January 2015
The Harbour News
Mr Norris Case Update Latest Adoptions New Cattery Project Inside pictures and progress
Like to help us? Try Volunteering read more inside
January 2015
Welcome, to another year in cat rescue folks. We hope you’ve had a wonderful Christmas and New Year and that Santa was good to you. The harbour babies were very lucky this Christmas and several angels sent them supplies and toys from their Amazon Wish List for their stockings. All the Harbour Babies had their share of Christmas dinner and delved into big helpings of Chicken, Tuna and Salmon Applaws which they thoroughly enjoyed. It’s been a quiet me in the lead up to the fes vi es and some of you will already be aware of this. Sarah took seriously unwell in Novem‐ ber and is now thankfully on the mend following surgery but it may be February before we’re back up running at full speed. That said adop ons are steadily speeding up again and there is no let up in the demand for more spaces. Hopefully once our new ca ery building is up and running this will help ease things but there again we may just find ourselves in the same posi on but with many more charges at a me. Regardless we will be able to help many more cats and ki ens into homes in the years ahead. First however, we need to finish building it, or rather, Paul does. There’s more news on this later in the newsle er. We hope you enjoy our news and don’t forget to send in your ques ons or ideas for future ar cles. Sarah & Paul Just 1 of the many families saved in 2014
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Recent Adop ons In 2014 we saved 150 souls from neglect and life on the streets. Some of these were also owner relinquishments but the vast majority of those in 2014 were stray and abandoned cats whose owners had le without them. Something that seems to be on the increase as those in rented accommoda on can’t find a lease allowing pets. Obviously a fair number of these stay cats are also cats that have got lost for one reason or another and found themselves all alone. Without shelter and food and in order to survive they make a nuisance of themselves in an area where they know there are cats and that is when we are contacted about them. We’ve also seen a lot of orphan ki ens come in this year which has meant a lot of sleepless nights for Sarah and Paul as they hand rear the ki ens to protect them from cross contamina on from other li ers and mothers. These ki ens are very special to us all at Sunny Harbour as they turn out to be some of the sweetest most loving and tac le cats you could wish to meet. Here are just a few of the cats that we have helped in the last 12 months.
Bambi and her siblings Dash and Banksy were hand reared at SH Annie arrived with her 2 feral ki ens. She’s now very much loved in a new home.
Gladys. Found stray at approx. 18‐19 years old we never found her owners. She’ll spend her me in foster with us.
January 2015 Misty arrived heavily pregnant and heavily infested with fleas and worms. She was difficult to handle at first and very protec ve of her young but she came round well once her li le ones were older and showed herself to be a happy, loving yet independent girl. She’s now living happily in her forever home. Right is just 1 of Misty’s ki ens who are all now happy in their new homes. Gumball (above) came to Sunny Harbour when her owners could no longer afford her medical care. She was born with a facial deformity which meant she had an overshot jaw causing her lower canine teeth to penetrate through the so palate in her mouth causing physical damage and horrendous pain for her. Having been born this way she had never known life without pain. We had to help her. On arrival we were adamant that the op on of euthanasia was not the right one for 6 month old beauty. Our vets referred her to a dental specialist Dental Vets who took wonderful care of her and didn’t hesitate in fixing the teeth causing the prob‐ lems. She had some teeth removed and root canal work done as well as cu ng down the teeth causing the problems. It was an expensive procedure but with the help of our fabulous supporters we were able to give Gumball a life she may never have had without your care and support. She is now living a very happy and pampered life in her forever home. 4
Mr Norris Update Many of you will be aware of who Mr Norris is. He was a ki en born at Sunny Har‐ bour with a very severe facial deformity and he has become loved by thousands of people of his year with us. Born with deformi es affec ng his ability to feed Mr Norris was hand fed using an adapted feeding method to enable him to suckle. He has thrived in our care and affec‐ onately become known as the Fly‐ ing Ninja as you never quite know when he’s going to leap at you as you walk past. In 2014 he turned 1 year old and old enough to have his deformity looked at by a specialist as he has near enough finished growing. He was admi ed for surgery and the procedure involved removing several problem teeth and amputa on of his canine teeth. This procedure also involved the re structuring of the front of his nasal area and a new piece of ssue placed at the right nostril to try and block this off to stop the constant debris from food from go‐ ing up his nose and causing infec on.
