Kats & Kits: July 2006

These are pictures of Tinkerbell and her kitten Tuppence, currently being cared for at Kats & Kits.

Tinkerbell is hardly more than a kitten herself. She was taken to the vets half way through a difficult birth. The first kitten died and she had to have a caesarean section to deliver Tuppence. Tinkerbell has no milk so the kitten is being hand raised by Lorraine. Hopefully mother and kitten will both do well but much of this trauma could have been avoided had Tinkerbell been neutered before she came into her first season.

Neutering is something we take very seriously at Kats & Kits. All kittens should be neutered by the age of six months. People do say ‘oh let them have one litter’ or say ‘they have homes for the kittens‘, but they cannot guarantee that whoever takes the kittens will neuter them, so the problem starts all over again.

Should the expense of neutering be a problem many of the animal charities will provide vouchers for part, or in some cases, the entire cost. For further advice regarding neutering your cat please contact you vet.

Thomas is a ginger tabby, same age as Freddie, thirteen years old. He is a lean mean hunting machine. My neighbour’s garden overlooks a railway embankment that hasn’t been used for years and is wild and overgrown, this is Thomas’s territory and woe betide any other cat that enters. Not only has he taken over the garden but the humans as well, demanding to be let in if it rains and he needs to shelter, bringing them mice, rats and birds as a thank you. Luckily they are cat lovers and enjoy his visits. Because of his lifestyle, frequent worming and flea treatments are needed to keep him well and healthy.

Thomas is the only cat I have owned that can open the cat flap even when it is locked, so if he is late in at night I try to stay awake to block it off and keep him in, which can sometimes prove difficult, as he would rather be in and out all night sleeping on your head for an hour or two, having a quick snack of tuna and chicken, then off out to check his territory again.

When Thomas deigns to give you his attention he can be very affectionate, but he is just as likely to stalk by and with a flick of his tail ignore you completely. Do we love him? Of course we do.

I am being a little self indulgent to-day. I am going to introduce to you my own two cats from Kats and Kits, Freddie and Thomas, I also have Daisy who is not from K&K, but I cant leave her out.

Freddie is an Abyssinian cross, thirteen years of age, very handsome but rather plump. He can be timid with strangers, and has a bolt hole behind the sofa to which he goes every time the door bell rings. We need a new sofa, but have yet to find one that leaves a big enough space behind for Fred. He does however love his family, talking constantly, meows to humans and little sighing grunts to the other cats. He would never pass any of us without a greeting. His other great love is food, he can hear a packet or a tin being opened at several hundred yards and skids to a halt behind your legs in seconds. He has been known to have a quick whip around Thomas and Daisy’s plates before starting on his own. Probably because of this ,six years ago Freddie developed diabetes. He is such a laid back cat that he has taken it in his stride, even reminding me when he thinks it is time for his injection, because injection means food. This of course has restricted both him and me , twice daily injections, following strictly, rules regarding food, and treating illness and infections quickly. So it is not to be recommended. However Fred seems very happy and makes us laugh every day.

What more can we ask?

Money; where it comes from ...

For every animal rescue or sanctuary, funding is a prime concern. At Kats and Kits it is no different. Not only do we have to raise money but to manage it wisely too. No good buying two dozen fluffy beds when you know there is going to be a very large vet bill at the end of the month. We have diverse sources of income and always looking for more, hence the adverts on this blog. We are given lots of jumble to sell, this we sort carefully and anything better is sent to the auction, the rest we sell at half a dozen sales during the year. The best sales for miles around, we are told by the queues that wait outside for us to open. We are lucky to have donations from people who support us, some of these on a regular monthly basis, often they have had cats from us and we hear from them and the cats at Christmas. There have been a great number of fund raising events, sponsored walks, barn dances, garden parties, schools have collected for us and we have collecting tins in vets, shops and pubs. This all involves a lot of work and we are very grateful to everyone for everything they do.

...and where it all goes

The health of the cats is of great importance to Kats and Kits. Sometimes cats come to us in very poor condition and need immediate veterinary care. Lorraine spends a great deal of time ferrying cats back and forward to the vets either for emergency treatment or for routine appointments for neutering, dental work and other problems that need to be dealt with to keep them well and healthy. This is our biggest expenditure but a very important one. Then there is food, cat litter, cleaning materials, insurance and an endless list of things needed to look after 65 cats.

At Kats and Kits every penny raised is used to ensure the welfare of the cats in our care.

As the hot weather continues, I remember how in the early days of Kats and Kits how difficult it was to keep the cats cool. We were primarily a rescue in those days, operating from Lorraine’s large back garden in a village near to our present site. It was a lovely setting for the cats, but Lorraine’s husband got very fed up with us taking large chunks of his garden to build more and more pens. I have to put it on record that he worked tremendously hard for us, still does in fact.

However back to the cats in the hot weather. The cats that had their pens and runs under the trees were fine, but for those in the sun the temperature would build up and we helpers would get very concerned. The first summer in a panic we draped towels and blankets over the pens and unrolled carpet on the roofs. This worked very well, looked terrible, but the cats were cool. Also if the wind got up these would all be deposited on the surrounding countryside, usually very wet.

