Excerpts from CHAR charity application

Q10

Object 1:

To benefit the public by encouraging humane treatment of domestic and feral cats.

Activities:

" We provide a counselling service to the public, giving help and advice if a cat goes missing or following bereavement.
" We provide an advisory service on diet, vaccinations, use of litter trays, protection against fleas and general well being e.g. worming
" With regard to feral colonies we provide humane traps and give advice on how to and when to trap. We will follow this up with the transport of the cats or kittens to a holding pen to await re-location
" We provide a service to people with stables or allotments or where there is a problem with rodent control. We provide advice, loan of equipment and assist in re-locating of feral colonies.

Object 2:

To provide care and attention to abandoned, mistreated or lost cats, including spaying, neutering, returning cats to their owners or arranging re-homing.

Activities:

" We provide care and attention for abandoned cats, where for e.g. the owners have moved house and are not allowed to have pets at their new property. Also it is possible that when an elderly person dies or goes into care the cat is just left behind. In this situation we will take the cat into our care, have it veterinary checked and re-home it.
" We get calls for help when cats are in very bad health due to ignorance or neglect or lack of finances. We will assist with veterinary fees, provide advice and help to return cats to their original owners if at all possible or we will take the cat into our care until recovery is complete. In some situations this is not possible and, under veterinary advice only, we will agree to euthanasia.
" Often people who have found a cat wandering or living rough bring it into our care. We take the cat to the vets to check for a microchip and have been successful in the past in returning the cat to its owner. We also assist those who have lost cats by organising flyers providing details of the cat. We also provide advice on advertising in for e.g. the local press and details of the Pet Search system.
" Our re-homing policy is such that all cats over 6 months of age are checked by a veterinary surgeon and, if necessary, spayed or neutered before re-homing. When re-homing cats under 6 months we request the new owner to request their vet to complete a letter confirming the cat has been spayed or neutered. If we do not receive this letter we will follow this up with the new owner.

Object 3:

To assist people in poor health or financial difficulty to care for their cats by grant, loan of equipment, assistance with travel, fostering or re-homing. To provide other such services as will prevent cruelty or suffering to cats.

Activities:

" We provide transport to the vets for the cats of the elderly, disabled or those people with no transport
" If an injured cat must be confined for a significant length of time due to the nature of its injuries, we will loan the necessary equipment e.g. pen, litter tray, heated pad to assist the recovery of the cat
" If an owner has to go into hospital for a short stay and the cat, due to ill health or age cannot go into boarding kennel, then we will provide a fostering service.

Q11

We receive monetary donations from the following sources: -
" Members of the public who provide homes for our cats and kittens
" Members of the public who we have assisted e.g. providing transport
" Members of the public for providing a service in re-locating a feral colony
" From families following a bereavement

We also receive regular food donations from members of the public

We organise fund raising activities e.g. attic sales, car boot sales and tombolas on a regular basis to provide income.

Future?

Q13

At present the only facility requiring public access is to a private home for collection of cats for re-homing. Our policy is to conduct a home visit to any prospective new owners and if satisfactory we usually deliver the cat or kitten directly to the home.