This page contains articles
about fostering or rehoming. They are included to enable
you to see what is invovled, and, hopefully, to encourage you
to help us.
Rehoming
an older Cat
Debi and Paul Simpson
write:
When we lost our beloved
cat, Cleo, back in 2005, we decided to contact Cats' Protection
to discuss the possibility of homing a cat that needed extra
care.
We realised that most kittens
and younger cats would have no difficulty finding a home. We
wanted to give a chance to a cat that might be older or less
likely to be homed.
We received details from
Cats' Protection of 2 cats; Sooty, who was 18 years old and
taking tablets for kidney problems, and Missy who was 12 years
old and deaf. Once we had looked at their little faces
on the website, we knew we had to take them both.
We recently lost Sooty after
2½ years at the ripe old age of 21. He had lots
of love, cuddles and a peaceful house to plod around. His
last few years were very happy for him.
We realised that by taking
on elderly cats we were going to be opening up ourselves to
some heartache as they were not going to be around for 10 years,
but the time we spent with Sooty was very precious to us. We
miss him dreadfully but have lots of lovely memories and know
that he had a fantastic life with us and was very happy.
We wanted to do the same
again for another 'difficult to home' cat. We knew that
there would be one out there who needed some fuss, so we contacted
Sandy at the local Mere & Gillingham Branch of Cats' protection. She
told us about Luke who is 16+ and had been found in a bad way
last year. Needless to say we jumped at the chance to
give him a caring home. He already has his favourite
places to snooze and loves a nice milky drink. Missy
also seems happy with her new housemate!
For any cat lovers we would
highly recommend helping an older cat in this way. They
give plenty of love and need some stability as they have generally
come from a loving home where circumstances have forced them
to have become stray or been given up.
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A
Fosterer's Tale
Jo Gopsill writes:
I have had my pen for over
five years, and it has housed literally dozens of homeless
cats in that time.
It all started when we approached
Sandy with a view to acquiring a Cats' Protection cat. We
fell in love with the cat, Benny, at once, and during our visit
to see him whilst he was living in his Fosterer's pen, the
Fosterer mentioned that Sandy had a spare pen and was looking
for someone to join her band of Fosterers and have the pen
in their garden.
We decided that we would
do this; the pen was erected, and the cats began to arrive. I
get to know them so well whilst they are with me and think
I will never forget them, but of course I do, after a while. I
always take photos of the cats when they have settled - really
so we can put them on this website, but I have kept pictures
of all my fosterees so I can refresh my memory of each and
every one.
Benny has played his role
marvellously. He is large, grey and white, and very
laid back. He approaches the pen cautiously, inspects
the occupant, and tries to make friends through the wire mesh.
Often he does, sometimes the foster cat snarls and hisses -
but Benny is completely unfazed. It is a good way of
getting an indication of how the foster cat might react if
homed with other felines!
We have brought some fosterees
into the house rather than leave them in the pen. These
were usually females spayed in the winter, so I brought them
indoors to make sure that they were warm despite their lack
of fur. There were also two neutered males - one, named
George, became so lonely after his companion was homed that
I brought him into the house - and he stayed. Sadly,
he became ill with cancer a few months later - he was only
six years old. Shortly after that "Puss-Cat" arrived
to be fostered. Nervous, hiding in the bed, we believed what
we were told - a shy lady - until we saw the vet. So,
Puss-Cat became Leo. We brought him into the house and he blossomed. He
stayed, a bouncy happy pet - and a first-class mouser. He
and Benny quite like one another, and have marvellous games
up and down the stairs during the small hours.
Some personalities stick
in the memory. There has been more than one Ginger Boy
with Attitude, and a shy large fluffy longhaired lady who settled
in as queen of all she surveyed in her new home. There
was the mother-of-four who was so grateful that I litter-trained
her brood, thus saving her the trouble. There was the
tabby lad with such terrible teeth that the vet didn't even
bother to check them when he looked in the mouth - just told
me to book the cat in for a dental overhaul. And, most
recently, there was the tabby adolescent boy who knew he was
on earth to love people. He greeted the lady who became
his new owner by jumping onto her lap and giving her face a
great big enthusiastic kiss.
So that is life with a pen
- summer afternoons with a companion whilst gardening, and
winter bedtime visits through howling wind and rain to check
on a cat who is warm and snug in his heated fleece.
The pen is scarred
now, by the claws of previous occupants. It will, I hope,
give shelter to many more.
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