Dove Cat Rescue Sanctuary
Hallsteads Farm
121 Hallsteads
Dove Holes
Buxton
SK17 8BU

01298 816200

www.dovecatrescuesanctuary.org.uk

November 2006

It’s that time of the year again when “good causes” are pressing you for your support and financial help, and we, unfortunately, are no exception.

Without our Christmas appeal to you, the Sanctuary would find it difficult to continue. Every year in the Newsletter we say we haven’t known a year like it - but this year has been particularly difficult.

Over the summer we have needed four helpers at least to get through a morning’s work. People go on holiday in the summer so naturally don’t want to be taking on a new cat: similarly our own helpers need their holidays, so at the very time the Sanctuary is bursting at the seams, not only are very few cats and kittens being homed, but our help is often minimal.

Thankfully things are calming down somewhat now, and we are currently delving frantically into the winter bedding stocks to ensure all the cats and kittens (we still have plenty of these) have a warm bed. It can get a bit parky up at Dove Holes! Fortunately the food stocks are holding up reasonably well for this time of the year - everyone has been so generous with donations. It is not only the big stores that help us: the pet shop at Whaley Bridge has a food tub, whilst the customers of the pet store in New Mills market can always be relied upon for really nice food. In many cases people just turn up with food and we don’t know who they are. We thank you all for helping us keep our cats warm and well-fed.

Over the year we have been co-operating closely with a scheme run by the RSPCA and funded by money left by a lady (Dilys Graham) in her will to help feral cats. Her generosity enabled two officers, Phil and Glenys, to share the job of rescuing, trapping and neutering feral cats over a large area and where appropriate bringing them in to us to be homed. This sort of work requires a lot of patience, which Phil and Glenys have in abundance - even when one of Dorothy’s house cats, one Teddy-Edward (notorious for his love of cars) was found in the RSPCA van when it arrived back at the clinic in Salford. Despite Dorothy’s entreaties he was speedily returned, but it probably won’t be long before he climbs into yet another vehicle. Sadly it won’t be Phil’s van, because we have just heard that the lady’s legacy has now run out and the valuable work that has been done over the past two years will come to an end in December.

Once again the “Rescued Cats” calendar is part of our Christmas appeal, and for the second year running one of our cats is on the cover. His name is Hugo and he is pictured in a vegetable basket in the garage where he retreated when a new dog joined the household. He stayed there for a week, but he and the dog are now the best (well almost) of friends. For a small sanctuary we are well represented in the calendar this year. Debbie, a good friend of ours, comes up to Dove regularly to photograph the cats and kittens, and has had two of her photographs chosen. They are the basket of gorgeous kittens representing June and “Dublin” representing (July). Another of our cats, “Millie”, is representing August. We are particularly grateful to Debbie for all her help in producing the posters you may have seen in your vet’s waiting room and various shops in the area. A calendar order form is enclosed, but please may we have a separate cheque for any calendars you order in case our stock runs out and we need to return your cheque.

Last year you may remember we asked for sponsors for our lady on Skye, Andrea, who ran the London Marathon in April. She completed the twenty-six miles in the fantastic time (considering her age!) of 3 hours 48 minutes, and raised over £900 for the Sanctuary. We wish to thank everyone who sponsored this event, and Andrea in particular of course for her magnificent effort.

Coffee Mornings, Table Top Sales, Car Boot and Garage Sales have been the main methods of fund-raising again this year. We have recently had a very successful Coffee Morning in Disley and still have so much bric-a-brac that we have decided to hold a Book and Bric-a-Brac sale on Saturday 6 January 2007 in the Disley Community Centre. Many thanks to both supporters and helpers for making these events happen.

We are also indebted to those who support us with regular cheques: people like Frank Lomas and Geoff, Crank Peach the Disley estate agents, Sam Gray who raised over £250 for us at his 30 th birthday party, Dot our faithful pensioner from Eccles, and Sue Richardson, a former helper now living in the Lakes. She always sends a generous donation when there is a coffee morning imminent. There are so many other people connected with the Sanctuary who never fail us when we need them, many of whom remain anonymous. We cannot thank them enough.

You will also find some raffle tickets enclosed with this Newsletter. Please don’t feel you should buy them all yourselves - perhaps friends and family could be approached to spread the cost especially at this time of year.

The doom and gloom stories about irresponsible owners continue to plague us. From sheer ignorance in bringing in two beautiful young tortoiseshells because they had fleas (yes, honestly), to the persistent refusal by some people to have their cats neutered because they crave the experience of their cat having kittens. They then contact us in a panic because they are going on holiday and expect us to find homes for them.

Earlier in the year Dorothy was contacted by Social Services and asked to take in four cats, as their owner’s house had been declared uninhabitable. They were all well looked after, but one in particular made an impact on us all. She had lost half her tongue when some mindless young person had thrust a firework into her mouth. She had so much courage and managed to eat remarkably well, but her health deteriorated and on veterinary advice Dorothy had to make the difficult decision to put her to sleep.

