New Year, New Me

Hello friends,

Welcome to 2015!  Apologies for the delay in posting, I actually have some news for you all.  My avid fans and visitors to the centre will know of my long term eye issue, having had my "dry eye" treated with drops for a few years now.  We all knew the drops would only work for so long and I recently developed an eye infection and an ulcer formed. Thankfully my staff here at the Centre booked me in for an operation and I no longer have that eye to worry about!  Yes, it has been removed, hurrah!  Honestly, I look even more macho without it, even if I do say so myself. All my beautiful ginger fur has grown back and I feel fabulous!  My staff are thrilled to see me looking so good, I even reward them with head bumps and purrs when they are working because I can't thank them enough for making me better. I love them all but don't tell them that, I still give the odd nip here and there if they are loving me too much, after all, it's my reputation at stake...  

2014 was a great year for us here at the Wrexham Adoption Centre. We homed a fantastic total of 351 cats, some of whom were reunited with their original owners, which is always great to see.  Thank you to everyone who has adopted a cat from us, every cat we home means another one is helped.  We would also like to thank all those who supported our Mince Pies and Moggies Open Day before Christmas, when over £600 was raised for the cats, and everyone who has sent cards and made donations over the Christmas period - our lucky cats now have plenty of food to keep them going!  I just hope I get a cut of the spoils, pretty sure I deserve it after my recent ordeal!!

Catherine and Dexter Foulkes making their Christmas donation to the cats!

While I am on the subject of donations and fundraising we have also been very grateful to receive your Felix tokens - these can be found on both tins and boxes and can be sent off to claim donations for our Adoption Centre - so please keep them coming. We are expecting to be sent £160 for something that would normally end up in the bin! Likewise we are expecting to receive £11 for a batch of donated used stamps, which may seem a relatively small amount but every little definitely does help!  On a larger scale, Petplan have once again made us an amazing donation of £4,870.76.  This is because each time a new adopter takes out their first full policy with Petplan we receive 10% of the total premium plus a further 10% every year the policy is renewed.  The money is donated from Petplan and doesn't cost you a penny!  We also owe thanks to the staff and customers of our local Pets at Home stores at Border Retail Park and Plas Coch for all the donations we have collected recently.
 
I hope my regular blog followers remember beautiful Neva who I featured in my previous post?  Well she did indeed finally find her dream home on a livery yard.  Unfortunately she managed to get into a bit of trouble not long after leaving our care.  She decided to take herself for an adventure which didn't end too well.  She was found, injured, by a kind family who took her to the vets, where she was scanned for a microchip and her chip we had implanted meant she could be reunited with her owner. Yet another example of why microchipping is so important!  All our cats and kittens are microchipped before adoption and we would urge everyone to have their pets chipped so they can be reunited if they are ever lost and to then ensure you keep your contact details up to date if you move house or change your phone number. Microchipping will in fact be compulsory for dogs in Wales from March 2015. 

My next special cat to mention has to be my friend Alfred, not only because he has a first class name but because he really is in need of a loving and understanding home. Since joining us in November he has spent an awful lot of time hiding in his Feline Fort but thankfully is finally starting to come round.  I do feel sorry for cats with shy personalities coming into the centre.  I'm sure being in a building surrounded by lots of other cats and strange people isn't really his idea of relaxation!  With lots of patience the Cat Care Assistants and Volunteers at the Centre have helped his confidence and he will now come out purring for fuss!  He has come from a rural area so is not used to busy roads and would suit a quiet home with an older person or couple.  If you feel you can offer Alfred the time and love he needs to be able to settle in to a new home, please look at his page on our website or call the Centre on 01978 313574.

Alfred

Just a few things to finish off...  Rita has stepped down from the position of Branch Treasurer.  She has done so much to help the Centre over the years, her hard work and dedication will always be appreciated and we will all miss her!  Our Facebook page currently has 1,894 Likes and we are aiming to reach 2000! Please share our page and tell your friends.  The better our networking and publicity the more cats we can home and the more we can help so thanks in advance! 

