Cat Rescue & Welfare Trust

Please take a look at: www.eilidhswimstheminch.co.uk

 

I first became involved in Cat Rescue in 1994 when I moved to a larger house in Leeds and decided that there was room for just one more kitten - we already had two dogs and 2 cats at that time. Having trawled the local paper looking for a kitten, I came across an advert for Cat Rescue in Micklefield. I contacted the lady - Ann - and duly went to see her. Needless to say, we came home with not one but two kittens - a ginger tabby and white male - Charlie - and a brown tabby and white female - Purdy. We still have Purdy, pictured below at 14 years of age, but sadly lost Charlie in 2006, to a heart condition.

I got to know Ann quite well in the following months and discovered that although CRWT had fairly large 'headquarters' in Lincoln, very little help was given to smaller, satellite rescues such as Ann's. Pretty much all the money she used to fund the rescue came from donations for kittens that she re-homed, car-boot sales and craft fairs. I offered to foster adult cats for Ann and set up two pens and a run in my garden. From there it escalated - the odd cat turned into litters of kittens in my spare room, my lounge and an additional run and house being built in my garden. Ann and I became good friends and raised lots of money for the rescue over the next few years. Ann moved to Church Fenton and, with the help of Nan from Aristocats Cattery and her Katz Kozy charity, we were able to buy new pens and insulate them - and we even had electricity!

In the meantime, the main rescue in Lincoln folded and we were suddenly left with the option of folding up the rescue or continuing alone, of course we decided to continue, bringing in new healthcare procedures for the cats in our care and re-vamping the whole adoption process. When Ann had to give up the rescue and move back to Hull in 2000, I took over the rescue completely and all the pens moved with me to my new home in Escrick. I continued to raise funds with car boot sales and we had a tombola stall at Selby Game Fair for a number of years, which raised a lot of money. I am also supported by Aristocats and still raise a lot of money at the Cattery's annual open day each August. My vet practice - Calcaria Vet - has been fantastic in it's support and care of the rescue cats and kittens who come through my center.

In 2008 I had a brilliant year - a local craftsman, Paul Smith, from the York Sawmill offered to build me a new cattery - he designed the cattery and donated all his time and all the wood materials for the building. We started a program of fund-raising to get enough funds together to lay the base and buy materials such as slabs and concrete and wire mesh and various other fixtures and fittings. By 2009 we were up and running with a brand new shelter. The picture below shows a single size pen waiting for its next new inmate.

             

Our Policy

Every single cat and kitten that comes through our doors is tested for Feline Aids and Leukemia and a certificate is issued by the vet and given to the new owner. I feel this is very important and well worth the expense. These two diseases are killers and it would be heartbreaking to find that a cat or kitten re-homed through the rescue later became ill because of carrying one of these awful illnesses before leaving us.

All cats over the age of 6 months are neutered and vaccinated.

All cats and kittens are wormed and treated with a flea preventative as soon as they come into rescue.

Many rescue cats have been living rough when they come to me – often on housing estates where they feed on food from bins; often from stables, which they make their way to because of the rich pickings of mice in the area. Because of this we spend a fortune on wormers! Worms can be difficult to get rid of when a cat has a heavy burden and the cats are often quite poorly after we treat them to get rid of the worms – some cats also have to have an extended course of treatment because they have so many. Ticks and fleas are also a problem, and we only use products from the vet to get rid of these, so again, this is a large part of our expenses.

Every cat and kitten is implanted with a unique micro-chip.

An adoption agreement is issued to confirm that any cat who doesn't settle can come back into the shelter at any time, all kittens must be neutered around 6 months of age, and the new owner must agree to look after their new pet and seek veterinary attention if required.

Food and litter samples are given to every new owner along with a diet sheet, advice, and a special little toy.

             

Fund-Raising

We have various means of raising funds

* car boots and tombolas at local gala events *

* food drop-in box at the shelter and at Calcaria Vet *

* Aristocats Open Day *

* sale of free-range eggs *

* sales of hand-made cards*

Special thanks go to.. (in no particular order!)

Sarah for hosting the CRWT Fund-raising BBQ in 2009

Sue and Dennis for their generous donations

Paul at the Sawmill

Gary for laying the rescue base

Calcaria Vet for donations and continued support

Calcaria clients for food and cash donations

Nan at Aristocats

Ann, Jenny & Maggie - for advice and chats and fund-raising

 
             

If you are interested in taking on a rescue cat or kitten please contact me on

01904 720261

07866 613263

jhardufae@yahoo.co.uk
             
       
             
The pictures above were taken in December 2007 by Alan Robinson of 3 beautiful kittens we had in Rescue over Christmas.
             
I do not have set opening times and whilst you are most welcome to visit, this must be by appointment only as I do have a part-time job as well as running the Shelter. We are based just off the A19, Escrick, York.
             

I do request a donation for each pet re-homed to allow me to continue my work as detailed above.

If you wish to re-home a cat or kitten you can contact me as above - please note that again a donation will be requested, depending on the circumstances leading to the pet needing to be re-homed. I will not compromise the health of the animals in my care and if I cannot help you immediately please be assured that there will be a good reason - usually either lack of space or lack of funding.