Please note, this photo is not of the refuge, it is our dream for the future!

So many cats and kittens are left without help purely because there are too many unwanted strays and ferals and too few cat charities. Most cat charities are run totally by volunteers and it is an uphill struggle for them to raise enough funds and recruit enough committed volunteers to keep going. The simple answer to this growing problem is for cat owners to neuter their pets - it is such an easy solution and the suffering we encounter would cease.  However, without legislation requiring pet owners to neuter their animals this problem is likely to continue for a long time yet.  We are asked daily to help a stray or feral cat living outdoors, ownerless, abandoned, usually unneutered and often nursing kittens. We don't have the room to take multiple cats into our care, nor are there enough homes available for the type of cats we focus on helping, the timid and feral cats and kittens that are untouchable and therefore unpopular as pets. Most of these cats live in family groups and derive comfort and confidence from each other. They may be lucky enough to be rehomed as groups, to farms, smallholdings or even large gardens, but too many remain homeless, spending their days avoiding people and searching for shelter and food wherever they can.  Our hope is to one day provide a permanent refuge where cats of this nature can come and live, with a reasonable amount of freedom and without fear, remaining in their small or large groups.

We will need an area of land with a small dwelling for a warden who will ensure the cats are secure although he/she will not necessarily be responsible for their feeding/cleaning.  For this we will need volunteers.  Because we care for wildlife as well as cats, and the cats' natural instinct is to hunt, the land will be divided into large fenced compounds which will allow a great deal of freedom for the cats but will also protect the neighbouring wildlife.  If suitable homes arise then the cats can be rehomed, but if not, they can stay at the refuge for the rest of their lives.

To enable us to succeed with this goal we will need to depend on donations and legacies as our fundraising will only cover the care of the cats.

 

Please note, this photo is not of the refuge, it is our dream for the future!