News January - February 2008

from Julie Grant - Cat Welfare Sussex in Portslade

I really can’t believe that the shops are full of Easter Eggs already. One minute its Christmas decorations and Holly, the next its Daffodils and Hot Cross Buns. Talking of Christmas, we would like to say a huge thank you to all our dear friends and supporters that showed such generosity to our Charity over the Festive season. The cats had a wonderful time eating the lovely food that was so kindly donated and they also enjoyed playing with all the little toys and gifts that were so thoughtfully given. Not to mention the huge portions of Christmas turkey that they polished off in no time!

Winter Wind Damage

No matter what time of the year it is always busy here at the cattery with a hundred and one jobs to do. The winter winds brought down our hedge in the garden causing it to collapse on to the cattery. Reluctantly we were left with no choice but to remove it. We hated to remove the hedging as it is so important to the wildlife but this was beyond saving and we will be planting new wildlife friendly plants in due course.

It was agreed that Tommy would replace the boundary hedges with post and rail fencing adding six foot upright feathered boards. This would be strong enough to protect the cattery from the strong winds for a long time to come - unlike the standard fence panels that seem to weather and rot very quickly.

Firstly the old hedge had to be removed. All one hundred foot of it. The garden looked like a jungle. It was too wet to burn and as we have no side access at the house every bit had to be carried up through the house to be disposed of. It really was a mammoth task, not made any easier by our two collie dogs that delighted in running away with roots and branches at every opportunity.

Secondly, the ground had to be prepared and - would you believe it - buried deep into the earth and running the whole length of the garden were the original concrete and metal foundations of an old farm fence. Yes, that also had to be removed and carried all the way up the steep garden steps and through the house.
Eventually, after a lot of time and effort on Tommy’s part (and a lot of tea making on mine) the end result is great and it was well worth all the hard work. However, our four resident cats seem to delight in using it as an enormous scratching post. I’m sure they think it was put up just for them.

We have also added security gates and fencing at the front of the house as some of our neighbours have had their cars damaged by youths and even their wheelie bins set on fire. There are now two five bar gates to keep out the vandals. We look a bit like a farmyard from the road. Just need to add some sheep and cattle to complete the picture.

Feral Cats

There was no let up after Christmas with the amount of unwanted and stray cats needing to come in. I have been working on a colony of cats at a farm near Steyning. The poor, little mother cat had been dumped on the farm when pregnant last year and has subsequently given birth to two litters of wild kittens during that time.
It is now a race against time to catch all ten of them before they start breeding in the spring. The farmer doesn’t want them so they will all be looking for rural homes on stables or smallholdings etc. If you know of anyone with suitable premises that would like some excellent mousers please do not hesitate to contact us. They do a wonderful job in rodent patrol and all they ask for in return is food and shelter. Of course all cats are neutered and vet checked etc. Please contact by phone (01273 423861) if you wish to give a home to either a feral or a domestic cat. Yes, we do have email but we do need to speak personally to future owners.

As the weather has been fairly mild we have been able to re-home some of the feral cats. Heidi and Roma our two middle aged tabby girls have found a fantastic home. They are now part of the working team at a beautiful and very luxurious Equestrian Centre, surrounded by countryside, upon Epsom Down. They are earning their keep by catching lots of rodents and are paid handsomely with cat food pouches and treats.

Ginny, Hermione and Cassie have been re- homed at a private stable near Bolney. They have a lovely warm hay barn to sleep in and eight acres plus surrounding fields in which to go hunting and they now share their lives with a beautiful black horse, two Shetland ponies and of course their new and very kind owner. I am always amazed how well cats seem to get along with horses. Despite the difference in size the cats never seem frightened. We have often had reports of our re-homed cats sleeping on the horse’s backs and treating them as large heated, furry sofas.

Domestic Cats

As well as the feral cats we have had to deal with all the usual sad cases so far this year:

• Blackie a middle aged cat whose owner has passed away.
• Madeleine a sweet, tabby stray that was living in the garden of an empty house.
• Midnight a dear little black unwanted female with a bad temper due to ill treatment.
• A big ginger tom that we are desperately trying to catch because he is injured.

All these will need loving homes. The phone just keeps on ringing with more and more requests for help.
Would you believe it - whilst writing this news update I have just had another call about a lady near Plumpton who has a large number of unneutered cats that she no longer wants - most of which cannot be handled and will need trapping and neutering before they start to breed in the spring.

The Year Ahead

Gilly and I have been busy organising our fund raising events for the year. This takes a bit of time as we have to contact event organisers, other charities and complete lots of entry forms etc but watch this space for a full list of what’s happening in 2008.

Don’t forget we always need good quality bric a brac, unwanted gifts, soft toys and other saleable items.
Sorry but we do not take broken, incomplete or stained items.

We always need wool for knitting cat blankets and if anyone could sew together knitted squares for us we would be extremely grateful.

Many Thanks
Bye for now

Julie
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For further information regarding the cattery or fund raising please contact Julie on 01273 423861 or email Julie here (please include your telephone number)
We regret that the cattery is not open to the public. Should you wish to adopt a cat please phone Julie for an appointment.