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| News - Winter 2010 from Julie Grant - Cat Welfare Sussex in Portslade Today, January 13th, is St Hilary’s Day and it is believed to be the coldest day of the year. Emergency Call 60 to 70 cats! Back in early November we received an emergency call that an elderly gentleman had collapsed and had been rushed into hospital. As a long term supporter of CWS he requested that we feed his cats in his absence as he had no one else that could help. Absolutely no problem with that - apart from the fact that the gentleman in question lived in a very rural part of West Sussex near Petworth and had approximately 60 to 70 cats living in and around his property!! So, for the last ten weeks, through torrential rain, floods, gales and more recently snow and ice we have had to travel a seventy mile round trip every day to feed the cats. The conditions are appalling .We have had to wade knee deep in mud to get to the property and now we are having to climb over fallen trees that have come down due to the high winds and heavy snow. There is no indoor access so all feeding has to be done out in the open and we are constantly at the mercy of the weather. Still, we have no choice. We cannot leave the cats without food. Ann has been a great help assisting with the trapping of the cats and vet runs etc and helping Tommy with the cat feeding when I was ill with a bad bought of Bronchitis in December. We have tried to enlist more outside help but most people work and cannot give the time and other animal shelters all have their own problems to deal with in these trying times. Lots more to come into care Sadly the gentleman had to go into a nursing home and asked CWS to rehouse all the cats. The good news is they all doing well in the cattery and seem more than happy to be cuddled up with the heating on 24-7. It has taken a while to treat and assess them all and some have had to have courses of antibiotics etc. We need to start rehoming... Of course the weather is bad at the moment and Mile Oak is like Siberia but once the roads are back to normal we will urgently need to start re homing ASAP. We cannot take the remaining cats into care yet as we do not have the room to house them all in the cattery. We will have to work on a one out and another one in basis but it’s a race against time before they start to breed in the early spring. Most of them have lovely natures but are a little nervous as they have led a very quiet existence with just one owner so they will need patience and understanding and would not be suitable for young children. Some of the more feral ones will be rehomed onto stables or smallholdings and will do a useful job mousing and rat catching in exchange for food and a nice dry barn to sleep in. If you can offer a home to one of our cats as a pet or as a working cat please , please , please phone me on 01273 423861. You will probably get the answer phone but leave a message and I will return your call. The Cattery Frozen pipes I spend the morning cleaning the cats in the cattery starting at about 7.30 am then once I have finished I drive to West Sussex at about 12.30 and I don’t get home until about 4.30 when it is time to clean the cattery again and bed down the cats for the night. Plus I have to fit in all the admin work, deal with general enquiries and vet runs as well as collecting supplies for the cattery etc. By the time Tommy comes home from work and we have sat down and had a meal, its time for bed, as we are both falling asleep by nine o clock with exhaustion. To make matters worse the cattery pipes froze in the sub zero temperatures and we were without water for over a week. I cannot tell you how hard it is to look after so many cats without fresh running water. I have had to rely heavily upon Tommy as carrying buckets of water down the long and steep garden to the cattery can be back breaking . Yesterday I was melting snow in a bucket to create more water to clean with. The result was a sort of antibac slush - like the drinks that you get in a burger bar. Did the job! Very chilly on the hands though. This morning the frozen pipes burst and Tommy had to battle through the snow and traffic chaos to the Best job in the world However hard it is though, I still say that I have the best job in the world. The cats are a real pleasure to look after, I have some great friends and supporters and a wonderful animal loving husband. No two days are ever the same and after nearly thirty years I still get a kick out of successfully rescuing a needy cat. The sight of a tiny kitten still takes my breath away and I still cry buckets if an old feline friend passes away. I consider myself very blessed. When Tommy asked me what I wanted for Christmas I genuinely couldn’t think of one thing that I needed. As well as looking after the cats we have been busy feeding the wildlife and our cold and wintry garden has been illuminated by the beautiful birds that have visited our feeders and bird tables. Redwings, Fieldfares and Goldfinches to name but a few of the forty three species that frequent our garden. To watch the dog fox and his vixen rough and tumbling in the snow and to see the resident squirrels scrabbling about for our left over Christmas chestnuts has been a sheer delight. Our two collies adore the snow and love to play outside but our three pet cats Magic, Madron and Cobweb spend all day in bed under the furry throw. Thank you I would like to say a huge Thank You to all who sent Christmas donations; you are so very kind. Both myself and fellow trustees were all very touched by your generosity. May 2010 bring you peace, joy and prosperity and together let’s hope that we can make it a better year for our feline friends - indeed for all the animals Bye for now Julie x
For further information regarding the cattery, fund
raising or the sponsored walk please contact Julie on 01273 423861 or
email Julie here (please include your telephone
number) |
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