We would like to wish everyone all the best for 2015.  If your new year resolutions have already slipped why not aim to support us by holding a fundraising event? You can download a fundraising pack from the main Cats Protection website. 

My final point is a date for your diaries - the Wrexham Cats Protection Charity Shop is holding a Spring Fashion Show on Thursday 26th March at the War Memorial Hall (by Tesco) in Wrexham.  Watch this space for further details and you can Like their Facebook page for updates.  

That's all for now everyone.  I'm going back to sit on someone's paperwork (they love it really) ...

Love and purrs,

Fred x

Holidays are comin'...

Hello loyal fans and all visiting readers of my blog,

 

Since my last update I am please to tell you that our lovely Onyx has found a perfect home! Her new adopter keeps us updated and she is very content and affectionate in her new environment, exactly what we have wanted for her all along! Her she is enjoying her new lounging area...

 

 

 

To get everyone in a festive mood we are hosting a "Mince Pies and Moggies" Open Day on Sunday 7th December from 12noon until 3pm.  Please come along to the Adoption Centre on Madeira Hill to enjoy tea and cakes made by our star baker volunteers (keep an eye out for me slinking round the tables hoovering the crumbs), pick up some reindeer snacks for Christmas Eve (boy must they get hungry!), try a melting snowman drink  (sounds intriguing..) and find some Cats Protection gift items perfect to fill up those stockings.. and maybe a little something for the family feline too??  Don't miss this opportunity to get the Christmas shopping done whilst visiting me, the star of the show, and our cats - I would love to see some cats reserved on the Open Day and have them out into their new homes before Christmas!  Thursday 18th December is the last day our cats can go to their new homes so they can have time to settle in before the madness of Christmas Day! We do not believe in cats being given as Christmas presents but a good present could be bringing that person into the centre to find the cat of their dreams!

 

Raffle tickets will be on sale at the Open Day and everyday to win our Christmas Hamper!! With tickets available for just £1 per strip this raffle is not to be missed!  The very tasty looking items have been kindly donated by our staff and volunteers. The raffle is to be drawn on Thursday 18th December to give the lucky winner a chance to collect it before Christmas. 

 

 

Sadly for us cats this is a human-only hamper and I will take this opportunity to ask you all to make sure your furrier family members (yes, this applies to smelly dogs too) don't indulge in anything they shouldn't, for example:

• grapes
• Christmas puddings and mince pies as they involve raisins, sultanas, lots of fat and sometimes alcohol too
• bones from Christmas dinner
• chocolate
• macadamia nuts
• Christmas trees and plants including holly, mistletoe and poinsettia
• decorations
• batteries
• antifreeze - this is tasty to cats and dogs and can cause fatal kidney damage so please be vigilant when using!

This is not a definitive list so we would always advise you to consult your vet to find out more or if you are concerned your pet has eaten something unsuitable. 

 

If you are a regular donator or would like to make a donation to us this Christmas we have a couple of options to share with you.  Our Amazon Wishlist includes items we can use day to day at the centre with all our cats and kittens  such as food (yum) and toys (whoopeeee!!) and as long as you have an Amazon account you can purchase the item and have it sent straight to me.. erm I mean the Centre!  This might be convenient if you do not live in Wrexham or simply can't make it to the Centre. 

 

Terry modelling the Feline Fort Hide

Alternatively, we would be very grateful for donations towards our bid to provide every cat at the Centre with a Feline Fort Hide.  Please read our Feline Fort website article to find out more about them, why they are so useful and how to make a donation towards them.  We have currently received enough donations to buy at least one more fort and we will add any donations together to buy more for the cats for Christmas. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If there was one cat we would all like to see go home for Christmas it's Neva... She is a beautiful tabby and white lady who would suit living at a smallholding or livery yard where she can have shelter and care but also space for her to romp around and be herself.  Her "cattitude" has proved her quite difficult to home but we are sure there is someone out there with the perfect circumstances for her.  She would like to be the only pet and come for a fuss when she is ready.  Please share her story with anyone you know who might be suitable and point them to her website profile, thank you!

 

Well that's me almost done for today but lastly we would like to thank Karen Jones for generously donating a camera to the centre to photograph our cats.  It will likely make an appearance at the Open Day too so keep an eye out for future posts including photos!

