You need a lot of bottle to do this job! NOT!

We were asked to help with a cat who had had a kitten in the outbuilding of a disused pub in a town about 25 miles from our centre. The cat, although not feral, would not let the people feeding her approach, and so we decided that trapping was the best way forward. Time was of the essence as we were concerned that the kitten would become wild, or may not survive.

So we set off, equipped with two traps, two tins of tuna, two powerful torches and a van full of baskets, towels, gauntlets and various other bits and pieces.

Our first sight of the location was rather daunting, the cat and kitten were enclosed in a pub yard behind a six foot wall, with all the doors and gates boarded up. Fortunately, the lovely ladies working in the shop next door (who had been feeding her and who had alerted us to their plight) lent us a ladder, so we were able to scale the wall with relative ease.

Over the wall we were met with the sight of a rubbish strewn yard, and a little white cat screaming for her supper.

We set the trap and retreated to the shadows, and the little minx went in, ate the bits of tuna at the edge and then came and demanded some more from us. We explained to her that it would be best if she went into the trap, and after a few more attempts we were delighted to hear the "thunk" as the trap snapped shut.

We then took the opportunity to investigate the place where the kitten was living and we were horrified to see a small outbuilding packed with bin bags, boxes and worst of all empty bottles, a large number of which were broken. In the light of our torch we caught sight of the kitten hiding under a pile of bags about half way down the shed. The kitten was bigger than we'd thought. Good news on one part - she would have a better chance of survival if we couldn't catch her; bad news on the other part - she would be harder to catch.

We began to carefully remove the bags, boxes and bottles, piling them to one side of the shed, and we cleared a space in the area where we'd seen her. To our surprise, nestled against a bin bag was a second kitten - completely black. No wonder no one had seen this one!

We tried our hardest to grab the babies, but both were able to flee our hands. We set our second (tiny) trap, next to the trap with mum-cat, but after an hour there was no result and we had to reluctantly conclude that it was unlikely that we'd catch them that night.

So we left the traps set in the shed, covered them with boxes (you can see them in photos under the green boxes) and left plenty of food for the babies. The staff at the next door shop agreed to check the traps the next morning, so off we went with mum-cat in the back of our van, hoping against hope that the kits would be in the traps the next morning.

They weren't!

We decided to go back that evening and if the traps weren't sprung we'd remove them and ask the staff next door to feed the kits to get them into a routine. As they were feral, we assumed that they would not be used to people, so it was important to get them to start trusting.

Meanwhile, mum-cat - now named Miranda - was settling in well, quite friendly but very vocal. She spent most of the day shouting ("Infamy! Infamy! They've all got it in-fer-me!").


That evening the traps were still open, the food still inside, and the staff reported that none of the food they'd put down had been eaten. We were pretty confident that the kits couldn't get out of the yard, and so we made up some comfortable boxes in the shed and put a couple of plates of food down.

As we were about to leave we decided to have a last look around the yard, not really expecting to find the kittens, but to see if there were any hidey holes we'd not spotted.

To our volunteer's amazement, she suddenly noticed two little black triangular things sticking up behind a stone against a sheet of wood (look on the photo of the yard where the two pieces of wood make a cross - it was the other side of the piece of wood behind the weeds behind the cross). Wondering what they were, and thinking that they looked like a pair of ears, our volunteer cautiously approached, and to her amazement found that they were a pair of ears!!! Belonging to the little black kitten - who seemed to be very fond of attempting to camouflage himself against black things.

Very quietly and carefully our volunteer was able to scruff the kitten and tell the others that she had a kitten. Once they'd stopped thinking she was joking, a basket was quickly brought, and the little black kit was safely ensconced.

Our efforts to find the second kitten now increased, and at the suggestion of the lady from the shop, our other volunteer found the kitten about a yard from where the first one had been found. Again we were able to scruff her and get her into a basket.

Mission accomplished!! If smiles could have got us home, we would have been over those moors and back at our centre in seconds. Huge thanks must go to the ladies who fed the cats, and who alerted us to their plight. Without their contribution this would have been another family left to fend for itself and to breed unhindered.