Another sad case, but with a happier outcome, was Benjamin, who was found in Poynton tied to a wire fence and in a dreadful state, but is now doing well in a new home in Macclesfield.

Charlie, a very large black and white cat from Hulme in Manchester was found sitting on a settee in a flat waiting for his owner to return to feed him. Charlie was not to know that his owner had died in hospital, and had it not been for the fact that a local volunteer heard that this lady had died, and knew she had a cat, he would probably not have been given the chance of a new home.

Two ladies who work tirelessly for cat rescue are Maria and Katherine. They were confronted with a potentially tragic situation on a derelict central Manchester housing estate where they had been feeding strays. They were concerned about one of the young females. She had recently had kittens but had not been seen for several days. Three houses in the direct vicinity were due for demolition at any time. The smashed windows of the houses had been sealed with metal grilles, but from an unsealed, broken window on the top floor of the end house could be heard the faint but unmistakable cries of kittens. The fear was not only the imminent demolition of the house but also that the mother had not been able to get to them as local children had somehow sealed her access. At dawn on the second morning Maria and Katherine returned to the house and again heard desperate cries coming from the top floor. The mother clearly had not been back, probably frightened off by the deafening sound of the bulldozers, so the two intrepid cat ladies, armed with saws and cat carrier, tackled the two thick cables holding a ground floor metal grille in place. Eventually it was yanked free and Maria was in. After searching every room creeping over broken glass and pigeon droppings she finally came to the top floor bathroom. The crying was now coming from just one kitten – but where was he? Maria tore off the hardboard panelling around the bath and there he was. A tiny black and white scrap, no more than three weeks old. Despite the fact he was feral he made no attempt to escape while a further two kittens were brought from under the bath. All three were placed in a carrier and the building left to the bulldozers. The smallest kitten sadly did not survive, but Dandy and Bonny, after a suitable period of fostering, were homed together in Poynton.

A less harrowing experience features Karen, our indomitable rescuer. She was called to the Home Farm Trust shop on the busy A6 in Hazel Grove where two grey kittens, about 10 weeks old, had been abandoned on the doorstep. One had escaped into the shop and, as in all charity shops, there were an awful lot of places for a small kitten to hide. After a whole day’s search Karen eventually found him amongst all the shoes. Both kittens have now been found good homes.

It never ceases to amaze us the care some people take to ensure a cat reaches sanctuary and a chance of a better life. A cat had been seen hanging around the operating theatres at Stepping Hill Hospital since Easter. Various staff had been feeding him, but a secretary bought him a special collar bearing a message to the effect that anyone who knew him should contact her. There was no response, but Emma, a nurse and the daughter of one of our helpers, heard about this cat, read the message, and contacted the secretary. They both felt that he could be a risk of infection, bearing in mind the sensitive area of the hospital that he was frequenting, so it was agreed that Emma and her friend Rebecca should take him up to Dove. The girls called him Caesar (after a character in the Big Brother series) but Dorothy called him Doc, and he is now enjoying life in a new home in Buxton. Our special thanks go to the anonymous secretary at Stepping Hill for bringing this about, and Emma and Rebecca for playing their part.

Finally, another incredible story of coincidence and intrigue in Disley. Two of our helpers who live in the same road in Disley had had a note pushed through their letterboxes asking for information on a seventeen-year-old cat that had gone missing from the next road. Dorothy was informed, but the cat hadn’t been brought up to the Sanctuary. After a couple of weeks a gentleman who remembered Dorothy when her Sanctuary was in Disley rang her to say he had had a cat in his garden for a fortnight or so, and he was getting rather concerned about it. Dorothy put two and two together, as this man and the missing cat lived in the same area, and the description matched. She gave him the number of the missing cat’s owners, who had been away on holiday in the meantime. Having resigned themselves to not seeing their pet again imagine their delight when they were re-united. It turned out that when they were pushing their leaflets through the doors they had run out of them about two doors short of where the cat was ultimately found, just at the other end of their road. Well that’s cats for you!

And that seems to be it for another busy year. We hope you still enjoy reading our Newsletter, despite all our moans and groans. Please keep sending us news and photos of the cats we have homed with you, and thank you most sincerely for your continuing support. Your help is vital, and we really do appreciate your efforts.

A tailpiece:

“You can tell a dog to do something. You can put it to a cat as a reasonable proposition”.

(Michael Stevens)

As always our very best wishes go to you and your families for a happy Christmas and a peaceful 2007.

Coffee Mornings 2007

Saturday 24 th March and Saturday 17 th November – Disley Community Centre – 10:00 ‘til 12:00 noon.

Book and Bric-a-Brac Sale

Saturday 6 th January, - Disley Community Centre – 10:00 ‘til 12:00 noon.