The Cat Welfare Group

01/12/2025

The Santa Paws appeal is now live!

You can help raise funds for us and other pets by visiting Fareham (Park Gate) Pets UK between now and Christmas Eve.

We will be in store personally:

Saturday 6th December 9am-5pm
Saturday 13th December 9am-5pm
Sunday 14th December 10am-4pm
Saturday 20th December 9am-5pm

Please visit us, pick up a limited edition Santa Paws gift bag, donate or just chat about how your support helps pets!

30/11/2025

The wonderful people at Happy Kitty Blankets are once again helping rescues this Christmas

Until 6th December, you can buy a relaxing, chilling Happy Kitty blanket for the cats in our care and they will ship to us

If you would like to help a cat in care this Christmas, all of the details are in the post below x

🎄🎅🏻Our first Christmas offer is now available and it’s a much loved favourite, returning for a third year in a row.😻🎁

🎁Gift a rescue! -
Order a Happy Kitty Blanket for a cat rescue/animal charity of your choosing. Pay the offer price of just £8.30 then let us know which charity you would like the blanket to go to. That’s it, no p&p and we will post it directly to them along with a Christmas card to let them know who the gift was from (unless you wish to remain anonymous, in which case please state this when ordering).
The offer will run until 5pm on 6th December. This is to give us enough time to collect all the orders together and get them sent out to the charities in time for Christmas. 🎅🏻
You can find the offer on our sumup store link below. PLEASE, if only ordering the Gift a rescue, remember to select the correct postage option to avoid extra p&p charges.

https://happy-kitty-blankets.sumupstore.com

T&c: 🐈‍⬛you will not receive a blanket yourself. The Happy Kitty Blankets are sent directly to the cat rescues.
🐈We will not be posting the blankets out one by one. We will wait until after we close the offer and send all the blankets out together. Often a rescue has multiple gifts so it makes far more sense to send them all in one big parcel.
🐈‍⬛If you do not specify a particular rescue you would like your gift sent to then we will pick one for you from our list.
🐈 Please remember to select the correct postage option on the sumup store to avoid p&p charges. We will not be going through every order to refund any accidental p&p payments. Usually we do but at this time of year it’s just not feasible.

29/11/2025

We’ll have a stall at the RSPCA The Stubbington Ark Christmas Fair tomorrow. Come and see us at the Crofton Manor Equestrian Centre between 11am and 4pm to say hello and pick up your The Cat Welfare Group Christmas calendars.

We’d love to see you.

29/11/2025

Feel-Good Thursday Just Got Even Better!

On Thursday we told you how Itsy and Bitsy’s mum was now safe with us

But there’s more!

We were told there might have been a kitten with her. Was it possible that the reason mum never returned to the original site for Itsy and Bitsy was because she’d been relocating them and got spooked?

Well…

Meet Itsy and Bitsy’s THREE siblings!

One possible kitten turned into three, and the whole little family is now safe. Job done!

Huge thank you to Vets Now for taking the babies in for us last night until their foster is ready tomorrow. We couldn’t do any of this without the incredible support of our community.

28/11/2025

Could you spare a few seconds to nominate us please?

The amazing Benefact Group are giving away £120,000 in December

Their 12 Days of Giving is the festive final phase of the Benefact Group Movement for Good. In December, they will be giving 120 charities £1,000 each over 12 days!

The first draw takes place on December 1st and the last on December 16th with 10 charities drawn every weekday.

Simply click on the link/image below for us to be in with a chance for £1000

Thank you so much

We could receive a £1,000 donation with your help throught the Movement for Good 12 Days Christmas Draw.

27/11/2025

Feel-Good Thursday Update!

Almost six weeks ago we caught two fiery little feral kittens, Itsy and Bitsy, after their mum hadn’t been seen for days. We worried, we watched, and, as always… we didn’t give up

Over the last few weeks there were the odd fleeting sightings, just enough to keep hope alive. And then yesterday… we finally got her! Mum is now safe and warm with us and their little family’s story has taken the happiest turn.

Meet the beautiful Dotty.

And as if that wasn’t enough for one day… yesterday you also helped us hit a HUGE milestone.

Thanks to all of you, and an incredible donation from the wonderful people at Ginger Cat Crafts we reached our target for Maggie and Ivy’s eye surgeries. Two tiny kittens who had no eyelids have their chance at a pain-free life because of your kindness.

From feral families reunited, to life-changing surgeries funded, what a Feel-Good Thursday!

Thank you for being the reason these stories exist

26/11/2025

🌟 Kitten Update & A Huge Thank You 🌟

The two little ones spent the whole day yesterday at Mainstone Vets, as neither was eating well or able to maintain their temperature on their own.

Late last night they were transferred to Vets Now, and this morning… what a difference.

✨ Both have energy
✨ Both have put on weight
✨ Both are finally holding their temperature

Such tiny changes, but in kittens this fragile, they are huge wins.

And while all of this was happening, we were facing the impossible task of raising £5,000 to clear our surgery bills and allow us to open our doors again.

You absolutely blew us away.

In just one day, you smashed £4,000.
We now have just £1,000 to go!

(or £2,000 if we want to include the little ones’ bills and give us a much-needed head start).

We are so, so grateful for every single donation, share, message and bit of support.
You’ve carried us through some of the toughest days we’ve ever had.

