Urgent Appeal Fostering adult cats while they wait for their new home takes far less time and effort socialising and feeding and as they would only need to be fed twice a day are ideal if you are out a lot or work. They can be kept in either a spare room or given the run of the house depending on how much interaction you want with them. If you have a spare room, the time (kittens need to be fed 4-5 times a day so someone needs to be home for those times) and preferably but not essentially, transport for trips to the vet etc then please get in touch with Sue on 01337 840414 or email cats@whinnybank.org.uk Fleas can kill your kitten  What you may not know is that FLEAS CAN KILL KITTENS - such tiny creatures can be made so weak by the fleas sucking their blood that they can quickly go downhill and die. Hugo now has a lovely home So, please remember to regularly de-flea your cats & kittens. Cat and Kitten Neutering Some domestic cats can reach sexual maturity as early as 6 months old so it is vital to have a cat neutered as early as possible, usually between the ages of 4 and 6 months. In the welfare interests of the cats and kittens Sue endevours to be as supportive and flexible as possible whatever the surrounding circumstances happen to be. About the Sanctuary While most of the cats and kittens handed in and rehomed
at Whinnybank are regular domestic pets Sue Hancock also does a lot of
work with feral cats. She gets call from farms, hotels and other places with feral colonies that are getting out of control. Knowing that the council no longer traps cats and that if they are called in they arrange for the colony to be indiscriminately exterminated (often leaving kittens to starve if the mother has been killed). Sue spends many hours and a small fortune on petrol, trapping the cats and getting them checked and neutered by the vet. The council often put calls on to Sue from people asking for help with ferals but they are unwilling to help in any way, not even with the costs. The Cats Protection League do not do large-scale feral work but they do sometimes help Whinnybank with a grant or donations of cat food. If a feral colony gets above 15 cats nature is cruel and cat flu often sets in so the vets bills can be huge. Very often a few neutered cats will be returned to the original location, ensuring that the colony will not get out of control again. If kittens are trapped at a young enough age, our kitten fosterers work hard to tame them so that they can be homed. The other adults and untamable kittens then spend the rest of their lives running free at the Sanctuary, unless we manage to find new homes for them at farms or stables. It is hard, expensive and often frustrating work but definitely worthwhile! |
