Consett Cat Rescue

15/08/2024

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13/08/2024

I was feeling like we were getting on top of things right now but then you start getting requests in to help more cats and not just adult pet cats that folk want to rehome but litters of feral kittens and more kittens being found in peoples sheds etc or I heard yesterday of a heavily pregnant cat in Leadgate desperate to get into peoples houses. Poor thing was likely looking for somewhere safe to have her kittens. I hope someone took her in.
I follow a lot of other cat rescues across the whole of the UK and every single one is struggling right now. Too many cats need help, they are all wayyyy too full and adoptions ate an all time low everywhere. The situation is getting really bad and whilst every year I think my goodness this is the worst year ever, each year that year becomes the worst year ever.
I do believe mandatory neutering is needed (exceptions would be in place for breeders I suppose) but it is something they brought in over in Brussels 6 years ago and I think it could also work here. That was a result of the stray/feral population simply getting out of hand. I do not have all the answers or the finer points of how it would work etc but something needs to change.
I know of people whose cats have had kittens and they are struggling to even give the kittens away, that's how many there is out there.
Its really hard to write a positive and upbeat post when things never seem to improve.
We did have a free neutering offer on but not as many people as I expected took up that offer. Only 61 vouchers were issued and some have still not used them but I am chasing them up.
I am now offering half price neutering/chipping to try and stretch the budget a bit further but still get as many done as possible.
However let it be said, there are still people who cannot afford that and they clearly put zero forethought into real costs when they got the cat/kitten and therein lies the issue. Too many get them free or cheap but really cannot afford a pet in the first place.
I would ask people to think long and hard about potential costs before getting any pet and would encourage those who are struggling to come forward and get a voucher to get them done. Having an indoor only cat is not going to stop it because so many seem to escape and come back pregnant. You do them no favours not getting them neutered as soon as they do return. Keeping and feeding a litter of kittens for 8 weeks and of course the extra feeding you have had to give mum cat during her 9 weeks of pregnancy adds up to a significant amount of money. If at the end of it you are not even guaranteed to be able to rehome them all, you really are up a 💩 creek without a paddle.
So please please please, contact us to get a voucher. Half price still works out at around £70 for a female and £50 for a male but I do not set the vet prices. If you are struggling, GET IN TOUCH.
We do not have unlimited funds and do not have millions in the bank but I want to help as many as possible across the Derwentside area. We only have one vets currently on board with me running this scheme so I'm sorry I cannot help everyone everywhere.
If in the future more vet businesses are willing to come on board and help me run a voucher scheme, then if you represent one of them, do get in touch and I would love to work with you. Vets will still receive whatever I would normally pay to them for neutering, the rescue and the owner would come up with the money to pay the bill.

12/08/2024

Ephraim is a real softy of a cat but can be so cheeky and playful too. He had a bit of a rough start after being born with a deformed sternum but after spending over £4k at the specialist vets he is all fixed now and will live a full and normal life (yes I have it in writing from the vets for any insurer querying it).
Because he has been handled so much he is really full of himself and has absolutely no fear. He is a big lad too and due his 1st annual booster next week where he will be given a full health check too.
He is at that slightly cheeky naughty stage in his life where he will sometimes get a bit boisterous with some of the other cats but any cat giving him a warning or a slap and he soon stops.
He is loving, friendly and the best natured cat. I have no idea why he is still here.
He is of course neutered, chipped and vaccinated.
He is a house cat. 🏠
No small children. 👶
Not tested with dogs. 🐕
His suggested adoption donation is £150 (which is a fraction of what he has cost us in vet bills alone.)
Make sure you are financially stable enough to take on a new pet and could afford emergency vet bills if needed.
Full terms and conditions and more information is available.
An adoption questionnaire must be completed before any visits can be arranged. This is available (along with the extra information) on request.

