Specialcats of Ayr

24/08/2024

Anniversary present request for lion family

22/08/2024

After a number of grooming clients failing to arrive we are introducing a booking deposit of the minimum grooming charge of £20 to cover our electric and wasted time and blocked appointments. We respect our clients and expect the same in return, thank you

20/08/2024

Want to shop and avoid cruel testing?

For Shoppers We all have a part to play in protecting animals against suffering. Cruelty-free shopping is one way that you can make your voice heard. Feel safe in the knowledge that none of your money is inadvertently funding animal testing in any form. In our Compassionate Shopping Guide you can fi...

15/08/2024

Maddy did brilliantly at her therapy dog assessment today! Once we get the papers through she’ll be on her way. Here she is playing with Caitlin’s pup Teddy. Though he nips her ears she takes it well

08/08/2024

Beware: melting cats

WARNING!!! Cat may turn into a snake in the heat!!

06/08/2024

Outdoor working opportunity

RECRUITING SOON KEEP YOUR EYE OPEN

03/08/2024

TESHA’S STORY

I’m sure by now you all know the story of Tesha, the stray dog we trapped. We were assisting a family whose dog had gone missing and Tesha matched the description of that dog very closely. When the owners confirmed that it wasn’t their dog and Tesha was found to be unchipped and not reported missing, she was taken to a place of safety.

Unfortunately, the evening before she was trapped, an inexperienced local from the area, against our advice, tried to hand feed Tesha. She got spooked and jumped a fence but got a paw caught and couldn’t get free. On trying to free her the person got badly bitten before Tesha made her escape. We managed to trap her the following day.

Rescue centres were, and still are, full to bursting. The chances of a dog safely being placed in a rescue centre that had bitten, despite being under threat, meant life for Tesha looked very grim. There was a very strong chance she could have been destroyed and our consciences couldn’t live with that.

It was agreed by several people leading the search party at that time, including the person injured by the bite, another rescue organisation that does what we do in Dumfries, the kennel owner in Lockerbie, and our previous fundraiser, that she should be taken to a rescue centre for hounds, who said they were willing to help.

A local man volunteered during Tesha’s adventures, right up until we trapped her. He even stayed with us throughout the night till we were able to transport her to a place of safety, until arrangements were made the following day to transport her to the kennels. He fund raised £1000 through generous donations from members of the public and very kindly donated this to us for “the care of Tesha”.

Luckily, the kennel owner who took Tesha in was known to us and was experienced in taking “problem dogs”, ie those who would never have made it elsewhere. We were very grateful to them for taking Tesha and giving her a chance.

When the time was right and we knew Tesha didn’t have a bad bone in her body, all relevant authorities were notified.

Surprisingly, about a month after she went to the kennels, on the day a potential adopter was due to visit, we were advised Tesha was due pups in around a weeks’ time, she subsequently gave birth to 9 pups. We immediately advised the kennel owner that we would take responsibility to ensure both Tesha and the pups had everything that was needed.

Despite on many occasions, the kennel owner saying they didn’t want any payment, except that we covered vets’ fees, we sent them the £1000 fundraising money to help cover costs for Tesha pre pups. When asking for the bank details to send the money, we were quoted an account in the name of the individual as they advised they didn’t have a business account.

In addition, we continually asked if there was anything the kennels needed for the dogs’ care and provided feeding bowls, puppy food, specialist food for mum and are grateful to Sighthound UK for the food they also donated at that time.

We received two pictures on the evening the pups were born and started to become concerned when despite asking, we didn’t receive anything further for two weeks.

After a couple of weeks the kennel owner decided they wanted to keep a specific pup. We advised that we wanted to see how the puppy’s personality developed to make sure they were the right match for every potential home and like every other adopter, we would require them to go through our home check process. A few days later we were sent an invoice for £1,700 for kennelling fees, which took us completely by surprise.

Thankfully another kennel offered to take Tesha and pups without any charge, just a genuine care for their welfare.

We consulted with our vet as we had concerns about the weight of some of the pups. After careful consideration and input from our vet, we decided it was in the best interests of mum and pups to move them when they were only three weeks old. In addition, we also could not afford these exorbitant kennelling fees as well as the £1000 already sent.

Unfortunately, on arrival at the kennels, the owner disagreed to release the dogs to us, and we had to involve the police. After several hours the police handed mum and pups over to us.

Our vet visited them soon after arriving at the foster parents’ kennels to treat Tesha and check on the pups. It was very apparent Tesha had been experiencing stomach and digestive issues and an untreated infection which took some time to sort out. We are confident that this has been resolved due to the help of our vet, stool samples, various other tests, medication and the correct diet.

We contacted the SSPCA willingly (to find a complaint had already been made against us with regards to allegedly stealing Tesha and advised where we were keeping mum and pups. We arranged a visit within days of them being moved, to ensure they were also happy with the dogs’ welfare. They quickly agreed they were happy when they saw their living conditions and care being given.

The local council animal welfare department also received a complaint against us for “stealing dogs, illegal breeding kennels, selling pups from stolen dogs and fundraising scams”, but after a visit, were quickly satisfied we were not involved in any of these scurrilous allegations.

