Spotlight: Your Funds In Action

From One Kitten to a Whole Colony

When we rescued Clive at just 3 weeks old from a garden in Thornton Heath, he was in serious trouble. A severe virus had caused his eyelids to fuse shut, and without treatment he wouldn’t have survived. We needed to urgently separate him from his mum to get him essential vet care, and round-the-clock feeding in a clean and safe environment.

Today, Clive is doing so much better. He’s growing, gaining confidence, and living life with partial blindness. He’s proof of what rescue can do, and soon he’ll be ready to go to his new home!

But Clive wasn’t the only one living in that garden

Since his rescue, we’ve discovered at least eight adult cats and a couple of kittens still living there. Like Clive, they’ve had no vet care, have not been neutered and had very little human contact. Left as they are, the colony would keep growing. That means more kittens will be born into unsafe conditions.

Our Trap-Neuter-Release programme

That’s why we’ve started an essential Trap-Neuter-Release (TNR) programme for the rest of the group. TNR is a humane way to prevent future litters and improve the health and stability of feral and semi-feral colonies.

So far, we’ve successfully trapped and neutered two males and one female. One of the males needed extra sedation for his procedure as he was extremely nervous.

Each cat we help through TNR costs around £80

With at least five cats still to go, we’re looking at a total cost of around £640.

We’re also hoping to raise £180 for a larger, family-sized trap. Right now we’re working with a single cat trap, and while it’s better than nothing, it’s not ideal. The larger males are struggling to fit comfortably, and each time they outsmart the trap, the others become more wary. A larger trap will reduce stress and give us a much better chance of catching multiple cats before they become too cautious.