12/08/2024

Meet Juno
Such a little sweetheart and quite cheeky at times too. Very playful but due to her feral start in life she can get skittish at times.
She has been with us a good while now and has blossomed from the hissy feral kitten she once was.
She can live with other cats although there will need to be a period of adjustment for this so do not expect instant love between two strangers, this is not blind date!
Loves raw food and Katkin so ideal if you want to feed a top quality diet.
No known health issues although is due her booster soon so will be getting her annual health check. Any problems identified will be added to this description so prospective owners get the full picture.
Although she is officially no longer a kitten, she is still very playful and loves to play with toys, sunbathe in the catio or chasing flies, moths etc.
She is a house cat. 🏠
No small children. 👶
Not tested with dogs. 🐕
She is neutered, chipped and vaccinated.
Her suggested adoption donation is £150 (which is a fraction of what she has cost us in vets and upkeep to date.)
Make sure you are financially stable enough to take on a new pet and could afford emergency vet bills if needed.
Full terms and conditions and more information is available.
An adoption questionnaire must be completed before any visits can be arranged. This is available (along with the extra information) on request.

09/08/2024

An emotive topic and one which we’ve had to deal with a fair few times over the last ten years.
I’m sure there are some vet staff who assume when we are making this choice it’s done on a whim.
It’s absolutely not but sometimes in certain situations it’s the kindest option when you look at quality of life.
Unfortunately there are many folk who seem to think you can save them all. It’s impossible and not a reality.
The points made in the post are excellent points.

EDIT. Because I received a message about this post from someone who wrongly thought I’d been w***y nilly euthanising cats, nothing could be further from the truth. I merely shared this post to show the dilemma faced and how you simply cannot save them all.

Sick Cats – the TNR moral dilemma

Who goes into cat rescue? I would guess the vast majority are people who care very passionately about the cats, wanting to be able to improve their lives. And through TNR, we are able to help so many cats live better healthier lives - but when you are doing Rescue and one of those cats is very sick – what do you do? Or when he has a physical condition that is going to inevitably lead to a painful death unless he gets expensive veterinary care? Or maybe she has a physical disability that is not life-threatening, but will put her at a much higher risk of death by predator if she is returned to her site?

For those of us who have been involved in Rescue for many years, these scenarios are sadly not that uncommon. But whether you are new to Rescue or have been doing it for years, it's something you definitely need to think about. You need to think about it before it happens, because it will happen and you need to know what you are going to be able to do.

The problem for so many rescuers is when they are facing the reality of a cat who needs help, but is going to end up costing hundreds or thousands of dollars and needing a place to stay and recover and foster. There are some people who have plenty of money and are able to take on extremely expensive rescues, but the majority of us simply cannot afford to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on a single Rescue cat. And yet they suffer tremendous guilt – nobody likes to be the one to say "euthanize this cat" – we're here to save cats not kill them. The reality though is you need to look at the word euthanize - "Euthanasia is the practice of ending the life of a patient to limit the patient's suffering".

If you have a cat without an owner living outside, and you trap it to do TNR and it turns out to have a terminal condition, you are faced with
1– taking on expensive veterinary care and prolonged foster situation,
2 – choosing to euthanize the cat to prevent more suffering, or
3-returning it to the site with no treatment.

Option 1 – because so many rescuers have gone deeply into debt and have ended up in deep trouble, we highly encourage rescuers to consider 2 things - their own situation before spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on this one cat, and 2 - the chances for a good long-term outcome. What will this cat's quality of life be?

Option 2 - euthanasia. This is a difficult decision for most people, and we appreciate that. Ending a life should never be a casual decision or something chosen for convenience. But peacefully and humanely ending a life to prevent suffering is a kindness. Hopefully the veterinarian assessing this cat can help guide the rescuer to the right decision – while veterinarians don't like to euthanize the cats if they can avoid it, we hope they also recognize it's extremely painful to make that decision. We encourage veterinarians to help the rescuers be realistic during this emotional time.

Option 3 – returning the cat to the site untreated. We hope no one would return a cat who was doomed to a painful ending of life without treatment, but the thought of making the decision to euthanize is so difficult for so many that they will choose to do nothing rather than to make the choice. Once again talking this through with your veterinarian can hopefully bring a more detached viewpoint, and the ability to recognize that in the end it is a selfish thing to return a cat that you know is going to die a bad death; it protects your feelings, you don't have to take responsibility for having ended the life. But Rescue is all about responsibility – and when you return the cat without treating or euthanizing, but knowing there's a problem, you are still making a choice - and you are still responsible.

