The next 100 (Ode to Sunshine)

We have just completed the 200th cat neutering of stray and feral cats brought in to the surgery by the amazing Mrs Wells, cat catcher extraordinaire!  

Mrs Wells is a volunteer with Sunshine Cat Rescue. She is a truly amazing lady who has given up an enormous amount of her time to help cats. She is up at the crack of dawn checking her traps for cats and transports them to our surgery for neutering or treatment. She also makes sure that any kittens that she finds are tamed and homed. Even on her holidays in Portugal she continues her good work.

As part of our desire to help animals both at home and abroad we neuter these cats free of charge. But really, that is the easy part. The work put in by Mrs Wells and Sunshine Cat Rescue is immense. A big thank you on behalf of all the people and cats helped by this group. And a huge gold star for Mrs Wells!

We have just begun neutering the next 100.

 

Karen

 

Nine or seven?

Recently there have been a few ‘cat survival’ stories in the national press.

First of all there was the cat who turned up after having been missing for 8 years. And he turned up at a railway station in Paris. The cat’s name is Moon Unit, perhaps an indication of where he’s been all this time? Some of us – well, maybe it’s just me? – will be reminded of ‘The IncredibleJourney’, by Sheila Burnford, a children’s classic.

The other story concerned a cat who fell asleep inside a washing machine. His owner shut the door and initiated a 60C cycle, but luckily then heard some noise and noticed a startled Bobby, a cross-breed bengal, throwing a mild panic inside the machine. Bobby had to be treated for shock and spent the night on an IV drip.

Chip (on the right) not using any of his 9 lives..

 

Cats are resourceful and tough, and apparently they always land on four feet – even if it occasionally kills them. The legend of 9 lives is centuries old, but there is no definitive story, and obviously the facts point to 9 narrow escapes, rather than 9 lives. But why 9? No reason, really, as in some countries, like Germany, they only have 7. So think of that. You’re a German cat, you’ve had 7 narrow escapes. What do you do? You come to the UK, where you can have another 2 ‘lives’.

BUT: do we really want German cats here, using our cat-litter, eating our catfood, harrassing our own cats? Do we?

Harry