I find it hard to believe that I have been the manager of Wales Cat Centre, formerly Bridgend Adoption Centre, for 28 years! This is almost half of my life, but the years have flown by.
 |
| Susan and Zeus |
I can still remember vividly seeing the advert for my role.
I was previously working in the hospitality business and wanted to return to my
first passion of working with animals. I threw the local newspaper, The
Recorder, away and had a feeling there was a job in it for me. I retrieved
the paper, and I had goose pimples as I saw my role advertised. I applied, and
the rest is history.
I still remember my interview very vividly and having a tour around the centre, my eyes filled with tears as I saw all the cats waiting for their homes. I promised myself there and then that if I got the job, I would dedicate myself to helping as many cats as I could in the time I had in the job.
I was walking to the local shop when I had the phone call
to say that I was successful in my application. My joy quickly turned to
sadness when the HR person told me that there had been a fire in the centre the
night before and asked me to go to the centre to see what I could do to help.
It’s fair to say I haven’t looked back since. Sadly, one cat passed away in the
fire and another two suffered from smoke inhalation. The cause of the fire was
never established, but as a result a large section of the centre was
decommissioned.
I often stop to reflect on my journey, not only over the
last 28 years, but my personal journey, the centre, and the charity. When I
first started working, there were no computers in use and everything was done
with pen and paper. There were very few written policies, no mobiles, no social
media, emails weren’t used, and the head office of the centre was in a large
house in Horsham. Our centre raised funds to purchase a computer, leading us to
be the first adoption centre to use one!
Wales Cat Centre opened its doors to the public in
September 1994. Since opening, an astounding 38,200 cats have been rehomed,
over 35,000 of them during my time as manager. I am very proud that, along with
that, we have made such a difference to so many cats and people. There have
been many memorable cats and kittens come through Wales Cat Centre, with some
of them attracting local and national media attention.
The Prison Kittens
We were called by HMP Parc Prison after 6 new born kittens were found nestled in a truck. The mother cat was around but very elusive. For safety reasons, the kittens were brought back to the centre and bottle-fed by the team whilst a trap was set for the mum.
 |
| Agatha's kittens were bottle fed by our team |
Fortunately, the mum, named Agatha, wasn’t on the run for long and was happily reunited with her kittens. And no prizes for guessing, the kittens were called Jessica, Sherlock, Christie, Marple, Kojak, and Morse. This story was featured in local, national, and international media and was even mentioned on CNN News!
 |
| Agatha reunited with her kittens Jessica, Sherlock, Christie, Marple, Kojak & Morse at 8 weeks old |
A family member was driving past the centre after closing hours and noticed a bag outside the gate. They thought a team member had forgotten it but were shocked to hear faint meows coming from the bag and saw a bundle of kittens when they unzipped it. They quickly brought the bag to me, and I was horrified to find 7 kittens inside, many of whom were flat due to heat exhaustion.
 |
| Seven kittens suffering with heat exhaustion we abandoned inside this purple bag |
 |
| All seven kitten survived and were adopted |
Donatella was handed in as a heavily pregnant stray; she was a very petite cat but with a huge abdomen. We thought she would have around 6 kittens, but imagine our shock when she gave birth to 11 kittens,10 alive and sadly 1 stillborn. Donatella did a great job of nursing her kittens, but 10 kittens were too many for her, so we supplemented them with bottle feeds. Eventually, we had to remove five of the kittens to be completely hand-reared as they weren’t thriving. Thankfully, all the kittens survived, and Donatella became a media star.
 |
| Donatella was heavily pregnant when she was handed in, she gave birth to 11 kittens |
I am a passionate photographer and have used my photography skills to take thousands of pictures of cats and kittens through the years. My images have been used extensively by Cats Protection and have even appeared on the front of The Cat Magazine on a couple of occasions. There have been many successful fundraising campaigns using my images to raise money for the charity, with one raising over £400,000! My favourite and most rewarding images are before-and-after shots of cats admitted in poor condition into our care. These tell a story a thousand words can’t and are a hard-hitting visual of the difference we make to cats and kittens most in need.
 |
| Before and after pictures of a kitten admitted with cat flu |
In 2011, I had the first of two cancer diagnoses. This was a very challenging time for me, but I decided to continue to work during and post-treatment. After I was given the all clear from my first cancer, I decided to embark on some challenges. The first of these was an attempt at a world record for the most people dressed as cats. Whilst we didn’t achieve a Guinness World Record, we had great fun on the day, and I will never forget filling Bridgend Town Centre with human cats.
 |
| Guinness world record attempt for the most people dressed as cat |
Other challenges included 5k, 10k, and half marathon runs, skydiving, and several fire walks, the most recent of which was in October 2025 to celebrate being in remission from Multiple Myeloma, an incurable but treatable cancer. These challenges raised over £40,000 for Cats Protection and cancer charities.
 |
| Various challenges raised over £40K for Cats Protection and cancer charities |
My blog wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the amazing
people whom I have worked with through the years, some of whom are sadly no
longer with us. Our team of volunteers and employees has changed over the
years; some have been with the centre long before I started and some for only a
matter of months. Many of those who have left Cats Protection keep their
connection with us and come along to support our open days. Over the years, we
have built a Cats Protection family and a large community around the centre, something
which I am very proud to be a part of, and I will always be grateful for the
love and support shown to me during my cancer battles.
Looking back over the years, I feel very privileged to be
the manager of Wales Cat Centre. My role feels like a vocation, and after 28
years I still love my job as much as I did the day I started.
No comments:
Post a Comment