Dear Friends,
We don’t seem to have stopped since our last newsletter. We had a huge waiting list (for cats to come in) then, and are only just getting to the end of it. It has been exhausting.
We have found a lot of new homes for cats which has been lovely, including some elderly, some long term and even a threesome. There just seem to be so many more who need taking in. Many of the cats mentioned in our last newsletter have found homes – our lovely white ‘Charlie’, who everyone loved, has found a new home, Sooty and Smartie, a pair of 8 year olds were chosen by a family. Misty, our 14 year old on thyroid tablets who had been here for some time, was chosen in November and is ruling the roost. Her new owner says she is neither quiet nor gentle. Rossi and Binx (the 3 legged cat), found a lovely home before Christmas.
More recently, ‘Moon’ and ‘Tiger’ have been chosen as has ‘Percy’ the Persian who featured in a newspaper article and was carried off like a baby. We do meet some great new owners. We have also taken in more elderly cats – 2 kittens we homed 12 years ago are back with us as both their owners have sadly died (see Oscar and Amy). Jennie and her sister were brought over from Nuneaton as the care home where they lived was closing. They are both at least 10. A pair of terrified black and white cats are still hiding in their pens since their owner died and they arrived here. Another pair was brought in and one of them escaped on the way in. The other is still pining. Hopefully we will find ‘Fluffy’. For some of these cats see ‘Cats for Homing’.
We had a wonderful selection of food donated over Christmas, plus lots of cards, donations, blankets and bedding. We are so grateful.
We had some very successful Christmas stalls where we met lots of supporters both old and new and were proud to show off our wares. We braved all kinds of weather except the rain and wind at Alcester where we had to give up.
Now we begin a new year of fund-raising and hope to see you at one of our events. (See Dates for Your Diary). We hope for better weather at most of them.
We have been very lucky to have quite a few new volunteers over the year. Two even came to help on Christmas Day. We are very grateful for this extra help, especially as some of our ‘regulars’ have been poorly and sometimes we really struggle to get everything done.
Thank you to everyone who supports us.
Best wishes for 2008.
Rosemary Spicer Margaret Goode
p.s. A plea for bubble wrap – don’t throw it away – we use it to wrap our goods at events.
Please see our Homing page here.
From Helen Hall, 24, Hanson Avenue, Shipston-on-Stour CV36 4HL info@avoncatrescue.org
Thank you all for your support over the last year. You are all very kind and make my job much easier. Special thanks for all the voluntary help we receive which makes a tremendous difference to the cats and how the Rescue looks. We could still do with one or two more people who either once a month or once a fortnight would come and really clean one of our ‘pensioner’ pens. If you think you might be able to help please get in touch.
Thank you also for all the lovely food that is being donated in various places. We have been given a lot of dry food which is starting to accumulate as our cats are getting fussy. Most of themhave decided they do not like the coloured dry food. It will take us some while to slowly get through this dry food so please, if you are able to donate any food over the next few months, could it be in a tin, pouch or tray.
We have received some Tesco stamps that we use to buy food. Perhaps this is a possibility for some of you. I know of 2 people who actually filled a savings card last year which enabled us to buy quite a lot of food.
Throughout 2007, Jollyes and Tesco in Stratford on Avon and Creature Comforts in Shipston-on-Stour have collected food and bedding for us. We are grateful for their continued help and support.
Our October Bazaar raised just under £1400 which is amazing for about 1½ hours of selling time. However, it does take a lot of people a lot of time to set up and clear away. Thank you to all who helped in any way.
The coins in the bucket came to £71.22 at our October Bazaar making an overall total for the year of £403.85. Wonderful – thank you. For those who haven’t collected before, perhaps you would consider collecting your small coins (1p, 2p, 5p) for us. I don’t mind how many times I need to go to the bank to pay it in! I can just carry about £45 in 1p’s or 2p’s in bags on both shoulders but not far!
If you live away from our area perhaps you could still collect your coins and change them for 2nd class stamps which could be posted to us.
Fundraising for 2008 starts with the Jumble Sale on Sat. February 16th at The Memorial Hall in Welford. If you can help at any part of the day please let us know. If you have any jumble we can sell, great, but it is easier for us if it can be delivered to the hall on the morning of the sale. Otherwise, please leave it at the Rescue and mark it JUMBLE.
Our Spring Bazaar is on Sat. March 29th at the Rescue. If you can help at any part of the day between 10am and 6pm please let us know. If you cannot come but are in a position to send us a donation however small, that would be lovely.