Rescue is full of so much joy, and it is full of so much heartache as well. We all need to be supportive of each other in making these difficult choices, and should not ever impose guilt or shame on anyone who makes the decision to euthanize to help prevent suffering. Do your best to be supportive and work together on these decisions – the rescuer, the caregiver, the veterinarian, your fellow rescuers – work together to create a compassionate and realistic understanding of what Rescue truly is.

(***** We are NOT recommending casual euthanasia. Just an understanding of your own financial and emotional needs as well as the needs of the animal.)

08/08/2024

I am an absolute disgrace. Its official I forgot our own birthday!!!
Yes we had our 10th (official) birthday on 4/8/24 and who forgot - ME.
That's it, nothing else to say except oops and sorrrrry.
Oh but don't forget we have a super dooper event happening at the end of August (31st) at SimplyCats Vet Clinic and not only will some furry cats and kits be there to see you, but we have a fabulous prize draw with at least 35 prizes listed to date and 1st and 2nd are a holiday - how cool is that.
Watch out in our fundraising group for the official prize list appearing very soon and details of where you can buy tickets (offline possibly and online). An old version of the prize list is in this pic but the date for 2nd prize is now 16/12 instead of 14/12.

08/08/2024

Ok so we are not in San Diego but when I read this it honestly could have been me writing it. I fully agree with EVERYTHING they say.

Let’s talk about the reproductive cycle of female cats… please share.

Cats can get preggers as early as four months old. They can get pregnant with their brothers. They can get pregnant with more than one Tom over a two week period.

Cats can be spayed/neutered as young as 2lbs/8 weeks old.

A good spay should not include stitches that need to be removed. If your vet needs to put in a zipper you need a different vet.

TNR vets use dissolving glue and cats don’t need a cone (unless they are lickers, generally).

Cats can be safely spay/aborted. At no point is it more dangerous for mama than the act of giving birth. It is just hard on us that love kitties. But she doesn’t know why her body is behaving so weirdly.

We used to not spay abort friendly mamas that were far along - in the early days of our rescue. We have learned the world doesn’t need more kittens. There will always be another litter that needs our help that has already been born. Then we can’t take on those living kittens and they die a rotten death on the street, because we are full with a mama and kittens.

If your vet tells you that a cat cannot be spayed when pregnant, in heat or lactating you need a new vet. A cat can be spayed when lactating and/or in heat.

A cat nursing kittens will most likely go in to heat while still nursing kittens. Usually around 5-6 weeks after giving birth. She will still be lactating and she will be preggers soon.

In Southern California, cats will have 3-5 litters a year. The 5th comes in when one of her litters dies suddenly. She will go into heat very soon. So more pain and suffering.

Find the right vet and spay your cats and neuter your males as early as possible.

03/08/2024

This is in America but it’s all valid anywhere in the world.
If YOU allow your cats to breed, YOU are the problem.
There is NO excuse because even if it gets out you can get it done when it comes back

03/08/2024

Fab news today in that two cats get adopted.
BUT OMG the fact I could activate the four weeks free insurance cover on Petplan completely online is a game changer for me.
No more filling out forms in my best block capitals trying to stick within the boxes so a document once it reached Petplan could be scanned in automatically but knowing any slight error means it has to be done manually meaning a margin for error.
Pet insurance is so important these days with the huge rising vet costs. What was affordable just a year ago may not be affordable now.
Thats why we have always given away 4 weeks free insurance cover via Petplan so ensuring your newly adopted cat is covered for 28 days while you decide what you want to do.
There is no obligation to continue the cover after 28 days and Petplan never hassle you with any hard sell.
Our recommendation is whatever you do, please consider taking out insurance for your cat.
Most cats will need a vet for some reason in their lifetime, our own personal cats have had many claims in and it means we do not have to worry about a vet running lots of tests. Isn't it better to get the best treatment for your cat than only being able to afford the minimum when that may not be enough.
Honestly the image in the pic has made me so happy - little things you know 😻

01/08/2024

Dennis visits Wear Referrals today because of his ongoing very sore bum problem.
He has had treatment for years but we’ve never been able to get to the bottom (no pun intended) of it.
He is a very frustrating case.
Hoping a fresh pair of eyes will help.
Maybe he will have a colonoscopy (don’t tell him that or he will be 🙀).
Yolli stayed here overnight and she comes home after this appointment.
She couldn’t have her scan yesterday as she struggled with her breathing.

