An unprecedented year
and a further two cabins were purchased — so Meowcat Rescue was born.
Working in rescue, there is often one case that really pulls on your heartstrings — Esme was that case.At only 4 — 5 weeks old, Esme was found under a bush.After a week of not eating, the finder
contacted the rescue. Despite all the veterinary interventions and nursing her around the clock for nearly two weeks, Esme did not make it. Peter said:“Perhaps if Esme had been brought to us sooner the outcome could have been different.”The original cabin is named in her honour and
her story further reinforced the reasons why Peter, Angie, and Maria wanted to set up their own rescue.
Peter is head foster carer and rehoming officer, Maria is the treasurer and responsible for fundraising, and Angie is the membership secretary, producer of their newsletter, and responsible for social media.
With Peter responsible for the rescue phone, he receives many calls daily and with places limited, he must assess the situation and prioritise which cats need to come to the rescue. For example, a mother and her kittens living outside would be given priority and he always tries to offer advice and suggest other rescues if they are unable to help.
Any cat coming into the rescue will be given veterinary treatment that it needs regardless of cost. Each cat is given a health check, neutering, microchipping, and a vaccination programme, before they find their new homes. Peter feels that educating people and promoting neutering would go a long way to reducing the number of abandoned cats which is at an all-time high.
● Visit www.facebook.com/ meowcat.rescue21 to find out more about Meowcat Rescue.
Sleapy Cat Rescue is a not-for-profit rescue founded by Eve Dodds over 12 years ago, based in Sleap near Wem.They try to help as many cats as they can in the North Shropshire area.
Prior to covid, Eve would rehome around 160 cats/kittens in a year and her vet bills would average around £1,000 a month but this could increase depending on any treatment the cat would require.Eve said:“Every cat has everything done possible to give them a good life regardless of cost.”
This year has been unprecedented for Eve.“I have never had so many kittens in the rescue at one time. We are currently at 22; they are very time consuming with four feeds a day and regular cleaning of their litter trays
— it is hard work.”
There is no doubt that the pausing of neutering last year has had a knock-on effect as they are seeing more unneutered cats.
The biggest challenge facing the rescue is fundraising.Thanks to the pandemic, their usual way of fundraising with regular stalls came to a halt so they had to start fundraising online which thankfully has brought in vital funds while generous supporters would drop in donations of food and cat litter.
Having been involved in cat rescue for over 20 years, Eve used her mother’s inheritance money to get the rescue set up and is now supported by 30 dedicated volunteers. She has built up a good reputation for her care and compassion and has over 5,000 followers on social media.
● Visit www.sleapycatrescue.co.uk to find out more.
I have never had so many kittens...