Dear Friends,
We have had a busy few months with lots of comings and goings, a big fund-raiser here, and more improvements to our pens.
Ginger was chosen in February and although he was quite a challenge, he is very happy. (see Cat Stories page on this website) Nibbles was also mentioned in our Spring newsletter and has since found a home where he shares a fireside with 2 other cats and a dog. Chaucer is now living comfortably in Coventry, and Poppy & Tansy who are both 15, have been chosen by a new owner in the Cotswolds. We do meet some great new owners.
We have taken in a wide variety of cats this year including 2 brain-damaged young cats who find it hard to see or walk, but who seem quite happy in their safe environment. Then there is Ginger Toby who appears blind and was featured in an article in the Stratford Observer. We were recommended expensive specialist treatment for Toby, which may help and have received over £500 already from Observer readers and supporters. We were overwhelmed with gratitude by this response and we will be able to do all we can for Toby. Meanwhile Toby is living with a family with other cats and dogs who have offered him a safe home.
We have taken in a lot of strays as well, 2 of which produced beautiful kittens. All the kittens were chosen very quickly, and one of the mums is reserved. We still have lots of lovely cats waiting for homes, some very friendly, come very timid, some neurotic and some anti-social. Hopefully they will all get a chance of a new home this year. (See our 'Cats for Homing' page on this website)
‘May Trees’ cats and ‘Brambles’ are enjoying their extra space and sunshine, and we may soon move some friends out to join them. Grateful thanks to David Rowley who completed the work in his ‘spare’ time, and saved us a lot of money.
Thanks too to all our volunteers who give up their time to help with all the vital feeding and cleaning. Two of our helpers are still very ill so we really could not have managed without this help.
We had a great Easter Bazaar. The weather was marvellous and lots of people came to enjoy all the bargains and see the cats. The only problem was there were so many cars there was nowhere to park. Any ideas to solve this would be welcome before the next event.
Before that we have stalls at various venues (See Events page on this website). We have been collecting all sorts of cat related items so do come and see us. All funds raised go straight to the cats.
See you soon
Rosemary Spicer Margaret Goode
Avon Cat Rescue, The Barn House, Chapel Street, Welford-on-Avon CV37 8PX 01789 750235 email: info@avoncatrescue.org website: avoncatrescue.org
From Helen
The time between newsletters seems to come round very quickly. Perhaps a sign of the times or my age – who knows!
David Rowley has finished the extension to May Trees and we are extremely grateful to him and Brian Clarke for their hard work to give this pen a much larger run. I hope by the time you receive this, Mr Fluffy and Mr Smooth will have moved in with Misty, Mittens and Minnie. Although Mr Fluffy and Mr Smooth are still for homing, we feel it is unlikely that this will happen.
However, as Rosemary has said, Ginger was lucky. After 2 years with us his opportunity came. We were a little worried as he could be unpredictable but all credit to him as he behaved himself and has settled in well. (See our Cat Stories page).
My appeal to pay for climbing frames and bunk beds for all our pens in which our ‘pensioners’ live, was extremely successful. 7 of the 8 large pens now have these installed and the last bunk bed is on order. My thanks to Harlequin Designs in Redditch who gave us a good discount.
Our Spring Bazaar in April was held on a most beautiful day and although the gate takings were down, we had a very successful day raising over £2,150. This was a record for our Spring Event. Thank you to all who came, helped and supported us. The small change bucket contained £126.63 which was lovely. Please keep saving for us. I am happy to keep taking it to the bank.
If you live any distance from the Rescue and getting coins to us is difficult, might I suggest you take them to the Post Office and exchange them for 2nd class stamps. These can then be posted to me. All ways of saving help us a lot.
Due to circumstances this event will not be held until Saturday, September 1st at the Rescue. If you can help at anytime before (cleaning) or during the day, please get in touch. We start about 9 a.m. and finish about 6.30 p.m.
We will have our usual stalls and Harlequin Designs (who have made our bunk beds and climbing frames) will have a stall at our Summer Bazaar so if you think you might like to purchase anything for your cat/s or something for the Rescue, bring your cheque book with you. The kind of items they have are bunk beds (various), climbing frames (free standing to attach to shed), footstools, duvets, etc.
Calendar
Thank you to those who sent in pictures for our 2008 calendar. After this newsletter goes out I will get down to designing it and contacting you if your cat/s are included.
Christmas Card
We shall have just one card again this year and this has been designed by Richard Ledwidge. He is also designing the front cover of the calendar. My grateful thanks to him. Both calendar (£4 + 50p p&p) and cards (pack of 4 £1) will hopefully be ready for sale by 1st July.
Can you sell any for us either at your place of work or to your friends? The Rescue makes £2.30 per calendar and £1 per pack of cards (cards are donated).
This provides us with about 20% of our annual income so is a major fund raiser.
We have 54 cats with us permanently and 4 extremely nervous blacks who will be moving into a larger pen shortly. The new cats are Cilla, Stella, Kiri and Kay. Sadly, at present I have not been able to get any photos. Once I achieve this I will put them on the list for sponsorship.
