Do rescues really make a difference?

[littlebrambles]

I think it's not "rescues" that make a difference but the " individuals " that make the real difference. Ordinary people working tirellessly to rehome, neuter, rescue ..... whatever. We help those cats/kittens in our care at that time, we send them onto better lives and we care about their welfare.

It doesn't matter whether you are part of a large charity or a single person helping to find a home for an old stray - the cats that are in need look to individuals for a solution to their current problem, whatever that may be. We make a difference to everycat we help, we also make a difference to people's lives. There are few greater pleasures than having an uncomplicated rehoming with a fabulously caring home who keep in touch and give regular updates on their cat. Rescue workers have made a difference to those people aswell as the cat. A good result.

However, I understand the frustrations that go hand in hand with rescue work - it's as much about people as it is about animals and it's easy to fall into the "everyone is awful" trap. I just think when we feel like that it's time to take a small break.

Rescue work is like no other - the job is never finished, the emotional wear and tear is extreme, it's not possible to dip in and out of it at will and it can be completely overwhelming. It takes over your life and their is NO PAY !!    However, many of us do what we can, we look after own own small corner of the world so to speak and I suppose we (people) will carry on doing it for eternity. I think to look at the whole picture would be too depressing and in order to be kind to ourselves it's better we don't.

We could all do ourselves a favour though by accepting that for many tens or even hundreds of thousands of people animals (including cats) just aren't an important part of their lives, they mean very little and the will to dedicate any time/money to them is simply absent. It's a really harsh fact of life and does take some getting your head around but for many people cats/kittens are a "phase" a "must-have" an "afterthought" an "inconvenience" a "nuisance" or a "disposable object". When it becomes too much they are happy to offload to a rescue without a minutes thought.

 I guess it is a sign of the times that we live in that this animal safety net we have created is used by so many. I do feel people are less independant these days, they rely on "other people" to sort out their problems, including rehoming their cats.

[Kay and Penny]

perhaps some of us should go along to the AGM and ask some pertinent questions

I have a DD to CP and have named them in my will, so I too am interested in where my money goes and what it does

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Thanks Ann.

I think that CP really need to review their funding and donations and make it transparently clear to those who donate, where the money goes.....or maybe where the money does not go!

Cp branches do a magnificant job but they are operating with one hand tied behind their back.........its time for these big charities to come clean and start giving the money to the branches where its needed , I reckon!

[Ann Clarke (Tabby cat)]

I think a lot of the homing expenditure is for the adoption centres and the National Cat Centre which are funded direct from the national funds. We are (finally) getting an adoption centre in the North East after petitioning for many years for one although progress is achingly slow. Although it will be in our catchment area we've been told that it will operate completely separately from the branches in the region and we will still have to do what we normally do on homing, neutering, fundraising etc. We won't even have automatic access to any of the pens or the vets which would obviously help and to be honest we are a bit concerned on how it will affect our homing and fundraising. The centres of course have staff, premises etc which all costs so I would imagine that comes to quite a bit of money.

The neutering budget is huge and each branch gets a neutering grant every year but when that runs out we have to use branch funds to cover the costs of vouchers. We've been very lucky to have a centrally funded campaign over the last year which has helped but that is coming to an end in this area and we can't afford to keep it going from our funds so will be back to the normal vouchers. They do quite a few campaigns like that round the country which means people can get their cats neutered for £5 so again that costs a lot. Mind you given the amount of cats CP as a whole neuters you do wonder where all the kittens keep coming from 

Lots of people don't realise that the branches operate separately I remember when it all came out about the money CP had in the Icelandic banks that went bust our local radio station actually announced that Gateshead CP had lost x million pounds - if only we had those millions to lose  we had some odd queries from people at fundraisers after that 

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Its only when you start looking into this that things seem strange , isnt it 

[Mark]

I'm a bit puzzled as I looked at CP 2007 report and it says 80% of budget spent on rehoming and 14% on neutering. The rehoming is mostly done at a local level so not sure how that works - maybe someone can explain?

I'm sure I heard a figure of 11 million spent on Neutering last year so it doesn't add up.