 

Love and purrs,

 

Fred x

 

P.S.  Oh and if you didn't know, the Coca Cola lorry is coming to Wrexham!  It will be visiting Queens Square on Friday 5th December between midday and 8pm.  Maybe one day it will be the Dreamies lorry...

 

Leaves are falling, autumn's calling...

Hello everyone, well there's definitely an autumn chill today but at least it resulted in some beautiful sunshine!  So let's get comfy and have a catch up...

Firstly, I will update you about the success of the Fashion Show we held last month in aid of our Wrexham Branch.  Our staff and volunteers from both our charity shop and adoption centre were thrilled to receive such a fantastic turnout, filling the Wrexham War Memorial Hall with a great atmosphere! Attendants enjoyed browsing the stalls, watching our fabulous models work the catwalk and then bagging those bargains.  We would like to thank everybody who helped to host and those who bought tickets to come to the evening, contributing to the overwhelming grand total raised of £1,150!! Couldn't make it on the night?  Catch the video here - Fashion show video

Our Volunteer Co-ordinator, Emma, looking comfortable on the catwalk!

From my last few posts, we are still looking for volunteers to help with educational talks in schools.  This role would be perfect for retired teachers, group leaders or anyone with an interest in education and cats!  Some talks are held at our adoption centre but others would be held in schools or local group meetings (e.g. brownies, cubs etc.).  Please do get in touch with our Community Education Officer to find out more!

All across Cats Protection we are celebrating National Black Cat Day on Thursday 30th October.  These stunning monochrome moggies often end up overlooked in favour of more colourful cats so we want to raise awareness of their plight and believe they make just as attractive and loving pets as the apparently more interesting individuals.  Black Cat Day promotes the adoption of black and black-and-white cats as, due to their coat colour and related superstition, they are the least likely to be adopted.  Our beautiful Onyx knows of that problem far too well and after months at our adoption centre is still waiting for someone who will understand her and offer her the love and independence she needs. We also have Bruno and Mia ready for homing and plenty more coming along soon - see our website for details.  We have decorated the adoption centre with little black cats in the hope that our potential adopters will see their beauty!  They will have a job to compete with my fabulous fur but their characters are still as fantastic!  Two pairs of our long-stay black and white cats (Holly and Jess, Rocky and Ellie-May) have been homed recently after long waits but they have finally found their happy endings.  If you would like to get involved the National Cats Protection are running a competition on their Facebook page to enter your #BlackCatSelfie for a chance for your rescue cat to be their National Black Cat Day Champion!

Now autumn is upon us it is so important to bring your cats in at night. I know how much I love my cosy bed on these cold evenings and it's just not safe out there for us as chasing mice can lead to us dicing with cars and it doesn't end well...  There are two cats in our care at the moment who have lost legs thanks to being hit by cars, what a horrible thought! We cats are so easily spooked and so many end up running into the path of cars whilst we are focused on something else or even just making our way home.  Also, before we know it there will be fireworks going off left, right and centre!  Look after your furry friend this Bonfire Night (and up to New Year) by using Feliway in your home.  Feliway can help calm your kitties by mimicking the feline facial pheromone, which us cats use to mark areas we feel happy and safe in.  Read more about it on the Feliway website. It is often handy to keep the radio or television on and the curtains closed whilst any fireworks are banging, although most of us don't mind them as much as dogs do...  they have their own product to help, find out more on the Adaptil website! 

And as if it doesn't already feel like 2014 is running away from us, it really isn't all that long until Christmas! We have some lovely Christmas cards and wrapping paper for sale at the adoption centre so go on, don't be in a rush this year and get them now while stocks last!  I myself am not a big fan of the festive season; decorations going up, loud music playing and strange smells of visitors and candles! I reckon that Feliway would come in handy right through the season.  The only thing us moggies do look forward to is the presents, all that paper to rip up and boxes to explore!!  