Sadly, it seems that since contacting the directors of the charity Alfie’s Dream For Greyhounds, to ask how the £1000 donation was allocated/spent, we were advised by them that Tesha wasn’t taken into the kennels under the auspices of the charity, but through a boarding kennel business their volunteer also runs from the same premises. ADDR were never informed of this when handing Tesha into their care, nor were we issued with any tariff or business Terms and Conditions.

Since asking the charity to clarify the above, the kennel owner has demanded an additional £1000 donation to the charity which she seems to incorrectly believe we made a commitment to pay. We have not been asked directly by the charity for this donation and fail to understand why there is an expectation for us to do so.

In summary regarding financial matters

*A volunteer for a charity agreed at the outset to take Tesha and is quoted in more than one message exchange as saying she didn’t want any payment just that ADDR cover vet fee’s.

*ADDR transferred £1000 fundraising money to this individual to cover Tesha’s ongoing care including vet fees and presumed this would continue to be used for the care of the pups.

*After being advised she would need to go through our adoption process to retain a pup, in addition to the £1000 already received, she issued an invoice amounting to £1700 for kennelling fee’s.

*A further £1000 donation to the charity is being demanded by the kennel owner

*After moving Tesha and her pups, we received a bill from the vets who treated Tesha from point of being captured and for her pups in first 3 weeks of being born. The sum of £266.45 has been paid directly to the initial vets by ADDR. None of this was covered by the original £1000 as agreed. We will also now have to cover the cost of her spaying as this was originally to be taken off the sum as we were informed she was in season the day this was due to be carried out.

It’s extremely sad, that as an honest volunteer based organisation, ADDR handed over every penny raised and donated to us for Tesha, to what we thought was a representative of a charity. To the contrary, it appears that an individual has claimed it as their own for looking after Tesha for almost 2.5 months and her pups for 3 weeks, despite supplies being provided by ADDR. We rely solely on donations and the dedication of our volunteers and unfortunately, cannot afford to pay an unexpected £3,700 for care of the dogs for such a short space of time.

We are being threatened with legal action which we will defend vehemently. This will never come out of funds but will be paid by some of our volunteers.

Throughout this period, we have had people contacting potential adopters via our FB page making some of the above allegations. Some of these people are volunteers for the charity in question. We can’t comprehend how people who have the interest of animals in their hearts, can jeopardise a safe home for a mum or her pups, regardless of what they have been told or believe.

We have had to involve solicitors, again never with use of our funds, to stop scurrilous accusations on FB. Some have had the audacity to ask for advice from our own solicitors when they received a letter with intent to seek an interdict, citing that they can’t afford their own solicitor, yet continuing to contact official departments to make false allegations.

As we have always said, the truth will out. Despite the hostility experienced, we are so proud and happy to see Tesha and her pups in loving forever homes, we would go through it all again if we had to to keep Tesha from an uncertain future.

01/08/2024

Live available of now! A magnificent rescue swoop from ten years ago as circuses were emptied of wild creatures and they gained new permanent homes

A closer look at the ADI Temporary Rescue Unit exercise enclosures. The lions felt grass beneath their feet for the first time in the lives. You can see in the pic Muneca, Africa, and Kiara and Junior and King who all came to the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary in South Africa.

30/07/2024

Silver tabby found

24/07/2024

You liked her, didn’t you?
No mum I loved her deeply it’s different
It’s connection to heart and soul that rings true
It’s belief in her constancy, reliability too
That look in amber eyes as she softly gazed
The joy in her bouncing as she began to play
In the touch of her golden and deeply plushy fur
In detangling her feathers and brushing out loose hair
In her sweet and gentle dab tongue as she offered me a kiss
Yes I liked her lots and lots she’s a stalwart who I miss

She was my courage in strange places, confidence to achieve
My armful of warm solace from suffering and pains
She was gentle despite hardships, a way not to be harsh
She’s forgiveness and she’s tolerance, an opening of the heart
She’d survived so much cruelty yet still gentle and wise
She knew how to be loving, you saw it in her eyes
She accepted touch of strangers with no urgency to flee
Yes abuse had been her framing but she’d trembled to be free
Her gentle living nature was a boon in hospitals
Where she offered up her loving with a floofy happy tail
She was gentleness and caring with an inner core of steel
My little fluffy puppa how I wonder were you real?

18/07/2024

Seen one?

