Katz At Home

17/08/2024

🐈‍⬛ Happy Black Cat Appreciation Day! 🐈‍⬛ The last photo is my own cat, Charlie; she passed away earlier this year at the grand old age of 21 and a half! 🐈‍⬛❤️🐾❤️🐈‍⬛

15/08/2024

It’s been a super busy first 2 weeks of August, visiting all these beautiful cats ❤️😻❤️ and this isn’t even all of them, as some are too shy for photos, or too wriggly! 😂 lots more to follow in the rest of the month 😻❤️🐾❤️

08/08/2024

Some random customer photos selected to celebrate International Cat Day today! ❤️🐾😻🐾❤️

19/07/2024

I have used Forest Vets for almost 20 years and totally recommend them. What has always given me peace of mind is that their hospital in Epping is their out of hours service; I really appreciate that, in an emergency, the vets are the same and that they have full access to all the cat’s history, which is not an option if other vets use a totally different firm for their out of hours service.
https://www.facebook.com/share/g1jAwc3oMdWt3TPc/?mibextid=WC7FNe

Forest Vets in Essex, in Epping, Harlow, Isle of Dogs and Woodford Bridge, provide the best pet healthcare and accept veterinary referrals from your local vet

10/07/2024

Sometimes it’s not all about the cats! This little chap came down the chimney into a customer’s house, thou he was still in the chimney when one of the cats proudly alerted me to his presence; he was having too much fun to come down for breakfast 😂 after shutting the cats out of the room and leaving for a couple of hours, when I got back he’d come out by himself. It was then just a case of persuading him to fly through the window 👏🦜😻

11/06/2024

Please share this fundraiser to help this little stray kitten; I know the person helping this kitten, I fostered kittens for her a few years ago, so she is genuine. If you are also able to donate as well, that is even better and much appreciated. They have almost reached their target to get Hope the medical help she needs. 👏👍❤️🐾❤️

Hope as she has now been named was found in an alleyway in Barking not being able to see. She is 9-10 wee… Kelly Butler needs your support for Hope the kitten

16/05/2024

🌟🌟PARKER IS HOME! 👏🎉🌟🌟
Little Parker has gone missing; he’s a customer of ours. He lives on Honeycroft in Loughton and it’s been bin day today. If you live nearby, or know people who do, please ask them to check their sheds/garages as it’s very likely he’s accidentally been shut in somewhere. It’s not like him not to come home. 🤞😻

21/04/2024

Fantastic WELL DONE to Mollie today! Completing the London Marathon in 5 and a half hours! And raising £1,315 for The Scratching Post as well. What a star she is! 🌟🏃‍♀️‍➡️🏅❤️🐾😻 And thank you, on behalf of The Scratching Post, to all those who have donated; you’re also 🌟🌟😻

20/04/2024

Final push for Eve’s daughter, Mollie, who is raising money for The Scratching Post whilst running the London Marathon TOMORROW! Total at the moment is a wonderful £815 👏 thank you to all who have donated so far 🐾❤️🐾 https://gofund.me/fdcf26a6

17/04/2024

Today is Tortoiseshell Cat Appreciation Day 😻 we have lots of beautiful tortie customers 😻🐾😻

Today is the day we celebrate these beautiful felines! 😻 Here are some interesting facts about tortoiseshell cats👇

🐱Nearly all tortoiseshell cats are female. This is because female cats carry two X chromosomes (males carry one X and one Y) and these chromosomes carry genetic information about orange and black coat colour.

🐱Tortoiseshell kittens inherit an orange coat gene from one parent, and a black one from the other and are born with interesting patches of each colour which make up their unique coat. A male kitten on the other hand has only one X chromosome, so would be either black or orange in coat colour.

🐱For this reason, male tortoiseshell cats are extremely rare. They are usually sterile as they have XXY chromosomes, similar to humans with Klinefelter syndrome. As a result, male tortoiseshell cats are prone to health issues.

📝One 2016 study showed that sex-linked orange female cats (tortoiseshell, calico, and torbies) were more frequently aggressive towards humans. However....... we should be mindful not to label tortie cats as this can create a negative bias towards them and affect how we interact with them in a home and veterinary environment. A cat's temperament is influenced by lots of things, not just their genetics! There are plenty of friendly tortie cats out there! 💗

🍀Tortoiseshell cats are also considered lucky in many countries

Personally, I think tortoiseshell cats are beautiful 😻

Show me your beautiful torties! 😻😻



References👇

13 fun facts about Tortoiseshell Cats (2023) Feliway UK. Available at: https://www.feliway.co.uk/.../13-fun-facts-about... (Accessed: April 17, 2023).

Stelow, E.A., Bain, M.J. and Kass, P.H. (2015) “The relationship between coat color and aggressive behaviors in the domestic cat,” Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, 19(1), pp. 1–15. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/10888705.2015.1081820.