31/07/2024

I know it’s only Wednesday but I’m wrecked already.
Monday started out fairly quiet and lulled me into a false sense of security. Since then time has disappeared and my day yesterday ended at 1am this morning.
The reason for the late hour was because I started off a local trapping job eventually successfully catching a mother and two kittens by 21:49 and then I went straight from that job to the other trapping job at Holmside where I had one kitten in the trap. I could see there was another nearby hiding so I reset traps and drove a short distance away to watch. An adult turned up but it was dark so could not see who it was (either mam cat or a tabby Tom who are both neutered now anyway). Once it wandered off I decided to check traps one last time and surprise surprise another kitten was in the trap.
So transferred that to a cat carrier and packed up for the night getting home around 11:30.
Got them all in kennels and settled and spotted a tag online about a dead cat. Decided what the heck so went and collected it.
Hence my 1am finish.
Early start today as Yolli had to go to Wear Referrals for 9am. She is staying there tonight but I’m there tomorrow with Dennis for his specialist referral anyway.
Think I may just try for an early night tonight.
Was supposed to type up a list of prizes for our summer draw starting tomorrow but if I’m honest I’m so tired and jaded about the amount of cats that I’m trying to help and the amount of time wasters I deal with who ask about adopting then disappear that I don’t care anymore. I just want to find homes for the now 108 cats so I can live an easy life.
Drawing of the pic I posted the other day of Ephraim lolling in the catio. Thank you to the mystery artist for this, it cheered me up.

28/07/2024

Game changer for us and proud to be one of their clients

💥We can't quite believe it...💥
💥..but it's real, it's happening💥

📍 We are taking our ethos of 'Good Quality Pet Care at Affordable Prices' to West Auckland!

🐈🐕 Our new clinic opens on the 2nd of September 2024 and will accommodate appointments for consultations and most surgical procedures on site. Our main clinic in Darlington will support the branch practice in the more complex cases requiring certain diagnostics and surgical procedures.

🐇🦔 Our friendly & experienced team will answer any questions you may have. Please bear with us while we get over any of the usual obstacles that sometimes come with opening a new business.

🩺 We are very excited and look forward to being able to offer our services to both current and new clients and their pets.

💜 We have asked the lovely Gemma Potts to open the clinic. If you have been following us on Facebook you will know about Gemma and the amazing Gemma Potts Community who have come together to support her after the life changing injury she sustained in 2021.

[email protected]

Team DVC ❤️

28/07/2024

Ephraim has enjoyed today’s BBC Radio Newcastle 80s versus 90s show.
He is a special boy as he cost us over £4000 to “fix” because he was born with a birth defect.
All good now mind and very cheeky with it.
Likes lolling to the tunes 🐈‍⬛ in the catio