[Dawn F]

that's what I mean Mark, when we drew up our wills we put cp head office address - we had no idea that fundraising was done locally, we just assumed the money came from head office - I'm sure we aren't the only people who thought that - yes head office is lovely, I'd love a job!

[Mark]

and following on from Gill's point I think it is a general perception that all the money is shared out - it is certainly what I thought when setting up legacies for our wills

People can make a monthly standing order or a legacy to a particular branch. That is the only way that branch will get the money. I have spoken to quite a few people who have said they support us but they actually have a standing order with head office. I questioned myself why the CP head office & grounds were so lovely and on some beautiful land with a lake etc - I was told that it was bequeathed to CP but can't be sold.

[Mark]

After reading Anns reply , I have a question which maybe obvious to you in Cp .

What happens to all the money that comes onto CP HQ and why doesnt more come back to the branches?

The bulk of the money is spent on Neutering vouchers - sadly people that make donations are subsidising others who get animals without considering who will pay for them.

It's a shame more of the money can't be spent on needy cats. It would be great if we had a cattery here. We can't even get a shop as head office dictate that a branch must have x amount in the bank first.

I took a message on the cat line last week from a woman phoning on behalf of her brother and she wanted us to phone her (on a mobile!) to tell her if we can do free or cheap neutering "and everything else" the 2 kittens need 

[Dawn F]

and following on from Gill's point I think it is a general perception that all the money is shared out - it is certainly what I thought when setting up legacies for our wills

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

After reading Anns reply , I have a question which maybe obvious to you in Cp .

What happens to all the money that comes onto CP HQ and why doesnt more come back to the branches?

[Ann Clarke (Tabby cat)]

I agree with Teresa's comment in that we do make a difference to each individual cat or kitten we help and that's what keeps us going. It's been a really tough year so far and we have all been a bit despondent in our branch at times because we haven't been able to help everyone who calls us but we will keep going. We only refer people to other rescues if we really cannot help which unfortunately has been the case on a few occasions this year simply because we have been completely full (and squeezed a few in that we shouldn't have really). It's not on to just pass the buck to other smaller rescues if you are able to help though.

Just a quick point though about the larger charities, the national side of CP does have a lot of money but as individual branches we don't see a lot of it ourselves as we are expected to manage ourselves as a branch and cover our costs. We get a small annual grant from them which does help but doesn't go anywhere near our vet bills let alone any other costs and hasn't risen this year despite rising costs. So we are out there fundraising with everyone else and often for little reward, for instance 3 of us spent all day Bank Holiday Monday at an event to raise the grand sum of £74.80 so I do sympathise so much with the smaller rescues who don't have even the limited backup we get from our national side. We are a small branch that covers a huge geographic area as there are so few branches in our region and no adoption centre at the moment so we do our best but always wish we could do more.

Keep going guys, you are all doing a tremendous job. 

[Desley (booktigger)]

This is very apt, as I have been thinking after two conversations yesterday - one with a rescue person, one without. The rescue person was also saying about how bad things are, with the amount of cats needing homes and their new volunteers are coming on board with no experience or knowledge and not listening to people with years of both, and that is very worrying - their new co-ordinator has no cats, never done rescue work before and they struggle to get her to comprehend what really happens - they are actually glad of the RSPCA branch in our area though, due to the fact it takes pressure off them. The second conversation was about fundraising, the person I Was talking to believes that animal charities do very well fundraising - I disagree (although the current charity does well, but we do have to be out there pretty much every weekend) - he actually has a website for charities to benefit from legacies, and animal charities are one of the highest 'hits', but I think on a 'grass roots' level, animal charities are overlooked - although not if you look at the larger charities accounts - it is ironic really that the larger charities are the ones getting the money, but then giving out numbers of the small, independents when animals need to be taken in.

Of course we make a difference, and while we can't save them all, we help as many as we can, and unfortunately, things are seeming worse due to the recession, but we have come through more than one of those, and at least one rescue on here has been through one of them, as well as the person I was talking to yesterday. At some point the neutering message may make a difference, but I know that quite a lot of the cats I have fostered either wouldnt be alive or would have still been on the streets getting pregnant if I hadnt been able to help, so I am sure those cats think I made a difference.