15/04/2024

Eve’s amazing daughter, Mollie, is running the London Marathon on Sunday! She is raising money for The Scratching Post Cat Rescue who we all know and love. If you can spare a few pounds to spur her on and help the many cats and kittens that are always in need it would be amazing. Thank you! 🙏 Please click on this link to donate: https://gofund.me/fdcf26a6 😻🐾😻🙏❤️

01/04/2024

🐣🐣 Happy Easter to all our wonderful customers 😻 enjoy the gallery of the cats we have visited over these last 4 days 😻🐣🐣

14/02/2024

❤️🐾 Happy Valentine’s Day to all our beautiful customers 😻 and of course their owners 😂🐾❤️

25/01/2024

Sadly Claudia Schiffer thought it was a good idea to take her cat to a film premiere in one of these; the poor thing must have had a terrible time ☹️
As you can read below, these are probably one of the worst type of cat carriers out there ☹️🐾

There seems to be a recent trend in cats being transported in backpack carriers 😕 No doubt there will be a surge in popularity again due to the new Argylle movie 😿

They may seem like a fun way to move a cat from one place to another, but I would urge caregivers to take a moment to think about their cat's wellbeing before purchasing a backpack carrier - the bubble carriers are particularly unpleasant for cats.

Issues with backpack carriers include:

😿They are usually too small for cats to turn around in and position themselves in a way they feel most comfortable

😿They move around a lot during transportation, which is stressful and uncomfortable for cats - most of these carriers are not very sturdy either

😿There is no opportunity for cats to hide, they are almost forced to look out through the bubble window. This means cats have to face lots of things they might find frightening during their journey, such as dogs, unfamiliar people and cars

😿The carrier is facing backward, which can be very disorientating for cats - some will experience nausea and vomit

😿 The carriers are not easy to clean, making them less hygienic

😿 Air circulation is poor, which can make cats overheat

😿Cats can arrive at their destination in a high state of arousal due to experiencing intense emotions of anxiety, fear, or frustration - this makes examinations by the veterinary team more difficult, which could impact the effectiveness of any care that cats receive (and need)

Although there are some differences in these types of carriers (ie some are a bit larger or stronger), cats can be trained to use different types of carriers and every cat and their caregiver is different, most backpack carriers are not cat friendly for the average cat. Unless this is the only way a cat can be transported to the vet in an emergency they should be avoided 🚑

😻There is plenty of useful information on what type of carrier to choose and how minimise stress during travel on this International Cat Care webpage👇 https://icatcare.org/international-cat-day/icd-2022/travel-tips/
Or visit this webpage to access the International Cat Care guides, which includes a handy downloadable guide on taking your cat to the vet 👇
https://icatcare.org/advice-cat-carer-guides/

04/01/2024

Our gallery of all the cats we’ve cared for between Xmas and new year and this first week of January. 😻 We’re grateful to be slowing down again for a while, thou new bookings for this year are coming in all the time! 😍🐾❤️🐾

01/01/2024

🎉🎉HAPPY NEW YEAR to all our wonderful customers! Thanks for keeping us so busy and we look forward to caring for all your beautiful felines in 2024. Love from Sue, Eve, Ella & Karen, your Katz at Home Team 😻🐾❤️🐾🎉🎉

27/12/2023

Bit belated, sorry, but as you can see we’ve been busy caring for all these beautiful cats over the last few days 😻 We hope all our customers had a wonderful Xmas! Love from the Katz at Home Team, Sue, Eve, Ella & Karen 😻🐾❤️🐾

17/12/2023

😱 Love that the cat lands on his feet 😻 but of course! 😂😻

04/11/2023

Stay safe on Bonfire Night everyone 🐾❤️🐾

31/10/2023

Happy Halloween to all our customers 😻👻🎃😻

28/10/2023

Happy Black Cat Day to all our customers 🐈‍⬛❤️🐾❤️🐈‍⬛

16/10/2023

I know some of you enjoy our shows; better be quick if you want to see this one, it’s gonna be amazing 😁🎟️🎭

There’s every chance that this production will sell out before we even open! Only 6 tickets left for The Vicar of Dibley! This really is your last chance!

19/09/2023

After another busy summer, and despite the extra help from Karen & Ella, Eve and I have decided we need to change how we run Katz at Home to avoid us becoming burnt out and refusing to work altogether. 🙈😂
The answer seems to lie in limiting our capacity to a level we are comfortable with rather than saying yes to everyone and then trying to fit them all in. I hate to turn people down but I am very aware that our quantity may affect our quality and I never want that to happen.
Therefore, we are no longer taking on new customers; there are so, so many of you already, for which thank you. 🙏😻
Please book as far ahead as you can to avoid disappointment, particularly during school holidays, as once our quota is reached we may have to say that we are fully booked. We love cancellations, so don’t ever feel bad about cancelling if your plans change. 😂
We hope you all understand. 😻🐾❤️🐾

16/09/2023

🎉⭐️❤️ Happy 21st Birthday to my own beautiful Charlie girl 😻 so proud of her still to be doing so well ❤️⭐️🎉

