Wednesday 21 February 2018

Kitten Watch!
Daisy is a beautiful heavily pregnant 3-year-old cat, in this blog we are going to follow Daisy and her kittens journey from birth to finding their forever homes.

Daisy contented and relaxed whilst waiting to give birth
Daisy was admitted into our care because her owners moved away and left her behind.  A kind family fed her for a month before contacting Cats Protection for help as they weren’t in a position to offer her a permanent home.   Daisy is a very friendly and affectionate cat with the loudest purr ever, she is very contented and relaxed as she waits for the birth of her kittens. 



Daisy had her first vet check on the 20th February and was blood tested for the FIV (cat aids virus) and FeLV (cat leukaemia virus) and is thankfully negative for both.  Both these diseases are sexually transmitted and female cats can get infected during mating. We are always relieved to get this test out of the way!  Our vet gave Daisy a clean bill of health and has estimated she has around a week to go before giving birth, she is huge though so we are all taking guesses as to how many kittens she will have, 5 seems to be the favourite number!  We are planning to name the kittens with spring names so get your thinking hats on as we will be asking you for name suggestions! 
Pregnancy lasts for 63 – 65 days in cats (around 9 weeks), we have made sure she has a nice quiet and warm pen to give birth in and giving her plenty of warm and cosy bedding to keep her comfortable.  She is currently being fed kitten food as it’s high in nutrients, she is also eating 25% more food than usual.  She has access to plenty of clean drinking water and lots of toys to keep her entertained whilst she is waiting for the birth of her kittens.  We check Daisy regularly through the day and monitor her closely for signs that she is distressed or going into labour and needless to say, she is getting lots of TLC from the team.
Daisy is one of the lucky cats who has found her way into our care, sadly every year many cats give birth out doors with no proper shelter and care.  Although we all love seeing mums with kittens at the centre, we would always advocate getting cats neutered as this is the only effective way to reduce unwanted cats in the UK.  A fact which surprises everyone is that one female cat can be responsible for a staggering 20,000 descendants in just five years!  
For help with neutering your cat, please click here

Daisy is one of hundreds of unwanted cats and kittens arriving at Bridgend Adoption Centre every year.  Becoming a Cat Protection Sponsor is one of the best ways you can help to provide them with shelter, warmth, food, medical care and the love they need.  You can become a sponsor right now from as little as 19p a day!  To get started just visit https://www.cats.org.uk/bac 

Alternatively you can make a one off donation to our kitten appeal at http://bit.ly/2GDxM7P or by texting BRKW48 followed by £1, £2, £3, £4, £5 or £10 to 70070. 

Watch this space for our next kitten watch blog!

Thursday 8 February 2018

New Cardiff Homing and Information Centre Opening



Cats Protection will be celebrating the launch of its new Homing and Information Centre in Cardiff, when Suzy Davies AM officially opens the centre at 12.30pm on Friday 16 February.                  

The new centre, located in the Pets at Home store in Newport Road, will have three custom-built cat pens, housing up to six cats. It will be run by Cats Protection staff and will focus on finding homes for cats that are ready to go to a new home.

Cats Protection’s Regional Centre Operations Manager Sadie Dalton said: “This is the second Cats Protection Homing and Information Centre based in a Pets at Home store – the first opened in Newbury, Berkshire in 2014 - and is one of the ways that we home cats in areas of high footfall. We are looking forward to helping many local people find their perfect feline in the future.”




Suzy Davies AM, commented: “I was so pleased to hear that Cats Protection was opening a new Homing and Information Centre in Cardiff. I found my own gorgeous cat at the Bridgend Adoption Centre where the staff are so caring and committed. Animal welfare is a central concern for Cats Protection and their advice and experience are invaluable to anyone ready to offer a home to a cat, ensuring a good match between every cat and their new human.”

The new centre will be managed by the Cats Protection Adoption Centre in Bridgend and staff will be on hand from 10am – 4pm, apart from Wednesday 10am – 6pm, and Sunday 10.30am – 4pm, to talk about the adoption process and to give out free cat care guides.




Sue Dobbs, Bridgend Adoption Centre Manager, added: “We are very excited about the opening of the new centre and our team at Bridgend is really looking forward to rehoming even more cats in the Cardiff area. There are many benefits to adopting from us, including the peace of mind of knowing your new cat has been examined by a veterinary surgeon. In addition, they have been microchipped, vaccinated, neutered if old enough and will have four weeks’ free insurance.”

Anyone interested in adopting a cat from the Cardiff Homing and Information Centre should call 02920 491001, or email cardiff.hic@cats.org.uk