If you can help give us that final push, here’s the link:

👉 https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/eyesurgery

Thank you, from all of us, for helping us fight for those who can’t fight for themselves x

25/11/2025

We’ve never been in a scarier position than the one we’re in right now.

Four kittens were found, with one believed to have already died. When we arrived, the smallest little girl was lifeless in our hands — but if you looked closely enough, you could just see the tiniest breaths.

Until we raise the money for Maggie and Ivy’s two eye surgeries, we simply cannot take in any more cases. It’s a heartbreaking reality… and yesterday it was put to the test because if we had said no, they would have died

We rushed them straight to the incredible team at Mainstone Veterinary Clinic. The prognosis was poor for the one barely breathing and for one of her brothers, slightly better for her other two brothers.

All four were freezing. Shortly after arriving, the little girl crashed — her heart rate was 5.
But thanks to exceptional, determined vet care, she was revived. Over the next few hours her tiny heart fought its way back: 20… 30… 50… 120.

Their temperatures were dangerously low — little girl was just 34 degrees, and all four weighed around 300g when they should be closer to 500g.

Over the following hours the team at Mainstone worked tirelessly to save them, stabilising them enough that by 7pm they could be transferred to the equally amazing team at Vets Now, where they remain under the expert care of the vets and superhero vet nurse Tash.

For the first time, they are finally warm enough to be offered a little food — they were absolutely starving.
(Never ever feed a cold kitten — at 34 degrees they physically can’t digest food.)

If we had said no, the little girl would almost certainly have died shortly after being found, and her brothers would have followed within hours.

The reality is: we said yes, even though the finances say we shouldn’t… because how could we not?

Their treatment so far is already £700. This will rise as the two sickest will need veterinary support today

And here’s the heartbreaking truth:

We have never needed your help like we need it right now.

We must raise just over £5,000 to clear Maggie and Ivy’s eye surgery bill, or we simply cannot keep taking in emergencies like these four kittens.

If you can spare even £2, it will directly help us say yes to the next life-or-death call.

👉 https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/eyesurgery

Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for helping us fight for every single one of them. 🐾💔

24/11/2025

It's been a while since we updated you on our beautiful boy Sam. We're delighted to say he's doing brilliantly. He no longer needs to wear his cone of shame as the neck wound has healed and no medication is currently needed. He had a little gut biospy, to rule out anything more concerning, due to inflammation. We are very happy to say the results came back all clear. Our vets feel it was most likely down to the same allergic reaction causing his itching, which has now been resolved.
He really is a big, chilled out dollop of love. He adores people of all ages and just wants to give and receive all the affection he can get. His current foster Mum Jo is more than happy to oblige.

23/11/2025

Back in May, we faced one of the most heartbreaking cases we’ve ever known. Together with our friends at Second Chance - Portsmouth Cats, we rescued 18 Devon Rex/breed cats who had been dumped in unthinkable circumstances.

Dusty and Biffa were found in a bin.
Shaun was completely blind.
Princess had the most severe pyometra our vet had ever seen – she would have been dead within 24 hours.
Dolly was pregnant, battling TF, and despite every expert intervention, her babies could not be saved.
Every single one of them was failed in the worst way.

What we couldn’t say then, but can say now, is that within 48 hours - thanks to tenacious, meticulous detective work - we knew exactly who dumped them. Over the weeks that followed, we gathered an extraordinary amount of evidence, reported the case then worked with the RSPCA to ensure the right outcome.

This was a licensed breeder.
That license has now been revoked, and a further 37 cats were saved as a result.

We are forever indebted to the incredible Devon Rex community who stood with us day and night, offering expertise, support, guidance, and love when we were at our lowest. And to all of you who opened your homes and hearts to these sheepy little hooligans – thank you. You changed their lives.

I won’t pretend it didn’t take its toll. I almost walked away from rescue altogether. The trauma, the heartbreak, the feeling of helplessness… it was overwhelming.

But we carry on.
We carry on for Lamby, for Fleecy, for Wonka, for Wooliam.
For all of those still waiting to be saved.

Thank you for standing with us – then, now, and always.

https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/eyesurgery

RSPCA update below;

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1GuDVsaY4o/?mibextid=wwXIfr

21/11/2025

Six Months On: A Beautiful Update on Florence & Little Ed (Now Florence and Winnie)

Back in May we introduced you to Florence and her one remaining tiny baby, Ed. (First photo)

Their story was heartbreaking, a malnourished young mum, barely more than a kitten herself, who endured a traumatic labour that no animal should ever experience.

Today, six months on, we’re over the moon to share the update they deserve.

Florence is now a healthy, confident, glossy young cat, living the life she should always have had. Her spine, once painfully visible, is now covered in muscle and fluff. She adores her family, her food, her toys, and every cosy spot she can claim. She is so loved by Tracey.

And little Ed? Well she has grown into the happiest, most doted-on girl. A total mummy’s girl, full of personality, playfulness and affection. Seeing the two of them together, safe, relaxed, and thriving, reminds us exactly why we do what we do.

They are living proof of what love, proper care and responsible ownership can achieve. Two lives that very easily could have gone the other way… now healthy, cherished, and flourishing.

Thank you to everyone who supports us, allowing stories like theirs to have beautiful endings.

And as always, a gentle reminder:
Please neuter your cats. No more Florences. No more needless suffering.

Florence & Ed — from heartbreak to happiness.