January 2015 Sadly due to it being such a small area the new piece of ssue didn’t take and that part of the first surgery was a failure. That said he is managing very well with the restructuring of his teeth and it has already lessened his problems with infec on in his nasal cavi es. We are now currently wai ng for news on when a 2nd surgery may be completed to finish the reconstruc on of his face. We learnt of a similar surgery performed in America and his surgeon is working with this specialist and others throughout the world to finalise a workable plan for Mr Norris to further improve his quality of life. At the moment we are awai ng word as to when this may take place. The picture below shows Mr Norris as just a few days old and how big the deformity is.
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New Ca ery Project Some folks who have been following our Facebook page will be aware that we are embarking on a very ambi ous project to create a new ca ery building for the cats to be housed in from this year. So far we are about half way but s ll have an awful lot of work to do. The new building will consist of 3 areas. A quaran ne facility, Nursery and main Adop on Housing area. The new ca ery will also increase our capacity from the exis ng 12 pens we have at the current me and incorporate an outdoor run area for the cats in the main adop on area to exercise in as well as plenty of indoor space. Paul is working on this project single handed so if we have any electricians or lers out there willing to lend us a few hours we’d be very very grateful. We would like to thank those volunteers who dug deep for energy reserves and helped in the back breaking work to create the founda ons for the building. Sever‐ al weekends of digging and barrowing however and the guys did an awesome job of ge ng everything ready. The outside walls of the new ca ery going up and Candy the dog trying it out for size
January 2015 The interior walls coming together to create the 3 accommoda on areas.
We s ll very much need to keep fundraising to enable us to purchase materials to finish the project and we s ll have a long way to go but if anyone can spare some labour hours to help especially electricians or llers at the moment we would be very grateful indeed as it would help take some of the strain off Paul for him to con‐ centrate on other areas of the build. We would like to say a MASSIVE thank you however to Purrs in Our Hearts online forum whose recent auc on online raised an amazing £2200 towards the build costs of the new ca ery. We are hopeful that this will enable us to purchase the last of the materials needed and has included the CCTV system needed to monitor the cats 24 hours a day throughout the ca ery. To find out more about the Purrs In Our Hearts forum pop over to www.purrsinourhearts.co.uk and remember to say we sent you
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We Need You! Sunny Harbour Cat Rescue are in desperate need of more volunteers. We are looking for hard working, dedicated cat lovers who don’t mind ge ng grubby and love a bit of hard work. Volunteering at Sunny Harbour isn’t just about pe ng cats, well…. It forms a good part of it. But it’s really about being part of a dedicated team of people who have the drive to help cats in desperate need to regain their health and condi on before finding them new homes. You are responsible for daily chores such as cleaning li er boxes, pens and making sure they have plenty of toys and clean bedding but you are also responsible for their well being and that includes daily health checks as well as looking a er the psychological well being of the ki es in our care. Hygiene and procedures form the structure of our work to ensure we don’t cross contaminate anyone at Sunny Harbour to protect them all from harm or disease so it’s impera ve that you can follow direc on given. Most of all our work is excep onally rewarding as well as challenging at mes but you will receive love ten fold back from what you give to our charges. Fancy giving it a go? Then call or email today to arrange a training day.
