www.dovecatrescuesanctuary.org.uk

December 2008

“Sleigh bells ring, are you listening? In the lane, snow is glistening”. Well not quite, but we are not so far off. The thicker fleeces and blankets have all been dug out in readiness for an imminent cold spell and our food stocks are in pretty good shape, thanks to all the generous people who donate food through our tub system, and others who take the trouble to call in at Dove Holes with food.

The Sanctuary’s health record this year has seen a big improvement on last year, but a careful health monitoring policy has meant an inevitable large rise in vets’ bills.

Our numbers at the time of writing are still high, but it is too early to gauge whether this is due to the current economic situation. Certainly we have had one person asking for help with neutering (she hadn’t even got her cat from us), and another who felt we should help with a vet’s bill incurred two months after the cat had left us. We have also been asked to take in cats from well outside our area: worrying times indeed.

However, the best news we have had for a long time came earlier in the year when out of the blue we received two generous donations, one sufficient to enable the conversion of an outbuilding into a superb state-of-the-art extension of the stables. This means we will eventually be able to retire dear old Chalet One, which has been valiantly coping with the elements for over 15 years. The new accommodation is warm, light and airy, and its design means it should be easier to control any infections passing from pen to pen. Dorothy’s husband, Frank, has been toiling all through the so-called summer on this project, and it is a credit to him.

Our fund-raising year has been very successful. Two Coffee Mornings, a Quiz (over 80 tickets were sold), and Branwen’s Garage Sales have boosted the coffers, and we have received in addition donations from people who remember us every year. These include the lady who organises coffee mornings at Woodley Civic Hall, and a consultant cardiothoracic surgeon in Bramhall. A further donation came from three ladies who organised a coffee morning and shared the proceeds between us and the Breast Cancer charity. We are also grateful to Lady Jenny Melmoth, the author, who sent us a generous donation in memory of her talented illustrator, Jo Berriman, who sadly died very suddenly in February.

Another nice surprise was to hear that the Sanctuary had been nominated as one of three charities to benefit from the Waitrose monthly scheme “Community Matters”. Each month shoppers in the Buxton store donate green tokens, given out at the checkouts, to the charity of their choice. The tokens are then weighed and a share of £1000, based on the weight of the tokens, is allocated to each charity. We have just heard that our share will be a very welcome £331. We don’t know who nominated us to be part of this excellent scheme, but greatly appreciate the thought, and thank Waitrose Buxton for choosing us.

You have probably realised by now that there are no calendars again this year. From what we can gather the gentleman and his wife who organise them, and who also run the Caring for Cats charity in Kent, have had health problems and so have been unable to enlist the support of the other charities necessary to make the project financially viable.

Finally, on the subject of support, we would like to express our thanks to Jean and Bill Raymond, who have just retired from Strines Post Office. The Sanctuary has had a lot of help from Jean and Bill’s customers over the years, and Jean and Bill themselves have been very generous with raffle and tombola prizes for the Coffee Mornings. We greatly appreciate their support and generosity, and send our best wishes to them for a long and happy retirement.

Now for news of what the Sanctuary is all about – our CATS! Karen, cat rescuer extraordinaire, has been working away as usual rescuing stray cats and kittens, and trying desperately to control her temper when she has to confront people who simply don’t care about the distress they are causing their pets. Beau, a beautiful blue/grey and white male cat, about 18 months old, lived in Wythenshawe until his owners moved house. The house was boarded up. Beau sat outside for a few weeks – hungry, covered in fleas and ticks – waiting and waiting for his owners to return. Thankfully somebody reported this sad situation, and Beau is now with Karen. He is very friendly, free from fleas and ticks, and is patiently waiting for a home where he will be properly cared for, and his amazing loyalty appreciated.

Two black and white kittens (Spike and Woolly), about nine weeks old, were found roaming the back streets of Moss Side. They were very timid, very frightened, and well on the way to becoming feral. Once at Karen’s, and with the help of cooked chicken and a great deal of patience, some progress was made, but it took at least two months. When a young couple contacted Karen about kittens she told them about Spike and Woolly and their ongoing problems. Undaunted, Kirsty and Jason said they would give the two young reprobates a chance, and arrangements were made to collect them in two weeks when they had moved house. In the meantime, another black and white kitten was brought in from the same area. Very bold, very vocal, he (Johnny Roadhouse!?) immediately took to the other two, so that by the time Spike and Woolly were due to be collected, all three were the best of friends. Came the fateful day and the bringing out of the cat carrier, who was the first kitten to jump into it? – yes, Johnny Roadhouse. Of course the kind couple couldn’t bear to leave him behind after that, so all three are now in a lovely home in Macclesfield. You have no idea, Kirsty and Jason, how many times Karen has used that trick (only joking), and thank you so much for taking all three. What a lucky trio.

