furniture and under furniture, the cats were captured. They were neutered and although we spent many weeks trying to gain their confidence and make them more sociable, it was obvious that was not going to happen. Living in a pen with a run was doing nothing for these two beautiful cats, and then in September, out of the blue, Rosamund contacted us. She and her husband had just bought and moved to a farm and were looking for two farm cats. Look at the result! Milo and Lucy loving farm life! They've befriended the horses, torment the dogs mercilessly and follow us around noisily mewing! They even accept strokes now if accompanied by food thanks so much for letting us rehome them, they are awesome Fife Cat Shelter is a Registered Scottish Charity SCO21654 6
Far travelled cats Nothing unusual in this photo, two contented cats relaxing and playing with string. These two lucky cats were rehomed to a lovely couple who live on the Island of Coll. The cats travelled to Oban, stayed overnight in Oban and then had a ferry trip to Coll. They are having a marvellous life there and have beautiful countryside to explore and as you can see are extremely well settled Quite a journey, but so worth it! Fife Cat Shelter is a Registered Scottish Charity SCO21654 7
Apart from the success stories highlighted previously, this is a picture of Dotty, shown previously as the abandoned cat with kittens, now well settled in her new home and Willow (black/white) rehomed 2 years ago with her kittens, now big grown up cats! Fife Cat Shelter is a Registered Scottish Charity SCO21654 8