The sponsorship of a cat costs £15 per year.
Do you have cat lovers amongst your friends who might help us in this way? If you want extra newsletters to pass on to them, just let me know.
Cats for sponsoring:-
A sponsorship form can be found at the end of this newsletter.
In early February this year I accompanied Rosemary to the NEC Gift Fair and consequently we now have many reasonably priced new items for sale. Come and see for yourselves at one of our events.
Also, a small group of supporters have gone into the production of some wooden items. Items coming off the production line are kitchen/toilet roll holders (£3.50), pen pots (£3), key rings (£1.50) and doorstops (£3.50). The doorstops and key rings are all beautifully hand painted by a supporter in Warwick and are a ‘must see’.
I am also working on making our logo into a key ring but these will not be available until later this year.
TODDPhoto and story can be found on our Cat Stories page
BLACKIE (Frodo) Hello! My name is Blackie, formerly known as Frodo. I came to live with my new mum in January. I am settling in very well and am being very spoilt! I have a lovely home and a nice garden to play in. I love to sit on the fence or the windowsill and watch the world go by. I have got so many toys to play with – my favourite is the tickle stick!
My mum is very pleased with me, apart from one day when I brought her a present she didn’t like – a live blackbird!!! I am very well behaved and in return I get lots of treats, cuddles and stroking. I hope all my old friends at the Rescue will be lucky enough to find a nice home too.
GINGERPhoto and story can be found on ourCat Stories page
BRUCEPhoto and story can be found on ourCat Stories page
AMBER Amber has settled in extremely well in her new home with me.
Eight weeks ago I drove home with a very noisy cat. I closed the car window so Amber’s yelling would not escape the confines of the car! We got home safely and I let her out in the kitchen but the freezer motor startled her and she fled upstairs. I managed to coax her out later and made a big fuss of her until outside someone shouted and she again fled! Even later, while on the phone, she appeared, tail in the air, flopped on the floor and showed her tummy, curled up and went to sleep.
At 7.30 I got us some food (thank you Mrs Spicer for the cat food for Amber). She clearly wanted me to stay in the kitchen so we now eat together.
At bedtime Amber followed me upstairs, jumped on the bed and enjoyed some fuss before going to sleep. The earthquake which awakened me at 4 a.m. was only Amber having a vigorous wash!
Time has flown by since she came. She prefers to be a house cat but will sit by the open back door watching the world go by. “ Tublett” Amber has lost some weight as she loves to play with a tin foil ball and chases a piece of string which I pull around the house.
KITTY KAT AND SCAMP Mum and kitten (Scamp) have settled very well into their new home. Scamp is growing fast and is full of energy and mischief, climbing up the curtains, chasing her furry toys and wrestling with Mum.
They have their favourite sleeping places – the back of the settee during the day and fleece-lined beds for the night-time. They are becoming increasingly affectionate and a few strokes will illicit lots of purrs. They have both had their first flu vaccinations and will be able to venture outside in a month or so. Scamp will stay in until she has been neutered.
They can now be assured of a happy and safe home for the rest of their days and we look forward to sharing it with them.
TABS AND KITTEN Just a note to let you know how they both are.
Tabs is re-named “Fred” and Kitten re-named “Barney” as in the Flintstones. Bothe are fine and giving us enormous pleasure having them in our family. Barney is very friendly with anyone who visits, Fred is a little more wary but usually comes round within a few minutes. Both have favourite toys. Fred loves his green mouse. He loves us to throw it so he can run and fetch it and then brings it back again and again. Barney loves paper or wrappers which he gets from the bin and he too wants us to throw them for him to chase after. They love it when we are all in the same room together. If someone goes upstairs, they keep calling to see where they are, the same if they can’t find each other too! Barney also spends a lot of time sat on the armchair by the fish-tank, trying to catch the fish as they swim by him. Both have had their injections and we are having Barney neutered soon too, then we are planning on letting them outside to explore!
BOLIVIA & SIULA Bolivia and Siula (formerly known as Olivia and Harriet) came to live with us in our terraced house in Kenilworth at the end of February 2007. Somewhat timid at first, they have steadily gained in confidence and now seem very much at home here. Both enjoy rampaging around the house, dashing up and down the many stairs or chasing pieces of string from one room to the next. They love a bit of mollycoddling, too, often competing for comfiest lap. It has taken them a while to get used to going outside, however, and Bolivia is still somewhat reluctant, but Siula is now making her presence felt among the neighbourhood cats! No doubt as the weather continues to improve, both will make more excursions into the big wide world.
Health-wise, both are doing fine. The only minor problem is with Bolivia’s eye, which weeps a little, particularly at night and in the mornings. We have had this checked out with the local vet and she says that it is possibly the result of a previous injury. We have been administering eye drops on a daily basis, and time will tell if they will help. Both cats have been microchipped.
So, what's the verdict? I can honestly say that Bolivia and Siula are delightful cats and having them come to stay with us has undoubtedly enriched our lives.
See our Events page on this website
Name of cat chosen .............................
Amount enclosed £………… (£15 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