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Search launched for the UK’s most marvellous moggy

Your Pets Daily Editor — Fri, 14 Jan 2022 09:00:57 +0000

Cat lovers across the UK are being invited to nominate their furry friends for the biggest event in the feline year – the National Cat Awards.

Run by the charity Cats Protection, the annual event celebrates the nation's most marvellous moggies, with heart-warming tales of devotion, courage and companionship.

This year's event also features a new Cat Colleagues category to honour the feline heroes who have helped their owners adjust to working from home, or have made going to work a little easier during the pandemic.

Entries open on Tuesday 11 January and owners have until noon on Thursday 10 March to nominate their cat in one of four categories:

Cat Colleagues – Cats who bring joy to the workplace or make working from home a pleasure
Most Caring Cat – Cats that positively impact a person's health or wellbeing
Furr-ever Friends – Tales of friendship between children and cats
Outstanding Rescue Cat – Fabulous felines adopted from animal charities

Helping to launch the awards, cat lover and BBC weather presenter Owain Wyn Evans said: "I'm a big fan of cats, not just because they're such amazing animals, but also because of the incredibly positive impact they can have on people's lives. It's such an honour to be helping launch the National Cat Awards, and I really hope this national celebration of our feline friends will inspire more people to welcome a cat into their lives."

Cats Protection's Awards organiser Kate Bunting said: "Over the past two years, the UK's pet cats have played an even more important role in our lives – whether it's keeping the kids' company during home schooling, being a companion for people living alone in lockdown or simply being there during times of uncertainty.

"From chilled out cats that provide comfort and support, to the mischievous moggies that make us smile, cats undoubtedly have a special place in the hearts and homes of millions of people. We're thrilled to once again be hosting our National Cat Awards and are looking forward to sharing many wonderful stories of moggy marvelousness!

"We hope that by celebrating some of the UK's most incredible cats we'll inspire more people to consider adopting a cat in 2022."

Winners will be selected by a panel of celebrity cat lovers before being announced at a star-studded ceremony at London's Savoy Hotel on 4 August 2022.

The winner of the National Cat of the Year will inherit the title from Minty, a three-legged moggy from Holywell, Wales, who helped six-year-old Connor Raven cope with severe learning difficulties and medical conditions.

To nominate your cat, or for further information about the Awards, log on to www.cats.org.uk/national-cat-awards from Tuesday 11 January.

To find out more about adopting a cat from Cats Protection, visit www.cats.org.uk/adopt-a-cat

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RSPCA launches rehoming campaign to help find outdoor homes for nervous cats in the South West

Your Pets Daily Editor — Sat, 07 Aug 2021 11:21:02 +0000

The RSPCA has launched a new rehoming campaign to help find alternative homes for 'farm cats' in the South West who prefer the great outdoors.

The project aims to find homes for farm cats and other nervous felines who need less human interaction than a typical domestic cat. The aim of the project is to educate the public that not every feline is happy to be a lap cat and to find outdoorsy homes for these cats much more quickly.

Farm cats are often nervous around people but still need someone to provide food, water, shelter and veterinary care when needed. As the name suggests, they would most likely be best suited to a farm, smallholding, or riding stables but some have even found quirky homes such as a model village, an orchard and a gazebo company.

Potential owners don't necessarily need to have a farm or riding stable to rehome a cat who enjoys the great outdoors, the charity is looking for homes of all different types to match the variety of different cats we have.

This International Cat Day (Sunday 8 August), the RSPCA reveals it rehomes over 20,000 cats a year and even during the pandemic, 18,274 cats were rehomed in 2020.

A recent survey* carried out by the RSPCA found that 90% of centres and branches find it harder to find suitable homes for outdoorsy cats than other, more sociable, cats.

Alice Potter, RSPCA's cat welfare expert, said: "One of the most interesting things about cats is just how varied each of them are. No one set home is going to fit all cats. Cats' personalities are a varied spectrum with an affectionate, lap cat, an 'inbetweener' cat who needs less but still some interaction, and all the way to a feral cat who will happily live independently from humans.

