Purrs In Our Hearts - Cat Forum UK
Cat Rescue & Rehoming => Rescue & Rehoming General => Topic started by: Mark on January 06, 2011, 15:01:14 PM
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Last Wednesday (30/12) I dealt with a call about 2 cats that had been left behind when someone moved. The lady said a nearby neighbour had moved away leaving behind 2 cats that she had been feeding in the garden for about 12 years :Crazy:. She said before the lady moved, she lied saying her son was moving in and would continue the feeding but instead, the house was sold. She said although she thought there were 2 cats, she had only seen one. She had taken over the feeding ( the house is at the end of a cul-de-sac opposite the lady's house so quite far away.) The new owners had confronted her saying they don't want her feeding the cat/s and that they will set their dogs on them >:( - the nice lady wasn't fazed by that and carried feeding by putting food in the front garden of the house next door. The woman had been shouting at her to stop. This is when she called us. Apparently when nice lady moved there 12 years ago, there were around 30 cats. Te old neighbour took 7 of the tamest into her house and tamed them. The RSPCA came and took the rest and killed them >:( (no other word) the 2 that remained must have been ones they missed.
Anyway, there wasn't much we could do with a cat that was born and had lived outside all those years unless a farm-type home came up. I phoned Rhodes Minnis sanctuary and they said they would put the cat/s on their waiting list. I asked how realistic it was that they came in and they said they had done well with rehoming farm cats lately and there was a good chance.
Fast forward to Tuesday - Another phone person took a message from the lady saying the situation was worse as the neighbours were giving her a really hard time and now the cat was limping :(
I chased up Rhodes Minnis and they said that hopefully there would be space in a few days. I did the phones yesterday and the first message of the day was the lady saying a man was making threats about killing the cat and was shouting at her (she is 70 and full-time carer to husband with dementia) she asked about the possibility of trying to trap the cat and keeping it in her garage until there was room at the sanctuary. Sharon ran it by Julie & Caroline and it was decided that it was better than the cat being in danger (the nice lady said she wasn't going to be intimidated and her only concern was the cat) I phoned her this morning to tell her the plan - that I was picking up a trap and dog cage from Sharon and would need to ask Angela how to set it :-[
While we were on the phone, I had missed a call from Rhodes Minnis saying they have space ;D
So - I collected the trap from Sharon's house and went over with the lady to set it. It was mad as I couldn't bend over to set it so the lady had to do the donkey work :shy:
She is going to check the trap every couple of hours, so fingers crossed. The next problem is transferring the cat (the lady calls her Milly) to Rhodes Minnis, about 25 miles away.
Annoyingly we saw Milly and attempted to catch her but no luck.
The Sanctuary will get a vet to give her an MOT (she has probably never seen a vet) and will assess her. If they think she can be homed to a farm, they will do do but otherwise, she will be given a home in the feral sanctuary there.
http://www.rhodesminnis.co.uk/?Feral_Sanctuary
The lady said when the snow melted last week, she found a paw which she thinks belonged to the other cat :'(
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Update - Cat is trapped already ;D
She is now safely in the trap in the lady's garage. Rhodes Minnis said I could take her now but it is pouring with rain and will be dark soon + they are in the middle of nowhere so sadly poor puss will have to spend the night in the trap and I will take her there in the morning.
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Well done Mark and well done that lady. Look forward to the update that the little cat is safely at Rhodes Minnis tomorrow :)
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I am hoping the camera will turn up. I have found the charger for the old camera so maybe I should put a battery on charge as back up. I mislaid the charger a few years ago. At the time a new canon charger was £70 :Crazy: so I decided to get a new camera instead :evillaugh:
My old brick Ixus 500 was £325 8 years ago and probably worth £5 now :evillaugh:
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Nice work Mark (and nice lady :)). How awful about the paw in the snow though :(
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Great work Mark and hope the cats paw is not too bad :hug:
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I might ask Brenda if she fancies doing some voluntary work - maybe phones or something as she doesn't drive. I get the impression that things aren't too great for her caring for someone with dementia. (things were said but not fair to repeat them) She is good on the phone and very proactive - it would be a shame to waste a talent! :)
I suggested running her over to Rhodes Minnis when the weather improves a bit so she can see their feral set-up. Her eyes lit up and she said she would love to :evillaugh:
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That's lovely Mark, I hope she is able to take you up on both offers :D
What a lovely lady :D
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HI Mark the area where this lady lives is pretty bad for un neutered cats maybe she might consider helping on the leafleting etc... or passing the word around.... Your gith though people that are proactive are hard to find and i am sure with the home life being dificult she may like a respite for a bit and like to do things for herself.. Jane and her team may benefit from such a proactive person as well... Anyhow... hope all goes well
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gith
Am I the only person who has never heard that word? :shify:
I googled and it means correct or right.
I will have a chat in the morning. I am really taken by this lady. I felt so awful as her coat wasn't waterproof and she was soaked through. I told her I was worried about her going out late at night on her own and she said she wasn't bothered as the cat was all that mattered. :)
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I've never heard the word either Mark,lol!
The lady sounds lovely-hope you can get her on board!
Hope the cat will be ok!
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Mission accomplished. Busy day dropping "Milly" the feral off at Rhodes Minnis, collecting Lazarus and after taking him upstairs, taking an injured pigeon with a mangled leg off my ground floor window ledge into the vet next door - poor thing :(
Anyway, it sounds like Milly will be staying at their feral sanctuary.
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A horrible situation, but a happy ending.
The lady sounds lovely, a sad situation with her husband, I worked with someone whose husband had dementia, she only did a few hours a week but it was her lifeline to the outside world.
Well done Mark for caring so much about the cat and the lady, it was lovely of you to offer to take her to the sanctuary. :)
Gith?? I was looking at the keys around the T and H trying to work out what word it was supposed to be!!
Nicky x
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You can't see it all in the pics but these are the pics I took at an open day. The ferals have a great life. No more wondering where the next meal is coming from and plenty of shelter with warm beds and no pens :)
http://www.purrsinourhearts.co.uk/index.php/topic,33297.msg594378.html#msg594378
They said she would go there if she was a true feral. Shortly after, she showed her feral nature and ran up the cage and was hanging off the ceiling - she swore at the woman a lot as well :evillaugh: