Rehoming stories

Miya, so much part of our family 
Over the 30 years we have been rescuing cats and kittens we have had many lovely letter, notes, e mails etc telling us how a cat we homed some years ago quickly became part of the family and had the most wonderful life in their forever home.
None more than this lovely one about the very special Miya from the MacInnes Family 
 
                 
 
 
Dear Chippenham Cat Rescue,
We wanted to thankyou for all you do to look after and find new homes for all these lovely cats.
We got our cat Miya as a kitten from cat rescue just over 14years ago. Her mother was feral but brought into the cat rescue pregnant. Miya was the last kitten to find a home and we are so glad she found us and we found her. We could not have wished for a more loving and loveable cat. She was sociable (only with her family), always there for mealtimes with us and greeted us when we got home or came to find a lap when we sat down.
      
Sadly she passed away a few months ago but after such a happy life. She was such a central and loved member of our family, seeing our three children grow up from 6 (youngest) up to nearly 20 years. We are so grateful and glad that she was a part of our family. Thankyou again for your part in her and our story.

The MacInnes Family
 
 
Very Special Suzie

‘Hello, My name is Suzie and I had been roaming the streets having been dumped by my owners as I was unable to produce any more kittens for them due to the cancerous tumour growing on my Mammary Gland. They could have treated it really early but chose not to so it grew to the size of a crème egg and you can see it in my photo below.

I was so happy to be taken into care by Cat Rescue and they  paid for my big operation to remove it and cared for me afterwards. Even better they have found me the perfect Mummy who I have never had before. I wake up every day thinking I have gone to cat heaven and then realise ‘ no not today, I have a lovely new life and am going to enjoy every moment’  Here I am on ‘our’ bed.’

Magical Merlin

We adopted Merlin on 1st December but it feels like he’s been with us for years – we can’t believe how quickly he has settled into our home. Merlin is our very first pet and we could not have asked for a more perfect furry friend for us. Despite a traumatic year before coming to us, he is the most loving, cuddly, people-loving cat. Many cats prefer to be left alone, but not our Merlin! We’ve learned he has four distinct moods: hungry, cuddly, silly, and sleepy. His favourite things are food, climbing on his hoomans for a purr-ific snuggle session, zoomies up the stairs, and naps, in that order!! He makes us laugh everyday and brings us warmth and comfort on these cold winter nights. Despite not having had an undisturbed meal since we brought him home, we can’t imagine our lives without him now, and we are loving watching his silly and sometimes daft personality come out.  He is as much of a gift to us as we are to him and for that we are grateful!!

 
 
Kevin’s Story
 
As you may suspect a number of the cats and kittens that come into our care are in need of both medical attention and a lot of TLC before they can be rehomed. One such poor boy was Kevin.  The farm that he came from was being sold as the owner had died and so clearly could not stay there. The picture below shows the state of him when he arrived.
 
A kind lady trapped  and brought him to Jo one of our small team of very special cat and kitten Fosterers. He was in a bad way. He had two abscesses on him, his hair was thin and in some parts he was completely bald. In addition he had a number of open wounds.
So clearly a trip to the vets was needed, although this was easier said than done!
Catching him was a nightmare as he was so frightened of people and was totally feral at this point. However off to the vets he went and was sedated so his wounds could be treated.
After a few weeks he was slowly getting better but still Jo couldn’t near him.
Eventually she had him neutered, blood tested and microchipped and after weeks of TLC  his hair had completely regrown.  It was time to get him an appropriate forever home.
 
We heard of some lovely people who were happy to have a feral in their yard. They had land and stables, so a perfect life for a feral cat. They kept him in the stable for three weeks and then let him out. He loves his new home and as you can see from the photo below is especially smitten with Liz who looks after him.
 
 
 
Saffy and Sammy
 
 
Saffy (Safiya) and Sammy (Samira) came into our care during the summer of 2018 as very pretty young kittens who were very much in need of some TLC as they were not in the best of condition.  However, a few days with Jean and they were already looking much better and ready for re-homing. Along came Roger and Jane who decided that they would give these two sisters their forever home and they take up the story here.
 