"There are all sorts of reasons why some cats need this type of lifestyle. They may have lived for a long time as a stray and aren't familiar or comfortable being close to people or it may relate to their early experiences or genetics. Whatever the reason, we try to find the perfect home for them.

"We know that our centres and branches often struggle to find homes for our farm or outdoor cats and often one of the reasons cited is that there is a lack of awareness amongst the general public that these cats exist and that they will be much happier living an outdoorsy lifestyle.

"Many people think of a cat curled up on the sofa, popping in and out of the cat flap for fuss but actually the kind of cats we're talking about here may never come inside the home, they may never come for fuss but they need someone to look out for them and provide them with year-round shelter such as a shed, barn, stable or even a treehouse where they can sleep at night. They'll also need constant access to water, to be fed daily and to receive veterinary care whenever needed.

"This is why we have launched this rehoming campaign for farm cats on International Cat Day to help raise awareness of the different homes these independent cats need."

Farm Cats in the South West

Hawkins is an eight-year-old black and white male cat who is looking for a home on a smallholding or farm ideally.

He will need understanding owners who will appreciate that he is very nervous and doesn't want fuss from people. He was rescued as a stray cat before coming into the care of RSPCA Little Valley Animal centre in Exeter so little is known about his past and whether he has lived in a home environment before. Therefore, it is possible he may come out of his shell and want some attention from his owner but is most likely to just enjoy the great outdoors.

Hawkins would be best suited to a home with adults and teenagers only. He would definitely need to be the only cat but may be able to cope with a cat-friendly dog. If you think you can offer this lovely boy the second chance at happiness that he deserves, please contact the branch on info@rspca-littlevalley.org.uk

Justin is a four year old cat who is also looking for a farm or smallholding home. He will need someone to provide food and shelter and allow him to come and go as he pleases. Initially he would need a secure barn to get used to his surroundings for a couple of weeks but the centre can help discuss suitable accommodation. Please contact the branch on info@rspca-littlevalley.org.uk to discuss further.

Hawkins and Justin are just two of several outdoorsy cats looking for homes at the branch so please do get in touch.

How to adopt a Farm Cat

Taking on a farm cat gives them a second chance in the type of home where they can live their best life. Seeing them roaming free, dozing in the sun and exploring to their heart's content can be really rewarding.

All the cats will be in good health, neutered, microchipped, vaccinated, where appropriate and treated for fleas and worms.

The minimum requirement for an adopter will be to provide a weatherproofed shelter, food and water at least daily and to keep an eye on the health of the cat and seek veterinary help when needed. They will also need access to land to roam, and vegetation such as woodland, fields or gardens.

As well as hoping to find homes for cats currently in their care, many RSPCA branches and centres aim to build-up a directory of potential adopters so that when a freedom feline comes into their care they can quickly rehome them without the stress of being confined in a cattery.

For more information on adopting a Farm Cat visit: https://www.rspca.org.uk/findapet/rehomeapet/process/rehomeacat/farmcat

A new filter has been added to the RSPCA's rehoming website so that potential owners can search for farm cats online, please visit: www.rspca.org.uk/findapet

To register your interest in becoming a farm cat adopter, contact your nearest centre or branch

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Yoga twins don dino gear to raise cash for cats

Your Pets Daily Editor — Mon, 26 Jul 2021 07:53:42 +0000

Twin sisters Leanne Sternalski-Goodman and Daniella Sternalski-Gobey will brave searing temperatures dressed as dinosaurs for a livestreamed yoga session to raise cash for cats in need.

The 35-year-olds were inspired by Ralph the Rex, a Facebook page where people dress up in dinosaur costumes and do funny activities, and have previously completed a dino dance-off and dino workout.

“It’s fair to say that we have what we call a stupid sense of humour and it tickled us,’ said Leanne.

That sense of humour has already driven the fundraising co-ordinators to raise hundreds of pounds for Cats Protection’s East Surrey Branch and they have set a target of £250 for this challenge.

“We do it for the cats and to have a bit of fun at the same time,’ said Leanne. “We also thought this might bring a smile to many faces, especially during the pandemic. We all need a bit of fun and we’ll be raising money for Cats Protection while doing it. Win-win.”

