Newsletter Xmas 2022

Well another year soon coming to a close and it hasnt been uneventful as some of you will know.

One of our largest undertakings was the trapping and removal of 22 feral cats and kittens from a waste disposal site. There were 9 kittens and the RSPCA Animal Home at Godshill took 5 of the kittens for us,  which we very much appreciated. They homed 4 of them in domestic homes, sadly the other little boy didnt make it. The other 4 kittens also found loving homes as although timid initially they weren’t feral. We then needed outside homes for the remaining adults and older kittens which wasn’t an easy task. We approached the County Press – Island Echo – Island Observer and On The Wight asking if they would feature an Appeal For Homes and we had an AMAZING response from the Island Community, we were so thrilled to see all the interest being shown for these lovely cats. At the time of writing we still have 1 pair to find a stable, smallholding or farm home for, but I do still have people to visit so fingers crossed.

We also did a Fund Raising Appeal to help finance this Colony, as all were health checked, neutered/spayed and microchipped, and of course we needed food and cat litter while in our care – the appeal raised £1,600 which was an AMAZING help as you can imagine.

Another challenge we had was little ‘Sparkle.’ She had a long standing severe and debilitating ear infection, which wasn’t responding to treatment. She needed a CT Scan to diagnose the exact problem, and then we moved onto the very specialised surgery she needed. ‘Sparkle’ had her ear canal and bulla removed (the bowl shaped lower part of the ear canal) The infection was so severe that it had caused irreparable damage and narrowing of the ear canal so surgery was the only option left open to her.

Sara at Pet Doctors carried out the surgery which we are SO, SO grateful for – Sara is an INCREDIBLE Surgeon and the operation was AMAZING. ‘Sparkles’ recovery was truly magical, she is such a brave and joyous little girl she really is. ‘Sparkles’ is still having check ups at the Vets but hopefully she can have her Elizabethan Collar (cone) off soon. Her hearing will be impaired now as only has one functional ear, so when she is ready to start her new life she will need a calm, loving home in a very safe area.

At the end of the Summer we were asked to take a longterm stray, who had been padding the streets for far too long. He was undoctered and not microchipped needless to say. Kind people had been feeding him and had provided shelter for him, but with another winter on it’s way it wasnt enough, they wanted so much more for him. Well ‘Robbie’ is now in a SUPER home. He is great company for his new Mum, sits on her lap at every opportunity, and is always close to her, in a chair or on the floor in front of the fire, comfort he hadn’t felt for a very long time, if ever. This is such a wonderful ending to a very sad life that he lead before. HOME AT LAST ‘Robbie’

‘Spex’ was with us for a very long time and where he wasn’t always very brave he would get overlooked. Then it happened many months later. The ideal couple contacted us and wanted to come along and meet him, and although he didn’t come to them he didnt run away from them either– they were smitten. They had a timid cat previously but they could see through ‘Spex’ hesitation and SO wanted to be given the chance to adopt him.  When ‘Spex’ moved in with his new Mum and Dad he was actually sitting with them in less than 48 hours and he hasn’t looked back since which is amazing.

Another very happy ending to a sad start, as he was left behind when his original owner moved house, undoctered and roaming, but now, well WOW, at last a very happy and contented boy.

‘Bumble’ came to us when her Dad unexpectedly passed away. She had been a flat cat and really hadn’t met many people, so she was very timid. Jan Kelly fostered ‘Bumble’ for us and worked her magic. She was still wary of people she didnt know, but with Jan and John’s love and perseverance she began to blossom. She was only about 5 months old when she came into our care, so wasnt spayed etc.

After many months a lovely couple came forward for her. They weren’t worried about her being timid and felt they could give her her life back. We were all expecting her to take a while to settle when she moved in with her new Mum and Dad, but apart from the very first day she just came out of her shell more and more, the more attention she got the better !! Now fully settled and one very happy little girl xx

‘Molly’ is 12 years old and has a hind leg amputation. Her Mum sadly needed to go into care and it didnt work well when ‘Molly’ joined her at the Care Home.

We were asked to take this ‘Molly’ for rehoming, she has such a lovely temperament and really just wanted a quiet life with no complications. It wasn’t very long before someone came forward to offer ‘Molly’ ‘A Foster Home For Life’ She took over the house as soon as her velvet paws stepped out of our carrier, and she hasn’t looked back since. As you can imagine having 3 legs doesn’t effect her, and she gets to the top of the stairs in a flash!!