Saffy has always been the more outgoing and affectionate of the two, and that is still the case.  She’s inquisitive, adventurous and bold but she can be pretty stupid sometimes.  She is the smaller of the two and the size difference is now quite marked as she weighs 3.5 kg compared to Sammy who now weighs 4.3 kg.  Saffy doesn’t miaow or purr, but makes a very endearing sort of squeaky yipping noise instead when she wants attention.  Sammy has always been much more timid, reserved and somewhat frightened of people.  If she hears someone coming up the drive she will run upstairs and hide under a bed and she doesn’t like newcomers.  We have had to be rather more patient with her but the last couple of months have seen her really grow in confidence.  Sammy does purr occasionally but most of the time she just likes to say “wah” at us.  We had them spayed in November and we kept them indoors until about the middle of February when they were allowed outside – under supervision for the first couple of weeks.  Now they absolutely love going outdoors although we are careful to keep them indoors in the evening and overnight – not just for their own sakes but also to limit their opportunity to hunt birds when they are at their most vulnerable.  They do love climbing trees – Saffy in particular, even though her enthusiasm exceeds her ability.  They are both really well settled with us now and we absolutely love the pair of them – they are a constant source of entertainment, amusement and affection. Thank you so much for rescuing these two little girls.
 
Roger and Jane
 
 

Oscar

Oscar came in to Cat Rescue  when his owners could no longer keep him.  We thought he was going to be with us a very long time as not many people want a middle aged, black cat and to make matters worse he tested positive for FIV/FeLV. However a miracle occurred and someone phoned wanting an indoor cat as they lived on a main road, their previous cat was FIV positive too. It sounded too good to be true but in this case it wasn’t. We have since received reports that Oscar has been the centre of attention at their young daughters birthday party and loved all the fuss. Two years later he has everyone trained to his high standards.  His owners say, “ Reuben our younger Dalmatian stood for ages over the bed while Oscar was asleep in it, contemplating whether he was brave enough to squish in with Oscar! Oscar still is very much the king of his castle here with us, loved so much, the best cat ever.”  

Polly

 In June 2017 we received a phone call about a cat that had given birth under someone’s decking. We confirmed that we could take them in and so all our experienced foster mother Jeanne needed to do now was catch them, which was easier said than done.  She caught one unsuspecting kitten but the other two were not going to be as easy and they dived back underneath the decking as soon as anyone arrived.  It ended up that the house owners had to dismantle their decking in order to catch them!  Finally she had mum and her 3 kittens safe in the cattery. Then the hard work began because the kittens had not been socialised or handled and Mum was feral. Eventually the kittens showed some progress and were rehomed to very patient owners who were prepared to continue the work we had begun to tame them.Mum was a different matter though and she ended up staying with us for 11 months as it is so difficult trying to find a good home for this type of cat. We had one offer but this fell through when Polly developed a bad eye needing veterinary treatment.  During the time she was with us she did start to calm down and showed signs of enjoying a limited amount of contact with us. Out of the blue Jeanne received a phone call from a lady to whom she had rehomed a cat before. She was looking for a friend for her existing cat and had seen Polly on our website.  This looked like it could be a very good match as the cat she had from Cat Rescue before had been almost feral and she had worked wonders with him.

So with patience and lots of TLC from her new Mum, Polly has had her happy ending. She is happily settled in with her new brother which shows that even the more challenging cats are very capable of adapting to a new home when given the chance to do so.

Polly and her new Mum – Feral? I don’t think so!!

 

Jorja
We adopted (Tiffany) now Jorja in November 2016, just thought we’d give you an update . Well after a timid three weeks Jorja became a valued and much loved member of our family. She’s a delightful happy and independent cat, hates baby cry’s and sudden noises, loves her brother Jasper, Dreemies and hunting. She’s excellent at hunting, moles, crows, mice, shrews, bats and once even  debated bringing us a pheasant for a present but  decided against it – luckily for us!
 
We love her to bits especially at bed time where she snuggles up, purrs and dribbles until the morning.
 
Thank you for letting us have our little girl no idea what we would do without her now!
 
Here she is in the bath with her brother Jasper – no water involved!!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Frankie and Dotty

  

 When a family has to give up their well-loved cats as was the case with Frankie and Dotty as one of their family members had an allergy to cat fur you always hope that they find the right forever home. In the case of these two stunning felines this certainly has turned out to be the case.

Karen and Nick came to Cat Rescue looking for some furry friends and were very taken with ginger and white Frankie and the tortoiseshell Dotty. However they were just about to go on holiday and so held back making a final decision until they returned. Luckily for all they were still up for rehoming and the decision was quickly made.  Karen now takes up the story…….

“They have been so wonderful and fitted in with us quickly. On their first night we shut them in the kitchen together however Frankie opened the door and settled down on our bed. In a few days Dotty decided to follow suit and so now they love to sit in with us watching TV and then race down to get the best spot when we are going to bed. Dotty always sleeps between Nick’s feet and Frankie by my side.

 Frankie loves constant cuddles and likes to patrol around the house and protect Dotty when she’s outside. We always have a great welcome when we get back from work. Frankie sits on the tumble dryer by the back door waiting for us to come in and gets really excited.”

They have been fantastic little characters and we love them a lot!

Thank you for allowing us to adopt them!

Karen and Nick