11/02/2025
Some people probably think that rescues are too "fussy" about who they rehome to. I didn't set out to become a rescue, but in Normanton there are many abandoned cats and kittens, and kittens being born outside, which immediately puts them at a disadvantage, even apart from growing up feral and thus being unlikely to get a home. So I took some in out off necessity, but found it hard to rehome them and hard to get other rescues to take them, because there are too many. I started Normanton Cat Rescue in order to facilitate rehoming, as well as raising some much needed funds. Some are very critical of this, saying that I claim to be a charity when I'm not; however, although I do charity-work, I never claim to be a registered charity. That is not the important thing; the important thing is helping cats and kittens, even if it is on a much smaller scale than some rescues. In the last few years alone I have had dozens of cats, though not all at the same time. Some I rehome myself, and some are passed on to another rescue (once they have space) if they have a better chance of rehoming a particular cat. When I was faced with rehoming cats to people I don't know, i asked advice from another rescue, as to what to have in an adoption agreement. A very important condition is that the adopters do not rehome the cats themselves. It is understood that people's situations sometimes change, but if the adopter is unable to keep the cat, they must contact Normanton Cat Rescue, and then I can look at finding another good home ... if necessary getting help from another rescue.
Some of you may remember the kitten Foster whom I hand-reared from a few days old in May 2023. I eventually rehomed her along with another kitten, to a young woman called Amanda. Amanda had been given a reference by a woman called Sheralyn, whom I already knew and with whom I'd also rehomed two cats. However, these two young cats and I were very much let down, sadly. I had seen them a number of times following their adoption, and sometimes gave Amanda lifts to the vet with them, and was obviously committed to their well-being. In September 2024, less than a year since they went to Amanda, I saw on Facebook that Amanda was going to university in Manchester. I immediately tried contacting both Amanda and Sheralyn (Sheralyn was the one driving Amanda to university, and was obviously an influencing factor in Amanda's life as adopted "Auntie Shez" even though Amanda is an adult). Sheralyn responded, and commented that she and Amanda had both immediately known why I was in contact: concern for Foster and Cassie, as Amanda was going away. Sheralyn said that they'd made some effort to find a suitable friend to look after them, and eventually left them with a young woman who was Amanda's friend... this young woman lived with her partner, who had said he didn't want cats, but they got round that by taking them when he was out!!! (What would Sheralyn say if one of her household brought in cats when she was out, and she'd said no? She'd probably swear and not be happy.) The cats had already gone by then, WITHOUT CONSULTING ME, although they knew I had commitment and also Amanda had an agreement with me (Sheralyn as a lawyer might have known better even if Amanda didn't). Anyway, I was sent some photos of the cats in the new place, and they looked okay, so it was left like that. (Another thing is that before rehoming them with Amanda, I'd specifically queried whether she was likely to move on or change her circumstances, as although an adult she is young, but I was told nothing about the university plans. I believe that I was deceived deliberately.)
HOWEVER, in October 2024 (just when my boy Brandon had come home from his stay at the vets with heart disease) I was rung by a woman I didn't know, about Foster and Cassie, as she now had them. Apparently Amanda's friend who had them had struggled because she had a young baby, and the baby's screaming made Cassie very upset and stressed, and she was toileting on the baby's things. (Babies are one thing a rescue needs to he aware of, though not necessarily a no no. But the adoption questionnaire specifically asked if there is a safe space where the cats can be quiet. That was okay at Amanda's, but NOT at her friend's. Sheralyn and Amanda apparently "forgot" to tell me that there was a baby.) So Amanda and her friend exchanged some messages, with them both saying they couldn't have the cats. (I didn't know anything about this till afterwards.) Even THEN Amanda didn't contact me, and her friend apparently advertised them free to good home, and thankfully this other woman saw the ad, and they went to a caring and responsible woman (whom I'm not naming in case of trouble from anyone), and she wanted to know their neutering and vaccination background, so she was given my phone number, and rang me in October.
This was the first I knew of their being moved on AGAIN. I have since been to visit Foster and Cassie. It is noth