I put catnip in my flower beds and now very strange creatures are visiting my garden

16/07/2024

Missing please look out across Ayr

❤️Pixie has been found safe and sound. Many thanks to staff at Howdens Joinery for keep her safe and contacting us. We are now trying to reach her owner to let them know she is Vets4Pets Ayr❤️

‼️🐾Missing - Midton Road via Heathfield Recycling Centre - since Thursday 11th July🐾‼️

Unfortunately, little Pixie, who is missing half a back leg, was hiding in a duvet that was taken to Heathfield Recycling Centre. She will be very frightened and confused. Please share in the immediate area and let us know of any sightings. This is a worrying time for her owners. She lives in Midton Rd., Ayr, and may try to head back there in time. She is neutered and microchipped. Please share widely. Thanks, N

14/07/2024

Owner found!
Anyone lost a cat bed outside our gate? It has dark hairs on it so not today’s customer

14/07/2024

Makes sense to microchip if your cat goes out. But do keep it up to date. If cats climb in a delivery vehicle they can travel a long way from home

14/07/2024

If you’re fishing please take all line home
If you’re picnicking ensure bbq are out and removed. Help the good wild places stay that way

09/07/2024

GONE
We’ve traffic lights at our entrance:-(
There’s room to park still and wecan help you out, just need to be aware there may be queues to get by or in

06/07/2024

Alarming how focus is on property not care, we need law to change to allow kindness to thrive

30/06/2024

If you'd like to try the natural paints we use at Specialcats here's a discount code- lots of types and shades and hard wearing too

Use my personal link to get a discount off your first purchase at Greenshop Paints

29/06/2024

We need to plan in wildlife corridors to allow safe species passagr

MORE THAN 1 IN 5 MIGRATORY SPECIES THREATENED BY HUMAN INTERFERENCE

Released at 2024's COP14, the first-ever 'State of the World's Migratory Species' has revealed that one in five of the 1,189 creatures listed by the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), are threatened by extinction because of human interference.

97% of the fish listed are threatened with extinction, and 44% of the other animals included are seeing population declines.

Their biggest threats are overexploitation and loss of habitat (due to human activity). As humans apply relentless pressure to the natural world. clearing its land for farming, roads and infrastructure, the paths of migratory species get blocked and altered. This makes their journeys longer, if not impossible.

Their other threats include climate change - which sees migration journeys extending or changing to different times of the year - and pollution.

Migratory species are vital to our ecosystem; they are pollinators, seed distributors, food providers for other animals and regulators of species in our current ecosystems. Without international conservation efforts, humanity risks jeopardising the stability of our natural world beyond the point of return.

29/06/2024

Good posters to share

17/06/2024

The fledglings are appearing now in the garden. Parents have been demanding extra food the last 2 weeks as they’ve grown. A blackbird joined the Robin demanding cat-food. A wren is nesting in the main cattery corridor again. Baby great and bluetits were camouflaged on the plum trees along with a baby blackcap( couldn’t move fast enough to capture that one yet)

Left baby greatit/right baby bluetit 😊

10/06/2024

It’s election promise time, ask some questions hold them to their promises

10/06/2024

AWW, tonight we got to see our youngest employee Madison set off to her school prom. What a princess! Here she is with her dad Dale who was my first ever employee. Happy families

08/06/2024

Sunday you can watch the Kuwaiti lions live on Animal defenders international’s page

OUT IN AFRICA! Shujaa is the first of the lions to head out into their main habitats at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary following a period of quarantine and observation. Doesn’t he look right at home? A lion where he should be, home in Africa. Once he was dumped, an unwanted status symbol pet, on the streets of Kuwait City, now he has his own 4 acres of natural African habitat to share with brother Saham. Cautious Saham has not ventured out yet, but Shujaa was quick to explore, smell the trees and scent mark. We will be live from the sanctuary to see how all six lions are doing in their new territories on Sunday at 4pm South Africa; 3pm UK; 10am EST; 7am PST. Follow us for more updates.

08/06/2024

my web designer has eco blogs. Here's one on hydroponics if you don't have a greenhouse but want fresh salad

In a nutshell - I bought the Ikea Vaxar hydroponics unit as part of the Ikea Live LAGOM project. 3 months later here are some growing tips and hacks.

02/06/2024

When you eat something you shouldn’t, I’m afraid it’s all too common in cats and dogs

30/05/2024

Get your voting sorted

❗ UK General Election – Important Information ❗

A UK General Election will take place on Thursday, 4th July. Please note the following important dates:

The deadline to register to vote is midnight on Tuesday 18 June.

The deadline for applying for a postal vote, or postal proxy applications, and for changes to existing postal or proxy votes is 5pm on Wednesday 19 June.

The deadline for receiving new applications to vote by proxy (not postal proxy or emergency proxies) is 5pm on Wednesday 26 June.

Everyone who chooses to vote in person at the General Election will now need to show photo ID at the polling station. Accepted forms of ID include a passport; photocard driving licence; older persons or disabled persons bus pass; and Young Scot card. More details are available here ➡️ https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/voting-and-elections/voter-id

If you do not have a suitable photographic ID, you can apply for a Voter Authority Certificate here https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-photo-id-voter-authority-certificate The deadline for applying for a Voter Authority Certificate is 5pm on Wednesday 26 June.

It’s quicker and easier to apply online to register to vote and apply for a postal or proxy vote.

Please apply online to register to vote ➡️ www.gov.uk/register-to-vote
Please apply online to vote by post ➡️ www.gov.uk/apply-postal-vote
Please apply online to vote by proxy ➡️ www.gov.uk/apply-proxy-vote

29/05/2024

Friendships come in many guises