I will leave you all with some great news from our centre.  We have been awarded a Pets at Home gift card for selling the most Cats Protection Lottery tickets across the Wrexham District during the summer.  This is a fantastic result as it means we can treat our cats to plenty of goodies this autumn, using both the gift card and the money raised from those tickets so we owe huge thanks to everyone who has bought one through us!  You can still join up to play through the main Cats Protection website. I hope they don't forget me when they are shopping, I wouldn't say no to a catnip toy, or maybe some of those tasty Dreamies...

That's all for now folks.  Catch me again next month for more news and views! 

Love and Purrs,

Fred x

Oh yes, it's Ladies Night...

... and the feeling's right!  Right, that's quite enough of that, I don't get paid enough to entertain you as well as write this fabulous blog! 

Hello fans and supporters and, yes indeedy, there are just seven days to go until our Ladies Fashion Night, the only autumn event you need in your diary! 

Next Thursday, 25th September, the evening will be hosted by both the Adoption Centre and Charity Shop staff and volunteers at the Wrexham & District War Memorial Club in Wrexham.  Join them all for a fashion show, with the clothes modelled being available to buy on the night, lots of stalls to peruse and refreshments to enjoy!  I myself cannot actually make it, sadly I have an unavoidable appointment with my bed but I hope you all have a wonderful time!

 

I'm sure my staff will all report back to me on how it goes so I hope you will all do your best to attend!  Tickets can be bought for just £2.50 (which automatically enters you into a raffle!) from the Adoption Centre on Madeira Hill so if you ever needed an excuse to come and visit me there's a great one!

 

Love and purrs,

 

Fred x

Swish New Blog

Hi all,
 
Only me! I hope you all like my brand new blog?!  How fancy, I think it makes me look quite the professional!  It should be a bit more exciting reading for my lovely fans and all supporters of our Wrexham Adoption Centre.  I have uploaded my last couple of posts on here too so be sure to give them a look afterwards!

It's that time of year again, back to school for the youngsters and we still have a few handy bits and bobs in our shop at the Adoption Centre, including notebooks, pens and pencils.  Get them while stocks last! 



We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has donated to us recently, including those who have brought us biological washing powder, stationery and cat food.  We are always in need of donations and are so grateful to all our fabulous supporters who are always there when we need them.  I for one am always happy to see people coming to the centre as it's a good chance to get our cats seen and to have a little fuss with me too - I'm a sucker for a tickle behind the ear let me tell you! Anyway, please do keep an eye on our Facebook page and Website for any appeals we make in the future, thanks!



As well as donations, we are still in need of volunteers.  I know I have posted about this before but please do make our plea known to any friends or family you think might be able to help.  We are still looking for new fosterers for kittens and home visitors but are also looking to recruit volunteers to work with feral cats in our Trap Neuter Return (TNR) Scheme and to help with the daily cleaning of the cat pens in the centre (9am-11am any day Monday to Friday).  You can find more details about all these roles on our Volunteering Page.  On the subject of help in the centre, we do still have opportunities for work experience students during October, November and December - we can only take one student at a time so get in touch ASAP before the spaces go!

We are hoping that now the holidays have come to a close that we will have more visitors to meet our cats.  Some of them have been with us far too long and are becoming, understandably, more and more frustrated.  I know I would hate to be in one of those pens for one day, I couldn't imagine being there for months.  Don't get me wrong, they are receiving the comforts of a 5* hotel but it's just not the same as having a family of their own and a home and garden to enjoy. 

I have set the aim of rehoming over 300 cats during 2014 so we really do need our supporters to help spread the word and recommend adopting a cat.  We have cats for all circumstances, whether looking for a young lively cat for a family or a companion for an older lonely person, like Bodie.  She is 13 years young with great health and adores having company and cuddles.  Jess, who is also 13, has been put forward to the national Cats Protection Facebook page to be a featured cat!  She has been with us since March, poor girl, and there is no reason why she shouldn't be snapped up immediately!  Please don't write off our old girls (and boys) as they make fantastic pets with charming characters, such as myself!

Bodie would love to find someone with plenty of time to spend cuddling!