We are happy to welcome, via Karen, some new friends of the Sanctuary. Wendy and Brett have returned to the UK after living in South Africa and have been helping us by doing some fostering. They supported an animal sanctuary while they were in South Africa and we hope to exchange our news via the internet.

Now we have some follow-up news on our ex-residents. Do you remember Oscar, the Bengal cross from last year’s newsletter? He hoiked a neigbour’s budgie out of its cage when he lived on a caravan site, and surprisingly was with us for some time. In February of this year a wonderful couple gave him a home at the Linnet Clough Scout Camp in Mellor. He hunts and gathers an interesting selection of wild life, mans the office (everyone knows him as Oscar the camp cat!), and shares the fireside with his Labrador friend in the evenings. His new owners describe him as “an absolute joy”, but we think the story of him hoiking an unsuspecting mole out of its molehill is going a little too far. But then he is part Bengal – and very, very handsome.

Another one of our ex-residents, Eric, sent us a Christmas card last year with a PS:

“I nearly got arrested last Sunday. I sat on the telephone and dialled 999. The police came round to see if we were all OK”

Apparently he was still “on the phone” when they came – nice one Eric!

If you read these newsletters regularly you will recall that there is always an amazing coincidence story included. No, we don’t make them up – they just happen to us. This particular incident occurred one Friday morning when one of the Sanctuary’s Disley helpers was calling in her tabby and white cat, Bertie, using the spoon and plate method. A handsome tabby and white cat quickly appeared – but it wasn’t Bertie. This cat was clearly somebody’s pet but in no hurry to go home, and was still in the garden late that night. Door-to-door enquiries were made but he was still hanging around the next day, so Dorothy was contacted. Arrangements were made for him to be collected first thing Monday morning and taken up to the Sanctuary. In the meantime, our helper’s husband was busily preparing fliers for distribution round the village. There happened to be a vet run that morning, so Dorothy decided to take him with her on the off chance he had been micro-chipped. He was scanned and there it was: an address in Marple Bridge. A ‘phone call established that that was indeed where he lived, and he had last been seen earlier that Friday morning sitting in front of his house. We can only assume he had hopped into a car or van there, and hopped out in Disley later that morning. It turned out the name of this beautiful cat was Bashka, which apparently is Turkish for “different” and guess what? He was originally a Sanctuary kitten! How clever of him to choose a garden whose owner had a link to the Sanctuary. But then that’s cats for you.

There has been another amusing coincidence that is nothing to do with cats as it happens, but nevertheless is worth relating. One of our loyal helpers is an avid reader, and wanted to complete her collection of Inspector Jack Frost books by R. D. Wingfield. The book she desperately wanted to track down was “Winter Magic”, but a country-wide search involving numerous telephone calls, and much surfing of the web, came to nothing. Eventually, a copy was tracked down by “Borders” in Stockport and three trips to Stockport later (one to order the book, one to collect it, and a third to get a refund of the amount she’d been overcharged), a delighted Jenny became the proud owner of the elusive “Winter Magic”. Job well done!

About to leave the Community Centre after our latest Coffee Morning a few weeks ago, however, our heroine, who had been taking money on the door all morning, spotted a book on the Table Top stall waiting to be packed away. You’ve guessed it. “Winter Magic” – 20p – brought in by another one of our helpers. Well what do you think? Of course she bought it.

So that’s it for another year. Despite the gloomy economic outlook we hope you will continue to help and support us with the Raffle: we recognise that this year in particular things will very likely be tight for everyone. However, as always, our very best wishes go to you, your families, and of course your cats, for a happy Christmas and a healthy and peaceful 2009.

A tailpiece:

“One small cat changes coming home to an empty house to coming home”.

(Pam Brown)

Coffee Mornings 2009

Saturday 21 st March and Saturday 14 th November – Disley Community Centre – 10:00 ‘til 12:00 noon.