As at January 2008 we have 56 cats with us permanently. This is likely to increase over the year by some 7/9 cats for whom we have not been able to find homes.
Sponsorships not only help us but can make a good present for many different occasions. Last year, sponsorships have bought as Christmas, Birthday and Wedding presents. One young man called Harry, had several sponsorships for a christening present.
We are having to put up our prices as like everything else our costs are raising rapidly. It will now cost £18 a year to sponsor a cat. In return you will get a photo and any known details plus our 3 newsletters a year. If bought as a present, the person will receive a letter, with photos, from the cat and a card on the anniversary/birthday date. If you can help by sponsoring a cat, please select a cat from the list below and either send your name, address and cheque for £18 (made payable to Avon Cat Rescue) to me at my home address or fill in the form at the end of this newsletter.
As of the 1st February this will increase from £7 to £8. I hope that these 2 increases will help sort out a deficit which for 2007 was approximately £1,500
If anyone feels able to make out a SO in our favour either monthly, quarterly or yearly, for any amount, please get in touch with me and I will send you a form. Last year Standing Orders made a difference to our income of just over £2,000.
Donated new 2nd class stamps help us a lot. Last year I received 1,060 stamps which saved our funds by £245 which is equivalent to approximately 446 tins = 1338 meals at 200 meals a day = nearly 7 days feeding.
We are always happy to receive donations.
Our finances for 2007:
When we took stock of our finances for 2007 we had a shortfall of approx. £1,500 over the year. Our outgoings for the year were almost £45,000.
To help counteract this deficit we are raising our sponsorship price from £15 to £18 as from 1st February, 2008 for all new sponsorships. We are also increasing our Supporters’ Group membership from £7 to £8 for all new supporters.
For people who already sponsor a cat(s) or are already a Supporter, rather than increase the price we ask, if you can, to send 3 x 2nd class stamps with your renewal each year please. This will greatly keep down our admin costs.
Please remember us in your will. The kind people who have left us a legacy, however small, are possibly unaware that it is a lifeline to us …. although we hope they look down on us kindly.
We know all too well that this money is a lifeline to us and allows us to stay afloat, do repairs and in future, enable us to make a reasonable contribution towards our heating costs (to which we have contributed very little in the past). Any legacies will be used wisely for the benefit of the cats at Avon Cat Rescue.
Once a year we are going to publish the names of our benefactors.
In memory of
Our grateful thanks to these people. Some of this money will enable us to do a much needed repair job. ‘Compound’ is the pen where Morris, Jasper and Gingy live. They sleep there at night and spend some of the time during the day in there, especially when the weather is inclement. The sleeping area is in desperate need of replacement. It leaks, is rotten and its very low ceiling is making it more difficult for us as we get older and don’t bend so easily!
When you write or amend your Will, please think of us.
Christmas cardsThis year we only sold 75 packs of Christmas cards (138 last year) and I was very disappointed. Asking if every supporter would buy one pack just didn’t work. At this point in time I don’t think it is fair to ask someone to make the time to draw us one for next year.
CalendarsWe sold 140 which is 36 less than last year. I think the stories are lovely and the calendar makes a good present. The only thing that lets it down is that it is not professionally printed but for so few, the cost would be astronomical (unless there is anyone out there who would print it for us as a donation?).
I will make the calendars for one more year and then I will review the situation. Having said that, I now need you to get ‘snapping’! I need photos and a short story (preferably from the cat/s). If you send the photos digitally, please will you reduce the size of each one to 480 pixels or equivalent in height as I do not have a broadband connection and large photos take for ever to come through.
Saharan Marathon: I have heard no more from the lady who offered to run the Saharan Marathon for us. I don’t know whether it will happen or not!
We still need wool for our ‘knitters’ who kindly knit blankets for the cats. If you have any to spare we would love to use it. We now have ‘knitters’as far afield as Shropshire, Staffordshire and the USA. This lady has a rescue in Virginia with 22 rescued cats and 6 rescue sheep and she is going to knit blankets from the wool from her sheep.
If anyone would like to receive future newsletters by email please let me know at info@avoncatrescue.org The email version usually comes out 7/10 days ahead of the paper version.
Our records: Apologies for any mistakes with addresses or the spelling of your name. I am trying to have a really good sort out. If your name, address or post code are incorrect or incomplete, please, when you next write to the Rescue, let me know, especially postcodes.