Back at our centre, we had a look at the kittens. The white one didn't seem too afraid, so gingerly we picked it up and she (she is a girl) allowed us to handle her. Emboldened by this success we tried to pick the little black one up, and again we succeeded. This one was a boy.

Miranda was over the moon to see her babies again and chirruped at them like a demented budgie. The kittens meanwhile were more interested in chasing a moth which was desperately trying to get into the window of their pen - another indication that these aren't feral cats.

It is rare for kittens to be so friendly if they don't get human handling from an early age, so we guess that the little family must have been dumped there. The ladies feeding them had only been aware of them for about a fortnight, so we think they hadn't been there very long.

Another occasion where if the mother cat had been neutered, the owners wouldn't have been presented with unwanted kittens. At least the future is bright for Miranda, and her kittens, Islay and Johnnie, who will all be neutered before we find them new homes.

Boomerang

Hello, I'm Blackie. This is my second visit to Haworth Cat Rescue, and I thought that bloggers would like to hear my story.

I used to live with my owner. We were very happy together and then one day, sadly, he died. I was devastated, and didn't know what would happen to me. Luckily, his family were very kind and understanding, and knowing how much he had loved me, they wanted to ensure that I had a good future. So they asked Haworth Cat Rescue to help, and eventually brought me to the rehoming centre. I was a bit grumpy at first and didn't let anyone stroke me for a couple of days, but after a while I realised that they aren't too bad here, and I relented.

But it's a weird place - no armchairs, no fires to warm my tummy, no television!! I'm glad places like Haworth Cat Rescue exist, but if I could make one teensy weensy wish, it would be that my previous owner had arranged for someone to take me in the event of his death. That way, there would be no need for me to be stressed and uncertain in the rescue centre. All he would have had to do would have been to ask amongst his friends and relatives to find someone suitable to take me should anything happen to him, and then put a large prominent note in his house and another with his papers. Maybe readers of this blog will do this in his memory - if you have a pet, a cat or a dog, or even a goldfish, ask your friends until you find a suitable home. If you have more than one pet, arrange homes for each one. Don't leave it to your relations - they will be sad enough without having to worry about your pets - and if you have unkind relations, they may even dump your pets rather than try and find them a good home.

So, back to my story. After ten days or so, Haworth Cat Rescue found me a lovely home with a young couple. Again, I was a bit stressed and grumped a lot at first, but my new owners worked with Haworth Cat Rescue and gradually I settled.

I did notice that one of my new owners cried every time he saw me. At first I thought it was just pure emotion - the joy of having me come to live with him - but then I heard him on the phone to the doctor, and realised that in fact he was allergic to me. He tried for a month but became more and more poorly, and so, with the greatest of sadness, had no option but to bring me back. It wasn't his fault - he had had cats before and hadn't had such a bad reaction, but sadly these things happen.

So, here I am again, still a bit grumpy, but I expect I'll calm down in a day or so. Maybe soon a new owner will come and choose me, and I'll go off again - hopefully for good this time.

Bye for now, love Blackie xxxxx

Catch up

Today's blog is a catch up on some of the cats we've introduced you to over the last few weeks.


The photos above are two of Zelda's kittens. Sadly, the two littlest died at about three weeks old, they just faded away and nothing we could do could save them. We were all terribly saddened. The five survivors are doing well, nice and big and eating well - all are now weaned and really giving poor old Zelda a run for her money. She is very thin and giving far too much of her energy to the kits, so we are doing everything we can to make it easier for her.

Our big lad Charlie, is due to have his thyroid operation next week. Hopefully he will be fine, but he is responding well to the medication and his heart-rate is decreasing nicely.

Last but not least, our lovely little Faye is doing really well. Not only is the vet very pleased with the progress of her wound from her collar injury, but last night Faye had two lovely babies. Mum and kits doing well - such a proud mummy!

Collared!

We received a telephone call about 10 days ago from a lady who had been feeding a stray cat for about a fortnight. The cat was very nervous and wouldn't approach her, but the lady could see that the cat had her leg caught through her collar, which was eating into her flesh, giving off a putrid smell and causing her great discomfort. Just to add to the situation, it had become apparent that the cat was heavily pregnant.