[madkittyrescue]

I think we all make a difference in our own way to each of the cats and kittens we help.  Looking at the big picture only serves to make us feel worse about the scale of the problem and unfortunately it is accepted in society that if they dump their cats on us or tell us they will have them PTS or worse it is acceptable and we will 'fold' which certainly for me, adds to my anger and frustration at people's attitudes.  This is what it boils down to. cats do what comes naturally to them and it is the people we need to try to get through to and change their views and attitude to such things.

A huge portion of the annoyance we come up against is that the public don't actually understand 'rescue' at all.  Some people we have dealt with think they run as a business with hefty profits (something I think is perpetuated by the 'illusion set by a  certain national charity) and they don't really understand what it is truly like for us small rescue's.

I think for me I have to look at the positive outcomes and those cases where we have made a difference so that we can move forward. Without that the heartbreak and emotional drain would just finish us off.

[Dawn (DiddyDawn)]

We do make a difference Angie, maybe not in as big a way as we'd like but even if we just spay/neuter, generations of cats are saved from suffering.  Sometimes I hate the decisions I have to make, the stray I had in the vets today had me crying taking him there, for the simple reason I know he will have to be returned if a home isn't found....I really can't take any more.  I had a little female in last week for spaying....approx 7 months old and it turned out she was pregnant with 6 babies.....she was still spayed......decisions like these I hate but in saying that, the vet said she was so small and the uterus was so thin, chances are she wouldn't have been able to carry full term without major problems so maybe a blessing that she was caught in time.   We can only do what we can do but I'm sure each cat we help would be a lot worse off if we weren't there   

[sheryl]

We make a difference to each individual animal we are able to help .

I think that says it all T

Of course you all make a difference Angie 

[Angiew]

I sometimes think in the grand scale of things we make things worse.

If we didn't exist then perhaps there would not be as many cats around and therefore less suffering (even if it is because kittens are killed at birth! - at least they then don't go on to produce generations of unwanted, ill cats!)

[Teresa Pawcats]

We make a difference to each individual animal we are able to help .

[Dawn F]

I think everything would a lot worse without them

[Kay and Penny]

I echo that Gill

I don't think many people understand the difference between animal cruelty and animal rescue - so much money goes to the former when the rescue aspect is so much needier

I think too there may be too many multi-cat households in less than ideal circumstances too

in my barely remembered youth, most households had a single cat, often kept primarly to keep mice at bay, and the cat was cared for without being made that much fuss of - but they were rarely chucked out simply because they caused little work, and if they did need rescueing there was just the one so less of  a problem

now it seems when someone is evicted or developes an 'allergy' (didn't have those in my youth either) or has stressed out cats with behavioural problems such as spraying, there are suddenly 4, 5 or more cats and kittens needing new homes

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Things change Angie and so do values.

Now many have no respect for others lives or property and that extends to a throwaway society encouraged by the media.

Many are out of work and bored cos they never learned how to entertain themselves, getting a cat or a kitten is a temporary solution and they quickly bore of something that needs looking after and costs money so they throw them away.

Others get one for entertain ment until they have children or move, or get thrown out of their property for not keeping up with bills and the cats suffer again.

Education on nuetering just isnt being done and anyway they themselves are breeding like rabbits.

Lack of knowledge, money, care, respect are root causes.

Yes you rescues are doing a wonderful job and without you things would be so much worse but I do believe its getting worse for all the above reasons.

Of course this is also not being helped by the caring public giving there money to a charity that is willing to take it but not do very much in helping the animals Just imagine what you rescues would do with the millions that the public donate every year........that would make a difference!

[Angiew]

Do you think we are actually making a difference or are things just getting worse?

I sometimes think its a bit like the welfare state, a lot of people just do what they want assuming when things get bad/are bored/etc.... they can just shout and off will trot a dotty lady from the cat rescue society and sort out their problems. Does it encourage people to be irresponsible?

Lets face it, nanny state has done wonders for teenage pregnancy rates. In the 60's such girls would either have their child adopted or end up living in a hostel. I remember in the 70's being petrified of the thought of pregnancy now it just seems a way of life and a way of getting state support and a place away from home.....