Three of our tabby cats in particular are not well suited to this environment.  Hercules, Henry and Neva would all love to have the freedom to be themselves in a relaxed and open setting.  I think they would do well as barn or stable cats, where they can romp around independently and explore, maybe catching the odd prey item here or there if they so choose!  They would need to be kept indoors (or in an outbuilding) to start with to help them settle but after that they would do a great job of keeping your place clean!  Please take a look at our Adopt a Cat section to find out more about them. 

Can you offer Hercules the freedom he needs??

Also, everyone who adopts a cat from us receives a free sample of Feliway spray, a toy mouse, a laser pen and a money off voucher for Purina foods, as well as all the other benefits for our £47 adoption fee. Now if that isn't a good enough deal for you, I don't know what is!  With over 250 cats on our waiting list our pens are never empty for long - we love homing our cats to their perfect new families so we can help as many other needy kitties as we can. 

My paws aren't half aching now my friends, so will just leave you with an important update to finish off.  Our Assisted Neutering Scheme vouchers have recently increased in value, meaning that you could now be entitled to £40 OFF the cost of neutering a female cat and £25 OFF the cost for a male cat.  These vouchers are able to be claimed if you are on any type of benefits, income support or tax credits, if you are a pensioner, on low income or in receipt of student loan.  Please call the centre on 01978 313574 and say you would like to apply for a neutering voucher and my friendly and helpful staff members will take your details.  I have trained them well!

Well I think that's more than enough for now.  Better get back out in the car park, check everything is in order and then top up my ginger tan.

Farewell for now loyal fans,

Love and purrs,

Fred x

Feelin' Hot Hot Hot!

Hi all,

Heatwave!! Well, this is a proper summer, isn't it? I hope everyone is making the most of this beautiful weather at the moment.  As for me, I am actually finding my usual sunbathing a bit too hot to bear (I know, how strange!) so have to take refuge under handy cars my staff bring to work everyday.  At least I can be outside keeping an eye on things and keeping cool at the same time!  


It's as busy as ever here at the Adoption Centre and I can't keep track of the new faces appearing.  Oh didn't you know?  Two of our Cat Care Assistants, Joy (my blog scribe with those opposable thumbs I'm so jealous of) and Sarah, are leaving - I must say the other staff members and I are not pleased at all, how dare they indeed - and the two positions have already been filled by Laura and Terri-Lee - although to be honest, I have rather taken to them already as long as they remember who's the boss around here!  Joy has promised to carry on writing for me if I give her a ring to let her know all the goings on and Sarah will be back to give me some fuss soon I'm sure!  After all, she will miss me far too much not to come back and visit, I do worry as to how they will both cope without me!


While I'm still on the topic of new faces, we are still looking for people to become volunteers for our branch.  We would love to recruit a new fosterer to take weaned kittens that are ready to be viewed by potential adopters or even very young kittens to hand rear.  I've heard it is hard work but so rewarding! We have pens that could be assembled in a yard or garden so they wouldn't even have to be in the house if you would prefer.  Kittens are such delightful, lively and mischievous little things that sometimes I wonder if I was ever actually a kitten, I can't imagine not being as bossy as I am now!!  We do have a number of beautiful kittens available for homing at the moment so please check our Adopt a Cat page and then give us a call to find out how to meet them! 

Home visiting is another area where we would like to gain more volunteers.  We cover such a large area that it is so important to have a wide ranging team.  We are still looking for people to cover areas all over Wrexham so please take a look at our Volunteering section  to read more about what is involved!

I have also been asked to use my ginger charm to promote some fundraising activities you could all get involved with!  Our head office arrange a weekly lottery and for just £1 per play you can win some fantastic prizes!  I'm not quite sure why you can't win cat food or treats and am tempted to complain but maybe the money prizes will apply to my readers? A top prize of £1000 must be good surely, I don't understand money you see!  Please visit the Cats Protection Lottery page to find tickets or pop along to our Wrexham Adoption Centre and pick up a leaflet.

As for our Wrexham branch, we are currently selling tickets for our annual raffle to be drawn in September.  Prizes range from a B&B stay at the Derwen Country House in Corwen to afternoon tea and Pets at Home vouchers, so well worth a ticket or two!  They are on sale from the adoption centre for 20p per ticket or £1 per book - sounds like a good excuse to come and visit me I reckon!