January 2015
A Volunteers Story I have been going to SH for four and a half years now ,so I guess the ques on is ,why do I volunteer. The answer is simple, it is rewarding and I love doing it ,I have learned so much and I s ll am learning .There are also, a variety of roles in‐ volved in volunteering at the rescue. I go to Sunny Harbour ,once a week to help with the daily rou ne . It is hard work ,as there is lots of cleaning to do but ,maybe I'm strange ,but I find scooping li er trays quite therapeu c . The reward I get for the work, is masses of cuddles, kisses and head bumps ,from lots of the cats. I will admit though, it can be quite challenging, cleaning a li er tray ,with a cat balanced on your shoulder ie Mr Norris. Not all the cats that arrive at Sunny Harbour ,are immediately cuddly. Many come in and due to their previous circumstances are frightened and wary of humans. It is wonderful watching the transforma on take place ,where their trust is gradually gained and finally their real personali es shine through. Although I regularly fall in love with individual cats, I am always thrilled when they get their forever homes. A wee hint here ,all the volunteers ,love the updates the pawrents post on the Face‐ book page and we really enjoy the photos! When I started at Sunny Harbour, I ’d had my own cat for about four years but I was an inexperienced and slightly naïve cat owner . I have learned a huge amount over the last four years, that has helped me whilst volunteering and being a pawrent myself. Firstly I have learned each cat is different, they have different personali es, with different likes and dislikes . I know I have to follow Sarah or Paul's lead and tailor my behaviour to suit their characters. I have learned the important of hygiene and cleanliness, par cularly when illness is present and there are cats with compro‐ mised immune systems. Finally the biggest lesson I have learned so far is ki ens may look cute and fluffy, but looks can be deceiving. They can be, dirty ,messy and can trash a pen in a split second. Addi onally they have sharp teeth and claws and can move at lightening speed. There has been many occasions when I have opened a pen door and had a wall of ki ens jump at me . The great thing is I'm s ll learning. As I have already said I go to help with the daily cleaning at least once a week. There are usually at least two of us who spend about 3‐4 hours cleaning out the cats and the rescue . Although the cleaning is vital ,there is so much more involved in volunteering. All the volunteers take part in fund raising events ,to help get the funds necessary to con nue running Sunny Harbour. I have helped ,rain and 10
shine, at children's galas selling literally hundreds of blow up hammers. I have help set up and run our stall at several cra fairs, spending loads of money on lovely cra s at the same me. I have even spent a night in the Edinburgh Vaults and sur‐ vived . As a result of helping with the fundraising I am now 3 mes more computer literate than I used to be, which my family find amazing. So now you know why I volunteer. I guess to sum it up, it is a huge part of my life now and I simply could not imagine my life not volunteering . Picture above shows just a few of our volunteers working hard at a fundraising event to raise cri cal funds for our work in cat rescue and having great fun doing so too! We’re all part of a friendly and hard working team so if you think you could join us and help cats in need and have a good sense of humour…. Get in touch today by calling 0300 330 1412.
January 2015
Living With a Cat with Kidney Disease Sootie’s Story Soo e was brought into Sunny Harbour in February 2014 in very poor health. She'd had a tough life and an especially hard couple of years following the emigra‐ on of her owners. With li le in the way of food, shelter or company it's a miracle Soo e survived ‐ and in fact she wouldn't have lasted much longer ‐ but as we've seen over the months, Soo e's a fighter and a very determined li le lady. Amongst her various ail‐ ments Soo e was diag‐ nosed with early renal failure. It was suggested that she follow a veteri‐ nary renal diet (low pro‐ tein and phosphorus) and take medica on; a new liquid op on had just be‐ come available (Semintra). This can be squirted onto her favour‐ ite food and means that medica on me is one of enjoyment for Soo e ra‐ ther than stress. We ini ally tried Soo e on the renal diet – both wet and dry. But she didn't enjoy it, ate very li le and, for a cat that was underweight and malnour‐ ished this wasn't good. Moreover, with insufficient bulk her bowel movements were poor. Whilst a low protein diet is recommended for renal cats, Soo e needed to gain weight and make up for her lack of muscle thought to have been caused by life‐ long malnourishment. Not least, our main concern was to provide Soo e with a happy and pampered re rement; to make sure she has a good end to what has been a rather miserable life. Providing a nutri ous and tasty diet that she enjoys is a very large part of this – along with several beds, sunny spots and ear rubs on tap!