22/08/2023

This past weekend has been one of the busiest ever; my team and I fed over 45 different cats, with Saturday having the highest visits count so far in our history with some bookings ending but a new batch starting for the final week of the summer holidays! Eve and I are counting the days to Sunday when most of you come home and we can go back to the more relaxed atmosphere we prefer 🤪🐾❤️🐾

16/08/2023

This memory popped up today but it’s worth sharing again to highlight how important it is to microchip your cat; it will be compulsory from June next year.
It’s also highly recommended to check your chip regularly, every time you’re at the vets, or I can scan it for you on a visit. A chip in one of my own cats randomly stopped working completely and it took me a few days to notice he couldn’t use the catflap or get into his microchip feeder (he shared one with his brother so didn’t go hungry!) I scanned him, no response, the vets scanned him, still no response so I had to have him re-microchipped. This was a rare occurrence but shows it does happen. 🤔
And obviously always keep your contact details up to date if you move or change phone numbers. You should automatically receive an email from the chip company once your cat is registered by the vets, so if you haven’t, chase it up that they’ve done it properly, or at all! 🙈🤞🐾❤️🐾

A VERY LUCKY COINCIDENCE; RIGHT TIME RIGHT PLACE 🐾❤🐾

Unbeknown to me, handsome Jasper, a customer of mine for over 10 years, went missing back in April following a house move.

Today I was doing the weekly vet run for the Scratching Post and "Brian" as he was temporarily called was one of the cats on the list. As soon as I went into his pen I recognised him and thought how much he looked like Jasper, a customer.

I saw from the paperwork that he had been handed in as a stray and I phoned his owner to see if he was missing. They didn't answer and I left them a message. When I got to the vets they had been notified some time ago that Jasper was missing; a lucky coincidence that we all use the same vets. We compared photos that I had on this FB page with the real cat in front of us and decided it was almost 100% him.

On my way back to the Scratching Post with him his owner called me; we face timed and she happily confirmed it was her missing Jasper. Delighted and emotional was an understatement! For both of us!! 🎉😻🎉

I'm taking him home to them tomorrow; they have kept their other 2 cats in since Jasper went missing but I'll be having a chat with them about enclosing their garden and recommending a couple of companies I know of.

Jasper is 17 and had been on medication but he seems to bear no ill effect from not having them for the last few months. He had been living in someone's garden who had been feeding him. He was only 3 streets away.

Being "old school" Jasper wasn't microchipped; we just never did in those days did we? None of my teenage cats are chipped either. 😣 The finder had taken him to a local vet and had he been chipped he would have been reunited sooner.

If I had not recognised him today he would have been rehomed by The Scratching Post. Great for him but awful for his owners, always wondering what had happened to him. And if he had ended up at any big, well known charity he would more than likely have been put to sleep as he would have been considered too old and difficult to rehome based on his medical condition.

PLEASE get your cats microchipped, whatever their age. They are literally life savers. And if your cats are chipped already then double check asap they are actually correctly registered to you and that your contact details are up to date. So many stray cats are found with microchips that are unregistered or out of date and their owners are never found.

Jasper and his owners were so lucky today; don't let your cat end up in the same position. I might not be there next time! 😻🐾❤🐾

11/08/2023

Beautiful Casper has been a regular customer over the years 🐾❤️🐾

10/08/2023

Ok, so firstly I’d like to apologise for the shortage of posts this year 🙈 I still take lots of photos, and we have sooo many new customers to introduce, but I’ve been gradually moving house for most of this year 😬 alongside continuing to run Katz at Home and do all my visits. Social media has been the last thing on my mind. 🤪 But I realise you all ❤️ to see the beautiful cats we care for so I will endeavour to make more effort from now on. 😁 Following my house move to slightly further away, we tried a new way of working where Eve does all the morning visits and I do the teatime ones, and we share the once a day visits between us. This has worked really well and gives us both half a day to ourselves at least, as a full day off is a rare and unlikely event. We also have TWO new ladies helping us out when needed, Karen & Ella, and this has helped take some of the pressure off when there are not enough hours in the day. 🤪 So despite my silence online we are very busy working away in the background. 😻 On that note I’ll leave you with this adorable photo of Buzz & Jesse for you to enjoy 🐾❤️🐾

08/08/2023

Happy International Cat Day to all the wonderful felines we care for 😻🐾❤️

23/06/2023

😻🐾 AUGUST BOOKINGS 🐾😻

We are already getting very booked up for August so if you’re planning on going away and haven’t yet booked please send us your dates as soon as possible. There’s no charge for changes or cancellations so don’t worry if the dates are approximate at the moment, we just need you to be booked in. 😻

If you are a potential new customer, who follows us but hasn’t yet booked with us, please make contact with any dates you may have in August. As we did last year, from 1st July we will sadly not be able to accept August bookings from new customers who have not previously used us. 😻

Thanks, as ever, to all of you for making Katz at Home as busy as it is! 👏🙏

🐾 Sue & Eve 🐾