feral ginger and white cat missing - Duckett/Mattison road

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Permalink Reply by C-hemp on July 28, 2015 at 11:27

he turned up this morning on duckett road... I think you know the house

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Permalink Reply by tulips on July 28, 2015 at 11:58

Good to hear he's turned up.

Anton, It's great that you're planning to give him a home. (We took in a semi feral cat - it took a while to get near him and build up trust, but we fed him outside at first and built up a regular routine. Then we got him a cosy outside cat shelter with a Snugglesafe microwave heat pad every night which kept him warm. He was battered from lots of fighting, but is in great condition now he's been treated, neutered, microchipped. He has lived inside with us at home for years, with our other rescue cats. He sleeps safe inside at night, but loves going out the cat flap into the back garden during the day).

It's good to know people in the neighbourhood are helping these cats out as they just need a good home, it's not a nice life for a cat to be homeless, foraging for food or needing vet treatment. Semi-feral cats are usually cats who have originally lived as domestic cats, or have only had limited human contact, then got lost or abandoned. Several years of tough street living and fighting, and trying to find food, means they have to toughen up and get very wary. With time, these cats can regain their trust in humans and enjoy a home.

If you give him a home, remember to get the chip put into your name and contact details.

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Permalink Reply by anton on July 29, 2015 at 22:03

Thanks for your email. Ginger has indeed turned up again and was able to keep him in a few hours and put my cat's collar and tag on him, with my phone number etc. Today I got contacted by a lady in mattison road, who knows the cat and told me a bit about him. Ginger is a feral who used to be fed by an old man who lived in Duckett road. He used to feed a few strays and unfortunately he passed away. He apparently spent days crying outside his old owner's house and has been roaming around for a few months getting fed by a few people. Hopefully I can now give him a permanent home.

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Permalink Reply by tulips on July 30, 2015 at 8:31

Well done, that's great to hear that Ginger is going to have a home with you. I'm sure he'll flourish in a cosy home life.
How sad about the old man in Duckett Rd, it was good of him to try to help the strays. I hope any neighbours who know of the other strays he fed can give those cats a home and get them neutered ( www.scratchingpost.co.uk is a great rescue charity which can help if needed).

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Permalink Reply by anton on July 30, 2015 at 20:52

I think all the strays are hanging around in my back garden. Me and another couple of neighbours are feeding them and trying to find them new homes.

I took one little black fellow to be neutered and vaccinated today and when he is back into shape I will try to find him a home. I have heard the RSPCA often puts them down if they are difficult to rehome, so I'd rather not risk it. I'll take a look at the link you gave me!

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Permalink Reply by tulips on July 31, 2015 at 15:36

You're a star and your neighbours! It's great to hear of people helping these stray cats get good homes and getting them neutered. (As you know, if only everyone got their pets neutered and microchipped, there wouldn't be so many homeless animals. There's such a pressure on animal rescue homes and this could so easily be prevented).

You're right not to take them to the RSPCA as many healthy cats and dogs are put down by the RSPCA as homes can't be found for them all. (That's why we need people out there to give homes to rescue cats and dogs and other animals and not buy them).

We've helped a lot of cats over the years and got their injuries treated at the vets, microchipped and neutered and found good homes  - we have 5 rescue cats ourselves, but don't have room for more. The last one we took in was over a year ago, a cat abandoned by a neighbour who moved away. He was injured, but all fixed up and happy here now. We felt we had to give him a home as he is black and white (black cats and black and white cats always wait the longest to be rehomed in a rescue place as sadly people tend to choose other colours first, ridiculous I know.)
So if you can give those stray cats a home or find them good homes with neighbours, that's great. Unfortunately, all the rescue places are already overloaded with animals needing homes, but if you get really stuck they will help if they can. I am a member of and support ones like

www.scratchingpost.co.uk
www.caring-for-animals.org
www.themayhew.org
www.foalfarm.org.uk

The last one on the above list is Foal Farm. It's outside London, in Biggin Hill, but that's a place to turn to if necessary and all else fails. It's a 26 acre farm and they're very good there and will always help if they can. For example, I used a cat trap to catch an injured cat which was scared and living on the street. We got him neutered, chipped and injuries treated, but he had FIV and I wasn't able to home him myself or find a space for him at local rescue places. Foal Farm agreed to take him and they also took in another FIV cat from Battersea Dogs Home at the same time - the two cats became best mates and inseparable and they managed to find them a lovely home together in Kent!
It's good to have people like you in the neighbourhood.

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