We were able to lend the caller one of our traps, and with the help of a nearly full tin of tuna, the cat was caught that very same night. What a relief for all concerned!! The lady's little daughter asked if the cat could be called Faye.

We took Faye straight to our vets where the collar was removed and the wound examined. In some ways she was very lucky - although the wound was infected and covered a big area, it was not deep, which gives it a better chance to granulate and heal.

Faye was kept at the vets for a couple of days for observation and her wound was washed several times to remove the dirt and infection.

The collar was a cat flea collar, with about an inch of elastic, which had completely lost its elasticity. The buckle part was completely rusted, whether as a result of being inside the wound, or because it had been on for a long time, we can't tell.

To our surprise the cat was microchipped. Our initial excitement about this soon wore off when her owners, instead of being concerned about her injury and delighted to have her back, indicated that they didn't want her and had given her away some time ago, even though they couldn't say to whom they'd given her. Legally, to cover ourselves, we had to ask them to sign her over to us, and we were disappointed that they didn't seem to care about her condition, nor ask how she was.

Faye is recovering nicely. She has to have cage rest so that she doesn't stretch her injury, and she is a bit bored, but the wound is healing well. By the time the kittens have been born, weaned and ready to leave her, hopefully the wound will be fully recovered and we can find her a new home too.

But how needless all this is. Why oh why didn't her original owners have her neutered? Why didn't they change the address details if indeed they did rehome her? And why did they put a collar on her that not only had been on too long, but didn't have any identification on it.

There is a lot of debate in the cat world about whether collars are good for cats - many people have had their lost cats returned thanks to id on a collar, but others have seen their cats suffer injury due to a collar, such as has happened here with Faye.

It is up to each individual owner to weigh the pros and cons of collars, but we would recommend two things to owners who use collars - firstly, make sure there is id on the collar, preferably a small engraved disc and secondly, use a safety-release collar so that if the cat's leg does become caught, there is a good chance the collar will pop off and thus avoid injury.

And remember, flea collars only treat the upper body area of the cat - they have little effect on the lower body, and you should not use any other flea products in conjunction with a flea collar.

We'll keep you posted about Faye, and let you know when her babies come along.

A right Charlie ........

Staff at a local health centre reported a tatty looking stray living in the garden of an empty bungalow near where they worked.

When he came into our shelter, we discovered that Charlie had very matted fur on his stomach, and was thin and bony.

Our vets removed the worst of the tangles, and took a blood sample to test for hyperthyroidism, a condition which affects older cats.

Sure enough the test came back positive.

Hyperthyroidism is a condition which causes the thyroid gland to overact. The gland swells up and the results of this are an increased appetite, an inability to maintain weight and ultimately organ failure - more commonly heart and/or kidney.

Hyperthyroidism can be treated though, and cats who have this condition can live for many years. Tablets can manage the condition, and removal of part of the thyroid gland can remove the problem altogether - although it may recur later if the remaining part of the gland develops the same condition.

Charlie was found to have a very fast heart-rate, and is on medication to slow the heart-rate before we go ahead with the op, which we hope will give him many more years of happy life.

The bungalow where Charlie lived is now up for sale, and we are informed that an elderly lady lived there, so we must assume that she has either died or gone into residential accommodation. Poor Charlie, he must have been so disorientated when he was left alone.

The staff at the health centre were absolutely right to bring Charlie to our attention, given his condition, and the place where he was living, but it can in some cases be very difficult to make an accurate judgement of a cat who appears to be a starving stray. Some cats with this condition do look to be uncared for, but that is often not the case, and we have had many occasions over the years where "starving strays" have turned out to be very much loved cats who were well cared for and receiving appropriate medication.

If your elderly cat is starting to eat more, and yet still losing weight, it would be well worth having a blood test taken, and if the results show positive for hyperthyroidism, we recommend that you take steps to inform all your neighbours, in case they think that she is a stray, have her microchipped in case she is taken and handed into a rescue centre, and consider putting a safety release collar on her with a message to the effect that she has a medical condition.

