Animal Rescue with Marion Garnett

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

VISITING the Orchid Festival at Kew Gardens was a bit like going on holiday to Thailand – magnificent. As Kew’s Princess of Wales Conservatory periodically puffed out plumes of humidifying mist, it also felt a bit like walking through a beautiful giant nebuliser. I began to breathe easier.

Breathing easy must have been difficult for Beatrix when she was dumped in a box outside a high street café. It’s a wonder she could breathe at all. Considering it must have been a human who abandoned her, she was remarkably friendly when we met. This beautiful girl has, surprisingly, not completely lost her trust in humans but cautiously came through the cat flap to meet me. She’s young and petite with sleek shiny fur. If you can offer her a loving home where she can build up her confidence to trust people again, you can meet her at the RSPCA Cat Adoption Centre, Burket Close, Southall. Being able to trust someone is also vital for us when we go away and someone else has to care for our pets. As spring arrives and summer holidays are planned, if we haven’t done so already, now is the time to be thinking about holiday pet care arrangements. Good kennels, catteries and petsitters get booked up quickly. If choosing a boarding establishment, aspects to consider include ensuring the kennels or cattery is licensed by the local authority and that the facilities are clean, dry, secure and spacious.

It’s a good idea to look round first before you book your pet in to see if animals in their care look happy.

Other possibilities for pet care include care by family, friends or petsitters. The National Association of Registered Petsitters and the RSPCA offer advice to owners when using petsitters such as the advisability for pet owners to see documentation, for example, references and insurance certificates. When thinking about our options, personal recommendation from people we trust is, of course, often the most useful.

Finally, this season’s pregnant stray and unwanted cats are already pouring into rescue centres.

If you have a cat that hasn’t been neutered, the Southall RSPCA centre is holding another free neutering day on Thursday March 29.

This is for male and female cats and no appointment is needed. Animals do need to be starved beforehand and you need to be eligible for RSPCA care. If you’re interested phone 0300 1230 746 option 3 for details.

Beatrix was left in a box in the street