www.dovecatrescuesanctuary.org.uk

email: dorothy.dovecats@btinternet.com

December 2009

What a busy year we’ve had since you last heard from us. There have been more cats and kittens in our care this year than we can ever remember – possibly due to the recession. Fortunately the weather has been reasonable, which is just as well because we have had to accommodate the “trusties” in igloos in the paddock to make room for the ever-increasing number of newcomers. The new wing is now fully operational, but the ailing Chalet One, which has been full all through the summer, is only now being dismantled by another Sanctuary trusty – Frank, Dorothy’s husband. A new chalet will replace the old one in due course.

Our food stocks, despite the extra numbers this year, have held up pretty well, and we thank everyone who has donated food over the past twelve months. Not only do our thanks go, as usual, to the large stores who have our tubs, but also to the smaller enterprises like the pet shop in Whaley Bridge, the pet stall in New Mills Market, not forgetting the lady who regularly brings us food from Nature’s Own in Buxton.

This year, apart from our usual successful fund-raising events (two coffee mornings and Branwen’s famous garage sales) we have received donations from a variety of other sources. Two enterprising young ladies sold “flowers and leaves” (we don’t know to whom!), and children from Peak Forest Primary School recently brought in a generous supply of food for us, following their Harvest Festival. The Dove Holes Line-Dancers regularly raise money for local good causes and once again the Sanctuary has been remembered. Finally, special thanks go to our favourite local jazz man, Mart. He has been quietly sending the fees from his after-dinner speaking engagements to the Sanctuary, and we greatly appreciate his kindness. Thank you all for your efforts over the past year.

This year’s health record had been good until the autumn, when a number of kittens with various medical problems were brought in, and sadly, despite careful nursing, several have been lost. Again, possibly due to the recession, we have had a number of kittens dumped on the doorstep (and even on the A6!).

Six beautiful kittens were found in a box with a sad little note attached explaining they were litter-trained and weaned, but the owner couldn’t afford to keep them. If only we could have had access to the mother cat once we had taken the kittens in, we could have helped to have her spayed (we have been given some vouchers from Cats Protection), returned her to her owner, and any future heartbreak would have been avoided.

A few misguided people seem to think that they should let their cats have kittens because “it’s nice for the children”. This policy does not work when suddenly homes can’t be found for the kittens and the family is going on holiday the next day (really?) – or even emigrating the next day in one case. We are then asked what we are going to do about it. Well at least they phoned a sanctuary. One dreads to think what alternatives would have been considered.

Following on this theme, we suspect some unscrupulous people are attempting to make money by breeding pedigree kittens and puppies. In particular there has been an increase in the number of pedigree cats that have been brought in. A beautiful Ragdoll (Tiffany) was found wandering in Smithfield Market in Manchester. She was absolutely terrified and had to be trapped. She escaped almost immediately she was brought in, trapped for a second time and only recently have we been able to have her spayed. We can only presume she wasn’t “fit for purpose”. We have also had our fair share of Bengals. Olivia has been with us for some time. A beautiful, very vocal, cat she has been homed once but was returned the next day as she was terrorising the couple’s two Cavalier spaniels! Bengals are very attractive, often used on TV commercials, but pretty special in that they cannot usually be homed with other cats – or some dogs apparently!

Karen, our very own diva of the cat world, would again like to thank everybody who has given a home to the cats and kittens she has been looking after over the past year. A lady from Gatley took three kittens in all, because she was spoilt for choice; another lady took Rula, who had been with a family where three children had been taken into care because their parents were heroin addicts; yet another family with similar problems had been reported to the RSPCA for neglecting their little ginger and white cat, now called Mikki. The owners were warned, the cat was removed by the RSPCA but then given back and promptly put outside again with a damaged leg, un-neutered, unfed and covered in fleas – until Karen got on the case, and it goes without saying that all these casualties of circumstance have been found lovely homes by Karen.

At this point we would like to thank Pat, a rescuer from Oldham, for all her hard work with mainly feral cats. Pat has not been well recently, and we would like her to know we are thinking about her.

And now some news about our cats. Some of you will probably be aware that the Brookside Garden Centre in Poynton has been sold recently. What you may not know, however, is that Thomas the Brookside cat came from Dove originally. When Dorothy moved the Sanctuary from Disley to Dove Holes, Thomas was one of her first residents, and was subsequently homed to Brookside. He had a bed on one of the counters by the till with a warning note attached to the effect that he only liked to be stroked on his head. In fact he has been mentioned in a previous Newsletter – the Christmas he shared the crib with the Baby Jesus in the Nativity scene. Anyway, now about thirteen years old, he has decided to retire to Romiley, where he lives in luxury with one of the Garden Centre ladies. We wish him well.

It is always nice when one of our “problem” cats beats the odds and comes out on top. Storm, a handsome, long-haired tabby suffering from osteomyelitis, was adopted by one of our helpers. He overcame his illness and recently won a first prize at a local pet show, as well as a “Highly Recommended” in the Best in Show class – and he has the rosettes to prove it! Well done, Storm, and congratulations to Jane, his proud owner.

Now a story about a black cat called Jack. Jack, a very friendly lad, was found wandering round Buxton Station, picked up by a well-meaning lady, and taken to the nearest vet. The vet duly phoned Dorothy to see if she could take the cat in, and Dorothy agreed. Two weeks later a couple with two young children came to the Sanctuary and decided he was the cat for them. Sorted? Not on your life. A few days later we received a call from Jack’s original owner who had been in hospital. Apparently Jack was a very sociable cat, and the family was used to him regularly disappearing for two or three days at a time. Because he was so friendly he was well-known to the postman and the local school, where he dropped in from time to time to attend some of the classes. Unfortunately his fame had not spread to the lady who “found” him nor the vet who passed him on to us! The new owners were contacted, but their children had grown so fond of Jack in such a short time that they didn’t want to part with him. Time passed and adverts appeared in the local press in Buxton appealing for information on his whereabouts. We obviously could not divulge where we had homed Jack as the arrangements for his homing had been made in good faith on both sides. Finally, an open letter arrived at the Sanctuary from the children of Jack’s original family for Dorothy to pass on to his new owners. The children explained that they had had Jack from a kitten and were missing him terribly. However they were glad he was with another family rather than missing, presumed dead. Then they advised what his likes and dislikes were with regard to food, and what to avoid. Altogether a very emotional letter – but it worked. Within a few days Jack was returned by his kind new owners and they chose another cat from us – Lucy, a friendly young cat who had been with us for some time while she had her kittens. So all’s well that ends well. Well certainly for Jack! The rest of us are still recovering.

Finally, the latest Teddy-Edward escapade! T-E as some of our faithful readers may remember, is one of Dorothy’s house cats; an affectionate, some would say

over-affectionate, Persian found in a bag in Mottram some years ago with his brother and his toys. Recently the husband of one of our helpers called at the Sanctuary with some food collected from Morrison’s in Buxton. Having unloaded, Norman then went on to his local garage for a pre-MOT check on his car. The car was put on the ramp, raised up into the air, lowered down again and there was our hero, Teddy-Edward, curled up on the back seat having slumbered through the whole procedure!

So there we have it for another year. Despite the economic gloom, and the many pressures on your time and resources at this time of the year, we hope you will still be able to support our Raffle – it means so much to us.

Our very Best Wishes go to you and your families, and your cats, for Christmas and the New Year.

A tailpiece:

“A kitten is more amusing than half the people one is obliged to live with”.

(Lady Sydney Morgan)

Coffee Mornings 2010

Saturday 20 th March and Saturday 13 th November

Disley Community Centre – 10am until 12.00 noon