As for Charlie, he continues to eat well (!) and we are monitoring his heart rate, so that once he is fit enough his operation can go ahead, and then hopefully we can rehome him.

Tilly is the remaining member of a group of nine cats who came to us towards the end of last year.

They were found living in a garden - a very long winding garden - and enquiries by the new owner of the house to which the garden belonged, revealed that the previous owner had had a long haired black and white cat who he had threatened to leave behind.

Sure enough, amongst the cats was a longhaired black and white cat.

The new owner of the house not only felt sorry for these cats, but had a cat phobia and knew that she could not cope with a colony at the bottom of her garden. Mustering her courage and a group of friends she borrowed a trap and managed over the period of about 5 days to catch all the cats and bring them to us. This was an incredibly brave thing for her to do, given her phobia.

All nine cats were terrified, dirty and hungry and would not let anyone near them at first.

Gradually we managed to work out who we had in this little group. There was the long haired black and white cat who turned out to be mother to all the others. The others comprised two litters, one litter of three cats aged about 5 months who were completely feral, and a second litter of five kittens aged about 6 weeks, who were very very nervous but able to be handled.

Mum, Mitsi, was also tame once she had calmed down and reassured herself that she and her family were safe. We gradually began to handle the cats to assess them, and once the kittens were old enough to leave their mum, we put them in short term foster homes to get them used to being inside and being handled. All five were neutered and rehomed just after Christmas.

Of the older litter, one tamed up and again he was neutered and rehomed, and Mitsi too was neutered and rehomed and is settling in well.

That left two of the older kittens, Shadow and Tilly. We were able to find an outdoor home for Shadow, but Tilly is still with us, still hoping for a home. She loves to play and she loves to chase insects. She is incredibly curious and she will sometimes let us stroke her. She loves having the end of her tail held - she walks up and stands facing away from us with her tail in the air, and we just have to hold the end of it. But she does bite, a curious not aggressive bite, but a bite nevertheless. We hope to find a good outdoor home for Tilly, maybe with another semi-feral cat we are caring for - a stables or a farm or a similar environment, where she can take her time to get used to people. We think it unlikely that she will settle in a house.

Whilst we celebrate the lives of Tilly (who is pictured above) and her siblings and half-siblings, we fail to understand the mentality of anyone who when moving house would leave their cats behind. And worse, leave their un-neutered female cat behind. It is a population explosion waiting to happen.

Sadly, we hear more and more cases of cats left behind when their owners move. Perhaps some responsibility could be shared by landlords - maybe allow your tenants to have pets, particularly if they pay an extra bond to cover damage. Or like Persimmon Homes, who had an article in this week's Wakefield local paper, offer suggestions to help people move house with their pets.

Perhaps if owners realised that it is illegal to abandon an animal, and that they could be prosecuted for doing so, fewer people would resort to this type of behaviour, and fewer cats would be left at the mercy of their surroundings in situations where they may not cope and may not, therefore, survive.

Chasing our tails

Just a quick update entry today, with promises that we will post another entry later in the week.

Zelda's kittens are all doing well, all seven are still going strong. The kitten pictured was 12 days old at the time the photo was taken (they're 15 days old today).

All seven have their eyes open and are starting to look around. They are still very wobbly on their feet, but can navigate from one side of their box to the other.

We have been lucky enough not to have to feed them supplementary meals yet, Zelda is a fantastic mum and is coping marvellously, although she is eating copious amounts of food - three large tins a day plus supplementary dried food!!!

Our main job at the moment is to make sure all the kittens seem fed, and to make sure that their eyes don't get sticky. The kittens vary in size, there are two very small ones and two much larger ones, but all seven are growing well and none are looking thin.

More about the kittens on a later blog.

We're also delighted to say that we have rehomed Snatch, the diabetic cat who featured in our blog a few weeks ago, and we have also rehomed Max, our lad who came in as a stray.

There was an excellent article about us in our local paper - you can read it here. We hope to have a good response to this, both from new volunteers and people wanting to adopt cats.