If you know of anyone who usually receives a newsletter and no longer does so, please let me know. (They come out in early Feb/June/Oct)
Website: I am sorry that the ‘Homing Page’ on the website has had a hiccup and several cats have been chosen but not removed. I have not been able to access the remote site. To counteract this, we are going to have a second domain name and site (www.avoncatrescue.org.uk) which will be purely for a ‘Homing’ page which will be kept updated. There will be a link on the main website and the main website ‘Homing’ page will have a date when it was last updated. This back up page is now up and running.
Our next newsletter is due out early June.
H.R.H. Princess Misty has asked me to let you know that her new accommodation is comfortable and up to scratch. The other inhabitants have learned to show their respect by bowing and curtseying and the staff are responding quite well to their training.
(Private Secretary to H.R.H.)
p.s. She thinks she will stay here permanently.
Java has settled down with us very well and we are enjoying having him to share our home. He ventures into the garden every day but so far has not gone far or stayed out very long, but who can blame him when the weather is cold, wet and windy! He has chosen his favourite sleeping places (armchair in the living room and sofa in the dining room) and so far has completely ignored his own pet bed.
He enjoys a game of chasing a furry ball on a string and also chases his own tail. He has a healthy appetite and has made it clear that he prefers ‘Whiskas’! Our boys (aged 13 and 17) enjoy his company and like to help look after him.
Dear Avon Cat Rescue,
Thank you for looking after us while we found a new home but we don’t miss the centre! Our new home is a lovely cottage surrounded by fields. We have lots of rooms to roam around in and big comfy sofas to sleep on all day (Minstrel has taken ownership of the armchair). We have only been here a couple of weeks and are still a little unsure of the garden but I’m sure it will be great fun when we do venture out and there’ll be plenty of space!
Our new mum is feeding us well, although she keeps saying we might have to go on something called a diet!? I like my food so I’m not very keen on that idea! I love a good stroke and I get to play a lot, Minstrel likes his own space a bit more, he’s not really into his cuddles (he doesn’t know what he’s missing!) but he’s also very happy in our new home. I have discovered this amazing thing called the television … it is fascinating to watch and I’m particularly a fan of Coronation Street.
Every morning I go and wake my new mum up by jumping onto her bed. Sometimes she likes it and lets me stay there but she can be a little grumpy in the mornings…a bit like Minstrel! We both think we’ll be very happy here in our cottage and would like to thank the rescue centre again for looing after us and helping us find the right home. We also hope that our old friends can be as happy as us.
Lots of love Thomas and Minstrel X
Just a note to let you know that Mina and Lucy are doing very well here in Everdon. It was wonderfully easy introducing them to their new home, not at all like adopting any of our other semi-wild cats.
We kept them in the library for a few days, where they got restless and climbed the shelves and played with anything they could lay their paws on. After that, we let them loose in the house, where they encountered Tabitha. The kittens were unfazed by this, but Tabitha initially found them rather boisterous and hid under the bed. It didn’t take long for her to get used to them and establish her dominance. Less than a week after we collected them, all three cats were happily sleeping on the bed together.
Mina has turned out to be a great hunter, catching her first bird within 10 minutes of being released into the outdoors. She seems to bring us presents every morning. Lucy’s preferred activity is having a cuddle.
They are both extremely well behaved and good natured, though they do have a tendency to smash ornaments and crockery as they hurl themselves around the house chasing insects and each other.
We consider ourselves very lucky to have them living with us.
We are very happy to report that Freddie and Misty have settled nicely into our home. They had clearly been well loved and cared for as they pleasantly surprise us with their good habits, such as using the front door mat as a scratch pad and not clawing the furniture!
Freddie, the BIG bold looking guy, hid under out bed for the first two days, while Misty made herself at home. They quickly identified their sleeping spots and have quite a daily routine, centred around sleep, food and playtime.
Freddie does like to come and wake us for his breakfast, we hear him thump up the stairs, climb onto the bed and then purr for Britain as we make him wait for at least five minutes. Misty has found the sunniest spot in the house and enjoys letting her breakfast settle down while she grooms in the sun. They both enjoy playing after they have eaten and have invented ‘cork hockey’ on the wooden floor and are very amusing to watch.