Dino yoga will require a level of general fitness and, with temperatures still high, the pair from Surrey will need to be closely monitored during the session, starting at midday on 24 Saturday July.

Leanne said: “We both have good fitness levels as we regularly go the gym, swim and attend online training sessions, but we don't usually do yoga. We're using this week for a final push to make sure we're as familiar with the yoga poses as possible as we'll need audio queues because it can be hard to see in those suits.

“For health and safety reasons we are limiting the session to 30 minutes as it gets really hot in those suits. We’ll be under the watchful eye of Rachel from Rebalance Online as she guides us through our yoga session.”

Daniella adopted her 17-year-old cat Misty Moo from Cats Protection. “She still loves to play and has become a bit of a star during lockdown,’ Daniella said. “She joins in with my work meetings and purrs so loudly that my colleagues can hear her.”

“She sulks if you don't say hello to her when you walk in and she has never once bitten, scratched or hissed at anyone. If you do something she doesn't like, she walks away and she will bide her time to get her own way if you tell her off.”

The dino yoga livestream will be available to watch via the East Surrey Branch’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/CREScatsprotection and the branch's YouTube channel.

Donations are invited at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/cpeastsurreydinoyoga

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Charity celebrates as lockdown homing proves ‘more successful than imagined’

Your Pets Daily Editor — Sat, 01 May 2021 11:35:15 +0000

Cats Protection is celebrating the first anniversary of a pioneering online adoption process which has rehomed over 20,000 cats around the UK.

The milestone figure coincides with National Pet Month (April) and the one-year anniversary of the launch of Hands Free Homing, a new way of homing cats and kittens which was created in response to the coronavirus restrictions. It has been more popular than the charity could have predicted.

David and Daniel Barratt adopted Neptune from Cats Protection Exeter Axhayes Adoption Centre.

David says: “We adopted Neptune during lockdown last year. Whilst we couldn’t meet in person, we were able to choose our new family member by viewing videos of the cats online.

“Neptune was extremely nervous and shy when we first welcomed him into our home. In fact, he spent the first few weeks hiding under our bed. Many rehomed cats need a lot of patience and understanding in order to regain confidence and make sense of their surroundings and Neptune, being a particularly nervous cat, was no exception.

“We allowed him to take things at his own pace and gradually he began to emerge and start to explore his safe room, before building up the courage explore the rest of the house. Eventually, he began tentatively to step into our garden. There were some set-backs: he once went missing for a few days but, again, the wonderfully supportive Cats Protection were on hand to help us and we soon found him and brought him home.”

Neptune was dropped off at his new home in May 2020 and like all Cats Protection cats was fully vaccinated and microchipped.

Dan adds: “Rehoming a cat as nervous as Neptune is not easy – it takes a great deal of patience and commitment - but the end result is so rewarding. One year on and Neptune has built such a strong bond with my husband and me, and his love has really helped us get through lockdown.

“He even joins us on Zoom calls with our friends! It has been wonderful to see him build his confidence, develop his own personality and extend his territory. It’s really incredible, the progress he has made. I would definitely recommend adoption - be prepared for some hard work but also for an incredibly rewarding and loving experience.”

Hands-Free Homing means the whole adoption process has moved online. Prospective owners browse the available cats via the charity’s website and once their application has been received, they complete a series of welfare checks and are matched with the best cat for them and their home. The cats are then delivered to their new homes by a member of the Cats Protection team.

Susie Pritchard, Cats Protection’s Head of Operations, said: “We worked incredibly hard to get Hands-Free Homing off the ground when our centres closed so that we could continue to rehome the cats in our care, but it’s been more successful than we ever imagined.

“Not only have 20,000 cats found their forever homes, but we’ve been able to provide thousands of people with some much needed companionship during lockdown.”

Further details of cats in need of homes nationwide can be found at www.cats.org.uk/adopt-a-cat with those at Exeter Axhayes Adoption Centre visible at www.cats.org.uk/axhayes or by calling 01395 232377.

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