24/07/2024

A round up of a few things.
VOUCHERS
We gave away some neutering vouchers way back in June, could everyone who has not yet used them get them used as the money will not be available for much longer and if you delay then the voucher may not be valid if there is no money to pay for it.
ADOPTIONS
We are lucky enough to have 2 cats reserved and going in the next couple of weeks but we also had a cat come back the other week so as always it does feel like a pointless task doing this job especially when.......see next topic.
HOMING REQUESTS
The amount of people asking us to take in their unwanted cats is unreal. And now the amount of strays and worse, female cats with kittens or that are pregnant and being forced to have their kittens outside in some pretty awful places is absolutely soul destroying. This week alone Tami captured a mum and her kittens. The cat was unwanted by its owner who could not be arsed to spay her anyway and the poor thing had its kittens in a garden where a man hates cats so much he lets his terrier kill them for fun. Did we actually have space for any of these, do we heck. But what can you do. Every rescue is full and struggling. Then to top it off I get another request asking for help tonight regarding another mother and kittens in a garden.
Folks we are literally drowning here. With over 100 cats and kittens now on board, where in gods name do you think we can put them. No amount of money will solve this unless some kind benefactor decided to leave us a property and land on which I can build a lot of cat pens. Well thats as likely to happen as me winning the lottery so instead I rack my brain trying to think how can I better maximise the space I have. Short of buying another house, I have no idea.
NEW VOUCHER SCHEME
We will try and help more folks get cats neutered by continuing with a voucher scheme although we will have to ask for some contribution towards this as costs are so high for us that if we get a contribution, at least we can help more cats. But that contribution could be as high as 50% of the cost so don't get too excited.
We are doing our best here but we need you the public to step up and help.
If you see a stray or worse a cat with kittens, do what you can to help it. Yes try and get help from a rescue but contact as many as you can to try and find it a space. They are like gold dust so you have to keep trying as many places as possible and ask to be put on a waiting list if they have one.
If you have a cat, get it neutered (and chipped - thats mandatory now).
If you cannot afford to get a cat neutered then do not keep taking on more pets, you are not helping yourself or the pets. If they take poorly and you have no money, there is no free NHS for them. Your pet, your responsibility.
Stop breeding your cats and selling kittens. Stop buying them from back yard breeders. They will have had zero health checks, probably weaned too early and taken from mum too early. You are part of the problem if you are still buying cats from people.

Picture is of Mr Moustache aka Mr Mushy aka TC formerly a feral cat born and raised in Hamsterley Forest and lived there for 4 years until he came here after Forestry England wanted the ferals gone

22/07/2024

EDIT - I should add the information about us not testing is sent out to anyone who asks about adopting anyway. This is so they do not waste time responding if they want a cat to be tested. That seems pretty clear to me. Stops people wasting their time and my time.

On every cats description from August will be the wording that we DO NOT test our cats for FeLV or FIV.
Luckily most people either do not think about it or do not ask.
Today we had someone ask if we could test a cat and I confess I got very annoyed (well I am still up and down dealing with a family bereavement but yeah I should not have been so annoyed)

Anyway let me explain why we do not test.
1) the "snap" tests done by a vet are not a 100% accurate result. You can get false positives and some rescues will actually put a cat to sleep if tested positive based entirely on these snap tests. Around 20% (1 in 5) of these tests are inaccurate.
2) cost. One of our vets quoted me around £90 for a snap test and that was before the last price rises. How can we afford that? Given our adoption fee would not cover the true costs of simply neutering, vaccinating and chipping, add £90 to that and each cat is going to cost us well over £200. Simply not sustainable at all. OH bear in mind some cats would possibly need sedating to get the blood so just add another £150+ onto the cost right there too.
3) most people worry about FIV when in fact people really need to research this more. See the picture I've added to this post.

So in conclusion, if you are that concerned, pay for the test yourself after you adopt the cat and if its positive, I'll give you the money, take the cat back and refund your adoption fee, thats how confident I am.

18/07/2024

Unexpected arrivals. Caught at a site we are trapping at but these had never been seen before.
Although a bit skittish and nervous they do meow meaning they are not feral.
I have suspicions we are seeing more and more kittens being dumped and these could be from one of those occasions.
Still trying to trap the two kittens we missed from the site.
It’s soul destroying at times.
These take us up to, I think 95 cats (off top of my head).
When will it ever end?
We still have adult cats that were kittens here in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 not including this years kittens.

16/07/2024

Thank you to everyone who donated food over the last few days, it’s been very helpful.
I dropped around £100 worth down at the farm where the ferals live today and will get the rest there soon.
I’ll not name everyone because I confess I’ll miss someone out and then feel bad but you all know who you are.
I’m sorry for lack of real updates, there have been a few things still going on as despite me having to deal with a bereavement and sorting out my relatives home (emptying it etc.), and sorting out funeral arrangements and his estate, the cat stuff continues whether I want to or not.
People still message as they won’t realise. I hope to be back to some sort of normality by the end of July so if folks could be patient that would be great.
A snippet of what’s been happening is that I had to do some urgent feral trapping, we have one kitten in but trying to catch two more, a queen and a tom feral got neutered, an adopted cat came back, some cats got reserved. Date of out next fundraiser is 31/8/24 at SimplyCats. Hoping to get a poster sorted soon

