Our Team
Cats
Aid is run by a committee; we call ourselves the Core Group.
We are all volunteers; some of us work full time in ‘real’ jobs – we
have to pay the mortgage! Some of us are retired but we are
all busy
people just like you who have to combine Cats Aid with many other
commitments. We hope to introduce ourselves and to tell you
more
about ourselves over the coming months. Although we have a
number
of members and supporters who take an interest in our work, often
people
don’t realise that the day to day work is carried out by a very
small number
of volunteers. We have very limited resources; therefore we
can’t always
provide the answers or ‘instant fixes’ that are requested (and often
demanded).
We meet once a month to co-ordinate the intake and homing of the
cats and to
deal with the usual items that any committee deals with. We
are always under
pressure and our meetings are sometimes ‘animated’ but we try to
avoid behaving
like alley cats! We are a registered charity so we have to
keep careful accounts
which are professionally audited every year. We are
accountable for all monies
received and we are also accountable for our cats. We don’t
have a central office
or a sanctuary so all of the money we receive goes directly to
benefit the cats.
Our main ongoing problems are lack of manpower and lack of homes for
our
cats. It is also a constant struggle to raise funds. In spite
of the support of many
veterinary practices, for which we are very grateful, our bills for
treatment and
boarding are very high.
What we do
The main work that we carry out is the rescue of cats in need. We health check and rehabilitate and try to find homes for the many cats and kittens that come into our care. Behind the figures and statistics there are stories – stories of neglect and cruelty, of defenceless cats struggling to survive and to raise their kittens. Sadly the stories don’t always have happy endings, which makes it all the more satisfying when they do.
Feral Colonies:
We also monitor feral colonies and we trap, neuter/spay and return cats to monitored colonies. This often involves nights trying to coax reluctant cats into traps. One generally gets just one chance to trap a feral cat; after that they learn to avoid the trap; this is so frustrating when one is waiting, cold, wet, and hungry! We often meet people who want us to ‘get those vermin out of here now.’ We also encounter resistance from people who feel that what we do ‘interferes with nature.’ Our answer to that is that nature can be very cruel – a female kitten can have her first litter at only 4 or 5 months old and she can produce litter after litter after that. Most of these kittens are born to die; often lingering, painful deaths. Unneutered male cats can roam large territories, impregnating any females they encounter. They are often injured in fights and their lives are generally short. Animal rescue groups like Cats Aid are left attempting to ‘clean up the mess’ because people don’t neuter and spay their animals.
Help and Advice:
We assist people who request help for stray cats and we provide help and advice through our telephone Help Line and by Email. This website provides a facility for posting details of lost and found cats. These stories sometimes end happily with the safe return of the cat, which is always good to hear; sadly some cats don’t make it home, in which case we offer sympathy and understanding.
Newsletter:
We produce a Newsletter 4 times a year, containing information and stories about our rescued cats. This newsletter also keeps our members up to date with any fund raising activities we may have during the year.
We urgently need more volunteers and we would love to hear from you.
Please help us to help the cats.
