Some sad news!
Many of you have known Jack the farm cat for many years. Sadly he left us on Friday 3 December. 😿 He has been a creaky gate for some time now but this last month or so he became weaker and weaker. He has been living full time in the cattery for most of last year and with very occasional pop outs into the farm and fields, these have got less and less in the last couple of months.
Jack's actual owners are the Atkinson family from when they owned the cattery. We have had a date of 2002 mentioned this weekend which would make Jack 22 years old! Nobody really knows, but however long he has been around he has always been a big part of our Smile Cattery family.
On Wednesday the 1st he laid in my arms and I knew he was telling me it was time to go. I spoke to Kay as between us we have provided everything Jack needed. It's been a good life! By Friday 3rd it was his last day. Mel took Jack on a final trip around the farm to visit his favourite places and then she escorted him up to Greens vets who put him to sleep.
Jack will be coming home in the next few days and will be buried at the cattery, his first and final resting place.
I've attached a little video that was taken when he was in my arms, you can see how he was telling me that it was time. I'll add some photos of earlier, healthy times later today. If you have any to add please do. ❤️
On a cold, wintry, very blustery day we have these lovely pussycats all warm and cosy to love! 😻
Hello Smile family!
Part time Vacancies at Smile Cattery!
We’re working really hard to update the pens, introducing new products, ideas, toys and new lighting. And a hundred other things besides.
But! There just is not enough time in a day! So we are looking for another 1, ideally 2, flexible people to join us working on a sometimes ad hoc and/or set working days so we can provide regular cover as needed.
We would like to have 2 people each working 2/3 mornings per week with the flexibility to do extra mornings (possibly afternoons) as required. Working days are during the week, weekends, bank holidays, whatever is needed at the time. We are open 9-11 but arrive at 8am and 4-6pm arriving at 3pm.
We are open 7 days a week, 365 days a year. The morning shift is 8am to 11am. There will be days when you work on your own but the plan is that there will always be 2 people working together in the morning.
We need you to be special to fit in with the way we work and also fit around the cats needs before anything else. It is hard work, physically hard, as every pen has at least one hungry mouth to feed, the pen needs to be cleaned down in a morning,the work area cleared down and left clean and tidy and the checking in and out of cats on and off between 9-11am. You need to be flexible, willing to do extras now and again, not frightened of getting your hands dirty and at the same time have a smile on your face and genuinely love working with us and the cats.
Cat enrichment, be it playtime, grooming, cuddling, or just sitting quiet by the bed area whilst the cat feels safe and secure to find out, is all part of a normal day.
There’s so much more to say about the role but if you are interested in this please message and let me know. Send me a private message, please don’t ring us as if you catch us at a busy time eg feeds then we wouldn’t have time to talk.
We look forward to hearing from you and see what we can do. Angela & Mel. 😺
To follow - 30 ran
YANK OF HEART STRINGS ALERT!!
❤️❤️4 gorgeous rescue kittens looking for their forever homes.❤️❤️
First of all an apology!! We’ve done so few photos this last couple of weeks. We’ve been swamped with demanding, starving, needing attention and loving Furballs - your gorgeous felines!
I don’t think mine or Mel’s feet have touched the ground - but we’re not complaining we’re loving every minute of it!
To follow are a few of our current furry family, more to follow this afternoon! 😻
Oscar having a very fun time playing on the window!🐈⬛😺😻
Uhoh! There’s going to be trouble ahead! The chickens have escaped again and are excitedly heading towards the stables!! Our cats on the stable side are watching intently! 🐓🐓🐓🐓😺
Here we are. This is Vincent loving being brushed but a seemly deciding he doesn’t like the Shetland ponies in the bottom field. 😹