13/07/2024

FERAL FOOD POST

I’m in dire need of food for all the ferals I’m feeding (and trapping) and I got some of this in Lidl this morning as it’s on offer at £2.55 a box (bargain).
So if anyone is shopping in Lidl and would like to donate a box to us, please pop one in your trolley as you ground.
Remember any cat foods in jelly work for the feral colonies
Thank you

11/07/2024

OAKLEY
Born September 2023
In rescue since October 2023

Oakley is a lovely girl who is lovely and friendly. She might be a bit reticent when she meets you for the first time as nobody has ever enquired about her yet but she is a sweet little thing who would make a lovely pet.
She lives with cats so is used to that and is very friendly with a number of cats here, often cuddling up with them.
She may be fine in a home with other cats but could possibly live alone as long as she has a loving human for company.
Like her brother Otto, she can be a cheeky thing and loves to play.
She is a house cat and would not advise small children.
Message us to get our full Ts and Cs of adoption if you’re interested in adopting her

11/07/2024

One of the kittens I’m trying to catch here today.
3 have been spotted. 2 black and this one and mum who is tiny.
But also been told of a “stripey” one seen too. Likely a tabby btw.
These are feral cats and the kittens are small (the photo is deceiving) so will have to be tamed. The mum will be neutered and released as no room for anymore here anyway.
I have a million things I need to get done but cats play by their rules.
I bet I’m sat here ages and they don’t turn up then I go home only to get a call half hour later telling me cat in the trap.

09/07/2024

NAOMI (Campbell) (supermodel)
Born August 2022
In rescue since August 2023

Naomi is a former stray who was heavily pregnant (and not chipped) when she was taken into rescue.
She went on to have her kittens but nearly a year later she has been left on the shelf.
She is a little timid when she first meets new people but with just a little patience she soon becomes a loving friendly girl.
She is adjusting to living here with far too many cat companions but I think she would do very well as an only cat.
She won’t appreciate small children or really noisy homes but will settle just fine in a nice calmer home.
She is only young and in good health and of course has been neutered, chipped and vaccinated.
She is a house cat.
Our usual Ts and Cs apply for her adoption. If you wish to meet her, send a message to get the forms.

08/07/2024

My automated reply on messenger currently has this message:

"The rescue is currently closed until end of July due to having to deal with a bereavement and all its associated “sorting out” to do.
We will remain open for adoption enquiries but for all other enquiries please look for your next nearest rescue at www.catchat.org

ADOPTIONS ONLY
If you are wishing to adopt a cat, please look at the pinned post on the rescue page and read and follow the links. After looking at descriptions, please get in touch and I will respond ASAP"

I'm posting here for the benefit of everyone who has told folk to contact me. They should be referring people to catchat.org and not individual rescues. We have 91 cats on our books currently and because we are selective in who adopts, we are finding adoptions are slow (rather slow than hand them out like sweeties I say) so until we have only around 50 cats, we can take no more in.

07/07/2024

PEPPER
Born in March 2022

This lovely friendly girl once had a home but was returned as she felt she needed more attention than they could provide.
But do not let that put you off, after a shakey start back here where she refused to eat for a few days (due to the upheaval of moving home), she has settled in well.
She does prefer her own company but could live with another cat as long as it was nice natured and did not pester her.
She really does not require a lot of attention from us although does love some one on one cuddles.
But you can work long hours etc. she will be fine being left.
She does have the most annoying loudest meow when she wants something mind so you need to learn to love that side off her 😂
She is of course getting overlooked as now she is coming up to 2.5, who wants an adult cat.
She has always been an indoor cat (likes our catio) and so she should remain an indoor cat.
Not tested with dogs so any dogs must be cat friendly already.
No small children but older ones will love her I think.
She is of course spayed, chipped and vaccinated and has a clean bill of health.
All our usual Ts and Cs apply and you have to ask us for an information sheet first to check your eligibility.