‘Chester’ came in as an undoctered tom. He was very underweight, heavily flea/worm infested, very hungry and dehydrated. He had a collar on that had become trapped under his fore leg which had resulted in a very nasty gangrenous wound. I do SO hate collars on cats, I think alot of owners do it for ‘appearances’ but so many accidents happen as a result, some leading to death or fatal injury He was taken straight to the Vets and was put in IV Fluids – he came to us on day two. He was on antibiotics and pain relief and I flushed his wound with saline 4 times a day, and slowly but surely his nasty wound began to heal. It took several weeks, and he was such a patient boy, I think he knew we were trying to make it better for him, and am sure it was soothing as well. ‘Chester’ doubled his body weight over the next few weeks, we then had him neutered etc.

His day soon came when his now new Mum and Dad arranged to come and meet him, and very shortly after that he moved into his lovely new home.

‘Chester’ had food anxiety, due to lack of food while he was straying but once he was in his new home that began to ease, until it was no longer a problem. A HOME TO CALL YOUR VERY OWN AT LAST ‘Chester’

‘Olive’ was with us almost a year. She was afraid of her own shadow and found trusting really hard to grasp. She accepted me and our regular Cat Cuddlers but still reacted with fear when she met new people. I was unable to keep her because she was also very afraid of other cats, so we had to continue to try and find her ideal person. Eventually life took a happy turn and little ‘Olive’ was chosen She still isnt very brave but she is relaxed with her Mum which is really the only thing that matters. Bless You ‘Olive’

‘Smokie’ is with us at the moment and will be ready for adoption in the New Year. He had been a stray for a very long time, relying on people in the area for food and water, but no one was in a position to take him in as had their own pets, and they didn’t like this gentle boy. Because he has been living on the streets it has effected his confidence, but like ‘Spex’ – ‘Olive’ – ‘Bumble’ and so many others like them, they just need that right person with love, and patience to ease through their fear so they can start living again and know they will never want for anything ever again – this is what ‘Smokie’ is looking for now. He will make someone a lovely pet, and needs to be the only pet in a calm and loving home that he can call his own.

‘Butch’ will also be looking for a caring and safe home in the New Year. He has been health checked, neutered, microchipped and vaccinated, but unlike ‘Smokie’ he is SO relaxed, LOVES LOVE and likes nothing better than to sit on your lap, purring at every opportunity. He is 4 years young and cant wait to start his new life in a loving home with his very own human slaves.

‘Holly’ was left in my doorstep in a carrier. She had lost at least half if her coat, her skin was covered in scabs, both ears were infected, she was really hungry and had sores inside her top lip. We obviously took her to our Vet who treated her with antibiotics, steroids and ear drops. We have now had her tested for feline leukaemia and FIV, which thankfully were negative and she has now been spayed/microchipped and will begin her vaccinations very soon. Her estimated age is 4-5 years old, maybe younger. ‘Holly’ is a friendly little girl and she too will be looking for LOVE in a new home in the New Year.

‘Ivy’ came to us as a stray and she wasn’t microchipped so unable to trace her owner on admission, and she hasnt as yet been reported as missing. We think she may have been straying for a while.  ‘Ivy’ has now been tested for feline leukeamia and FIV and has been microchipped and vaccinated, so if an owner hasnt come forward by the New Year she will be looking for a loving home as a single pet – she appears to HATE other cats !!!

So just some idea what we have been up to since our Summer Newsletter. It has been pretty  constant as always and we are very grateful for all the help that the IOW RSPCA Animal Home at Godshill have given us as they have enabled us to rescue many more cats and kittens by offering to take them into their care for rehoming.

Our work would not be possible without the TREMENDOUS support you give us. Our expenses are ongoing and some of the cats we take in do cost alot of money when they need extensive Veterinary treatment and surgery. Plus their food, which sometimes has to be more specialised Veterinary Diets and of course a constant supply of cat litter !!!! Some of what goes in must come out !!!!

We are VERY, VERY grateful to Johnny and Rob Keywood at ACE WASTE who collect our used cat litter once or twice a week FREE of charge. Johnny has been doing this for us for 7 years or more now, which is SO GREATLY appreciated it really is.

Al has yet again been carrying out all our computer work eg forms, posters, website etc. We no longer do printed Newsletters but use the Internet for this now, we can always print these off though and send through the post if people do not have Internet access. Al is also very good when I need advice about virtually anything !!! And I do several times a year !!

FOSTER CARERS