Plas Derwen Country House, Corwen

We have recently posted on our website about the Cat Manifesto.  This is a set of ten proposed manifesto priorities that, if implemented, would make a huge difference to cats' lives in the UK.  Basically, they are asking us, you, everybody to speak up for cats!  The points cover hot topics including compulsory microchipping, laws surrounding the breeding and sale of cats, a ban on snares and laws regarding people who allow dogs to attack cats.  These are all great points if you ask me so I hope you will all go onto the Cat Manifesto page where you can support by making your opinions count and speaking up for us felines.

Homing is slowing down a little bit now we are into the summer holidays but I would like to take this opportunity to say that we have so many lovely cats in here not able to enjoy the summer as much as they would like.  In particular we do have a few pairs who have been with us far too long now - Austin and Oscar, Onyx and Sapphire and Rocky and Ellie-May.  There are lots of benefits to owning a pair, with them being able to keep each other company and give you twice the love!  They are comfy and well fed in here with us but it's not quite the same as being in their own home sunbathing or enjoying their own garden.  Again, you can find them all on our Adopt a Cat page so please spare a minute and have a read about them.  If you know anyone who needs someone to love and be loved in return any of our pairs would be great for an older person or couple with a quiet home and a open heart!

Think that's all for now, back to the sun for me!

Love and purrs,

Fred x

Summer update

Hi Fred fans!

I hope you're all enjoying the weather? I love these little snapshots of summer we get. I am currently sunning myself while my scribe types this up for me!

Just thought I'd post a bit of an update on what's been happening here at the Wrexham Adoption Centre. We have had a good run on homing recently with our long stay cats Bobtail, Mercy, Louie and Corinthian having all gone home during the past couple of weeks! Even our gorgeous Gertie is reserved too!  We have a fair number of pairs in at the moment so please take a look on our "Adopt a Cat" section to read all about them. The beauty of a pair is they keep each other company if you are out at work and you get twice the love!  We have some older pairs who are easy going but enjoy having fuss and play time too. They have great characters and should not be overlooked in favour of younger cats! Although there's only one Fred and I'm sure some people are probably glad of that, I know I am!

As well as affectionate cats we also have some who prefer to be more independent. Take Sapphire and Onyx, two beautiful black sisters. Sapphire is happy to have fuss but Onyx prefers to have attention on her terms. They both love to play, either with toys or each other! They would rather not live with children but would make a great duo for an older family or a young couple. Please take a look if you are interested!

Onyx (behind) and Sapphire (front)

We are smack bang in the middle of kitten season at the moment and I would like to take this opportunity to remind you that if you are taking a kitten on to please please please ensure you have him or her neutered!  Many vets will now neuter both males and females from four months of age as this is when kittens can start coming into season. Have a read of the main Cats Protection Neutering page to find out more about why it is so important. Alternatively, adopt an adult cat from us who is already neutered for you, problem solved!

June is National Microchipping Month! It is the most effective way of identifying a lost pet and the procedure is very simple. Call your local vets now to find out how to have your cat microchipped. Our policy here is to microchip all our cats before they go home and we register the new adopter's details for them.  More information can be found on the main CP website -Microchipping

We are always looking for more volunteers to help at the Adoption Centre in many different roles. We would love to recruit another fosterer for kittens as we have outdoor pens available to be assembled. This would be to house kittens ready for homing for the public to come and meet with a view to adopting. Alternatively, we would be interested in recruiting a fostering assistant to tend to the kittens when our existing fosterers are on holiday or are just in need of an extra pair of hands!  We are also in need of a hand rearing fosterer to care for very young kittens who come to us without a mother but this does entail round the clock attention for the first couple of weeks!  There is also a vacancy for a volunteer to represent us in the media and to help with advertising.  If any of these roles interest you please visit our volunteering page to see the vacancies and to sign up!  www.cats.org.uk/wrexham/volunteering

Well I think that’s quite enough for today, don’t you?  Please come to visit the centre soon and give me a fuss!

Love and purrs,

Fred x