After some thought we came up with a much better solution. Someone had given some us some bamboo blinds for our sale and they proved to be perfect on the roofs of the pens, easy to unroll and roll up again, dried quickly and stayed put. Then our spare sheets were put to use as blinds, with hooks along the top not only did they keep the sun out, but allowed the breeze to circulate. The garden had the look of a Bedouin encampment, I thought so anyway. I think Dave thought it looked as if we had brought our washing to work.

As temperatures soar, they promise us 35^oC degrees today, perhaps it is a good moment to mention cat care in the hot weather. Cats can be very distressed in hot temperatures, especially if they have no shade to retreat to. If you have a garden with very little shade, bushes, trees etc. a garden umbrella will be appreciated or a blanket over the washing line will do. Provide fresh water inside and out at all times, the hedgehogs will like this too. Water on a higher level for the birds would be a good idea if it is out of the cats reach.

Cats that live inside can find the heat equally difficult. Opening windows and keeping cats in isn’t easy. I find Venetian blinds, that fit well and are heavy work well upstairs over open windows, and provide air as well as safety. This could work downstairs as well but would need to be tested carefully.

If your cat is white or has white patches on its ears and head, special care needs to be taken. Skin cancer, which can develop in these areas seems to be on the increase, maybe due to climate changes. Using a little sun block rubbed in round the ears and head at regular intervals may give some protection. Try to encourage your cat to sit in the shade. How do you do that? Put your own garden chair in the shade and it will be in it like a shot!

Finally give your cat a good brush or comb and get rid of all the loose hair it is shedding in the hot weather. Now relax and hope it soon gets cooler.

Working with animals is not a job to be taken lightly, no good turning up just when the sun is shining, though those days are a delight, driving up the lane you might see deer, hares and even a heron by the stream, and you will probably work with the swallows swooping above your head through the open barn door building their nests.

But the sun doesn't always shine in Wiltshire and the helpers have become accustomed to battling through the most adverse conditions:

Wet days, well the lane floods and you mustn’t be too worried about having a clean car and the rain has been known to be horizontal.
Cold days can be better especially if the sun is shining, I think we only reached six degrees below freezing this winter.

What of the cats? In summer lounging under trees, by the pond or maybe in the garden, some still on Lorraine’s bed, and in winter, curled up in their heated pens on their heat pads watching the helpers rushing about trying to keep dry and warm.

Kats and Kits relies greatly on its helpers. They are entirely voluntary and the sanctuary could not function without them. What qualities do you need to work at Kats and kits? It goes without saying that you must love cats, a strong back helps as there is a lot lifting and bending, couple that with a pair of waterproof boots and you are ready to go.

The rewards are many; the cats greeting you when arrive in the morning, coming from all directions to rub round your legs, the bossy ones pushing to the front, the timid ones hanging back wishing they had the courage of their more confident companions. They must all be talked to and stroked before work starts.

Lorraine Spencer started work as a veterinary nurse in 1982. Soon all the unwanted waifs and strays that came into the practise found their way home with her. Within a few years space became short and group of friends and colleagues got together to raise funds to convert a small stable block into cat pens. Many sales, and garden parties later this was done and Kats and Kits came into being.

Devizes Kats and Kits is in its 13th year and during that time it has rescued and re-homed more than 1300 cats and kittens.

All have been neutered where necessary, some have had extensive veterinary care but all have been cared for and cherished until they were ready to go on to a suitable new home.

During this time Kats and Kits have, maybe rather naively, never refused to help a cat. Consequently we have always rescued more cats than we could re-home; timid cats from farms and factories, elderly cats, and cats with on-going veterinary problems, with the house cats these number 65.

They will all spend the rest of their days with Kats and Kits, sharing 13 acres with chickens, goats and cattle, living in custom built heated accommodation, but often finding their way into the house where the old ones will be found curled up in beds by the Aga or on Lorraine’s bed.

Though Kats and Kits is operating mainly as a sanctuary it does not mean we will not help cats in need. We have built good working relationships with other rescues and the R.S.P.C.A. liasing with them when emergencies occur.

Some cats need extra care and recuperation after illness and injury and Lorraine does this with great care and skill.

Kats and Kits has a long term commitment to all the cats it has re-homed insisting that they come back to us if circumstances change and their owners cannot care for them.

We also do all we can to encourage people in the community to neuter their cats, this being the most important thing of all.

Kats & Kits

The Diary of a Rural Cat Sanctuary

Character Cats

31 July 2006

Tinkerbell and Tuppence

29 July 2006

Introducing... Thomas: the Lean, Mean Locksmith

28 July 2006

Introducing....Freddie: the Talkative Gourmet

24 July 2006

Fund Raising

21 July 2006

Cooler for Cats

19 July 2006

Cool for Cats

17 July 2006

Helpers' Survival Techniques

15 July 2006

The Kats and Kits Helpers

12 July 2006

Introducing Kats and Kits

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