Animal Rescue with Marion Garnett

Dedicated animal expert MARION GARNETT, founder of the Ealing Animal Charities Fair continues her column

SOMEONE should tell Kew Gardens, a new species of tree has been discovered in Southall.

It’s a small specimen with low branches bearing unique green leaves. On each of the leaves there’s a picture of a cat, a name and a date. The tree has taken root in the grounds of the RSPCA Cat Adoption Centre and has been called the Rehoming Tree. Every time a cat is rehomed, the cat’s photo, name and date of rehoming are put on a green leaf which is hung on the tree.

In the case of the rehoming tree, the more leaves there are the better but, in some cases, “more” is not necessarily better. And no one knows this more than the RSPCA.

They are often the charity that is asked to help when people have more animals than they can look after properly.

In order to help address this problem in relation to cats, the RSPCA has formed a Multicat Intervention Team consisting of RSPCA Inspectors and veterinary staff from their London hospitals.

The team works with households who have more than two cats who are struggling to look after them all. This may mean, for example, they have five cats or more than 75 cats.

With the owner’s agreement, a small team goes into the home, checks over all the cats, microchips them and neuters all the females. Information is collected about how many cats there are, how many are breeding and any illnesses.

If any of the cats are sick, the RSPCA discuss appropriate options with the owner. Any veterinary information is recorded and kept confidential. The team then revisits the household two months later to check on the cats again.

If you know anyone in a multicat household who is struggling with cat care who would appreciate a (non-judgemental) visit from this team, you can get more details from the RSPCA clinic at Burket Close, Southall or call 0300 123 0746 option 3.

Meanwhile, in another part of the Southall RSPCA Centre, Jinx is waiting for her new home. She came into the care of the RSPCA after her owner passed away.

She is used to spending most of her time indoors. She loves to play and is looking for an adult-only household.

If you would like to home this beautiful girl, you can meet her at the RSPCA Cat Adoption Centre, Burket Close, Southall.

And, when she is homed, a new leaf will ap pear on the rehoming tree.