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It's important that any protein renal cats eat is of a high quality and that they have plenty of hydra on – from their food and from a fresh water supply. Foods such as Applaws, Thrive, and Almo provide human grade meat and fish as well as plenty of broth which Soo e par cularly enjoys; she also loves the juices from cooked chick‐ en. I have found a dry renal food that she likes (Ka ovit). She has this when she wants in addi on to her high quality wet food of choice; I'm soon told what's de‐ sired! When Soo e arrived at our home in April 2014 we didn't know if she'd be with us for a month, several months or perhaps a year; and I expected she may not be able to nego ate the stairs. It's now almost a year since Soo e joined us and she is thriving. She sprints up the stairs – but takes it slowly coming down; she has beds and cosy spots around the house and steps to help her up on to the sofa. She's got a great appe te and it's wonderful to see her relishing her food and looking solid and glossy. Moreover she has the best bowel movements of any of my five felines. Soo e won't live for ever and we take each day at a me, but she's certainly living life to the full and will, I know, squeeze the very most out of it.
Useful Information Resources for living with cats with Kidney Disease Tanya’s Chronic Renal Failure Site—h p://felinecrf.org/ Feline Advisory Bereau / Interna onal Cat Care h p://www.icatcare.org/advice‐centre/cat‐health/chronic‐kidney‐disease‐cats‐% E2%80%93‐causes‐and‐diagnosis h p://www.icatcare.org/advice/cat‐health/chronic‐kidney‐disease‐cats‐%E2%80% 93‐management
January 2015
Pets at Home Partnership In 2014 we partnered with Pets at Home. As part of this partnership we worked with local stores to educate people about our work and also provided an opportuni‐ ty for the public to meet some of our residents during meet and greet sessions. Mr Norris was by far a firm favourite and Alfie loved mee ng new people though we did have to watch him for hun ng out the dogs. Pictured below is Alfie and Mr Norris with Paul, Jinty and Lorna from Sunny Harbour with a Pets at Home Col‐ league receiving a cheque from Support Adop on for Pets from fundraising drive they held. Mr Norris showed himself to be not afraid of anything during the visits and he and Cino very regularly checked out the other animals in store or chilled out by the en‐ trance wai ng on people to chat to them. Not even large passing dogs bother Mr Norris and it was funny to see shoppers faces as they did a double take on seeing a cat in store. We had to put our store visits on hold for a while a er Sarah became unwell in Oc‐ tober but we hope to be back out working with the stores again in the next couple of months. We publish a list of dates we will be in store on our Facebook page which can be found at: h ps://www.facebook.com/sunnyharbourcatrescue 14
I found a cat– what do I do? If you find a cat you think may be lost here are a few things to do before contac ng local rescues. If a cat is grubby looking, thin or injured always call a rescue or SSPCA right away. The first thing to do is put its details on as many lost and found sites as you can and contact all local rescues to let them know you have found a cat.
Put no ces in your local shop, no ce boards and go door to door asking resi‐ dents in the area.
Lost cats are generally within ½ mile of their own home so do make sure as a minimum you have gone door to door at least 3 streets in any direc on from your home.
Also, place a paper collar around the neck of the cat you have found if it will allow you to approach. A paper collar is a strip approx 2cm wide from a sheet of A4 paper which you secure firmly but loosely around the cats neck with cellotape. You should be able to get 2 fingers between the cats neck and the paper collar. Write on the piece of paper – “ I believe this to be a lost cat if your cat please call me on ###### “
If the cat already wears a collar an op on is to create a paper tag in the same way and a ach it to the exis ng collar with the same informa on. You should leave the paper collar on for at least 7‐ 10 days.
Con nue to monitor and check lost and found websites and no fy rescue’s if you find the owner.
If the cat you have found is injured and in need of veterinary care due to an open wound or very poor condi on then contact the SSPCA or your local rescue as soon as possible.
If you are able to catch said cat and have a secure cat carrier you can also take the cat to a local vet to be scanned for a microchip which will hopefully allow the cat to be returned home much quicker.
DO NOT – just pick up said cat, keep it indoors or take and leave with a rescue im‐ mediately without having a empted the steps above first as this is classed as the of an animal. For more informa on on iden fying genuine cats in need please visit our blog at: h ps://rescuetales.wordpress.com/2012/05/11/stray‐cat‐vs‐cheekie‐pet‐how‐to‐ spot‐a‐cat‐in‐genuine‐need‐of‐rescue‐help/ Local vets should always scan a cat for a chip free of charge.
January 2015
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