However, it’s not all been rosy. We carefully let them out into our high walled garden and supervised their every move as we live near a main road and have no idea if these guys are road wise. One day, just as I arrived home, Freddie, who had spotted the only area in the garden that looked ‘get-outable’, climbed a tree and leapt like a gymnast up and over the fence. We found him quickly and made such a fuss he leapt back over the wall into the garden, over the stable door into the kitchen and hid under the bed for two hours. He’s not done that again and we have cat proofed that corner.
We took them to the vets for a check up and had to give them antibiotics for their waxy ears.
He eats anything. She does not and had to go back today for an injection. Hey ho, you tell them it’s for the best.
All in all we wouldn’t be without them and they have quickly filled a huge gap left by our beloved Marmas, who by the way, would not have been amused!
We brought Harry back for the first time in Juyl and he spent the entire day on the move and exploring. We opened up the house to him slowly and planned to introduce him to the garden gradually. Harry, however, had other ideas, and after a week he managed to get through an earthenware jug, a DIY manual, taped down cardboard AND two fiddly locks on the catflap that even I have trouble with in his bid for freedom. I came down in the morning surprised that he hadn’t already woken me, only to find him on the other side of the glass door wide eyed and up a tree!
Harry is an absolutely wonderful cat; a real cool customer but he also loves cuddles and fuss. He is talkative and naturally very gentle. He never bites or scratches. Harry is everything we could have wanted and I’d like to thank you for giving us the care of this wonderful addition to our household.
p.s. Top tip to playful or housebound cat owners – you cannot beat a cork on a smooth or hardwood surface; it keeps them occupied for hours and you don’t have to run about like a madman.
Firstly, I must introduce our three ex-Welford cats – namely Max, a king sized ginger and white, Chloe, (a genteel tortoiseshell) and Eloise, a very elegant, superior (she thinks) tabby.
We had no intention of having a kitten but at the last Bazaar, Miss Goode mentioned a small ginger and white kitten who had been rescued from a family of feral cats who had been living in a barn. The moment we saw him, of course, we couldn’t resist him and decided to christen him Benjamin (or ‘Little Benjie’ as we call him).
He is the naughtiest, most gorgeous kitten and is always up to mischief. He chose Max for his soul mate and is always bowling him over or riding on his back. Chloe gives his ears an occasional box and tolerates him but Eloise is horrified that we have brought such a disruptive little creature home.
Even my precious Bechstein piano is one of his favourite toys. He frequently walks along the keys, jumps up on to the top and then on to the television giving us apoplexy. He has torn the lining of both the lounge curtains beyond repair and also disappeared upside down into a tall rubbish bin. It made me feel quite claustrophobic to see him stuck in the bottom but he didn’t seem to care.
Last Friday was very traumatic for us as he went to the vet for neutering. We had the most terrible day worrying about him and couldn’t wait to fetch him home at 3.30. Even Eloise plays with him now although she looks very sheepish about it.
Every morning when I pick him up and cuddle him, I get my nose nibbled and my face patted and in spite of the fact that two OAPs can often be seen chasing him round the house at midnight to put him to bed – we really do love him to bits.
p.s. very many thanks to Anne who originally rescued him.
Bud has settled in really well, he enjoys sleeping both on the bed and underneath the bed. He has lots of fun going outside discovering the area and also the other cats. Bud is a very affectionate cat that loves lots of cuddles and strokes. He enjoys his food and loves to play with his various toys. He especially loves to take the decorations off the Christmas tree, especially the baubles early in the morning – no need for an alarm clock anymore.
Bud is very much loved and we thank you for allowing us to adopt him.
The first night Charlie spent at his new house was a bit stressful. Upon arrival, initially he seemed quite curious and had a good look around and ate a bit of food. However, he then discovered a miniscule gap between the washing machine and kitchen cupboards and managed to spend the night under the sink and wouldn’t come out! We spent two hours the following morning coaxing him out, wondering whether he’d ever be happy!
Thankfully, that all seems a long time ago now and Charlie truly is Lord of the Manor. He sleeps on our bed at night and waits in the window for us when we come home from work. His fur is so soft that my nickname for him is ‘Rabbit’. We love having Charlie!
Keep your stories coming please.
See our Events page here
Name of cat chosen .............................
Amount enclosed £………… (£18 per cat)
Name ..............................
Address ............................................................ .......................................................................
Post Code ..............
Please send this form with your cheque (made payable to Avon Cat Rescue) to Helen Hall, 24, Hanson Avenue, Shipston-on-Stour, Warwickshire CV36 4HL