Putting the fun into fundraising

Carol Gordon of our Tunbridge Wells, Crowborough & District Branch explains how, although fundraising events don’t always go to plan, Cats Protection volunteers overcome the challenges to raise vital funds…

Cats Protection’s Tunbridge Wells, Crowborough & District Branch recently held a Feline Funday at Uckfield’s Civic Centre. Fortunately for the branch, Kim Woodburn who is a great supporter of Cats Protection, kindly offered to come along and support us on the day. Armed with this brilliant piece of news, we were able to book Uckfield FM to come along on the day and broadcast live by promising them an interview with Kim. But they went even further than that, dedicating their breakfast show on the morning before, to publicising the event!

Kim Woodburn joins the fun

Unfortunately, there were a few hitches – they say these things come in threes and they did. Firstly, we were told that Kim had taken a nasty fall and wouldn’t be able to come. We were desperately disappointed, but by the end of the day she had decided that she was feeling better and would be able to make it after all – what a trooper; we all breathed a sigh of relief!

We spent the previous evening loading up cars and labelling prizes for the chocolate tombola before sitting back with a cup of tea and then came the second blow; the husband of one of our organisers had been taken ill and she was about to take him to A&E. Thankfully he was allowed home again and she turned up in the morning after two hours’ sleep!

Uckfield FM provided live coverage of the event

So the big day arrived. Kim was wonderful, smiling and chatting with everyone. We gave away goody bags, iced cakes, sold plants, refreshments, books and bric-a-brac. Meanwhile, kids guessed the name of the bunny, had their faces painted, had a go at the chocolate tombola and placed their coppers onto Cooper the Copper Cat. Not to be outdone, two giant cats paraded up and down Uckfield High Street with collecting buckets.

Then came the third blow – somebody had collapsed in the High Street and the emergency services had effectively blocked off the town so our numbers dwindled, but we were still happy with the publicity that we had received and the £400 raised.

Can you be one of Homer's Heroes?

It is a month to the day since our mascot, Homer, took to the tracks at the brand new Olympic Stadium as part of the Gold Challenge event...

Homer was up against some tough opponents, but had put in the hours of training in the weeks before the big day by doing laps of the nature trail at the National Cat Centre. "What happened next?" We hear you ask. Well, dear readers, watch this recently unearthed footage to find out...

Yes, the plucky puss came in last by a country mile. Poor Homer! It goes without saying that he feels he has let the charity down, but we know that he gave his best and are proud of him for flying the Cats Protection flag at such a prestigious event.

To make him feel better, we have come up with a new initiative: Homer's Heroes. Yes, the fleeting feline has become a CP fundraising ambassador and you can meet him at our next event in a couple of weeks' time.

The Super Hero Run takes place at London's Regents Park on 13 May and is a 5k or 10k jog or walk with the emphasis on fun! As its name suggests, the idea is to dress up as a super hero – costumes are available on signing up. If you sign up by Friday 4 May, you will receive a personalised running vest, a water bottle, a complimentary post-race massage and, best of all, a signed picture of Homer!

Yes, it's soon but why not do something spontaneous while putting the fun into fundraising?!

You can sign up here. 

Homer is looking forward to meeting his Heroes!    

Did we really microchip our Chief Executive?

Did you see our latest video that we launched yesterday?

Okay, next question, who fell for it?! Yes, it was our attempt at an April Fool prank!

We hope that you enjoyed seeing our Chief Executive, Peter Hepburn, appearing to be microchipped and can assure you that no microchips were wasted and also that Peter emerged unscathed from the filming!

We decided that it was about time we did something fun for April Fool’s Day and wanted to get across an important message at the same time, so we hope that we have achieved both of those objectives with our little act of mischief.

As we mentioned in the video, mircochipping is the safest, most reliable and only permanent way of identifying cats if they get lost, but an incredible 83 per cent of those coming into our care do not have a microchip.

Microchipping is a simple, painless procedure that could be the difference between being reunited with your cat and not seeing him again if he goes missing, but not enough people are getting their feline friends chipped.

If you haven’t got your cat microchipped yet, we would strongly urge you to consider asking your vet about this simple but important procedure.

You can find out more about microchipping on the Cats Protection website.  

Bridgend's world record bid

Our Bridgend Adoption Centre Manager, Sue Dobbs, explains how she overcame a personal battle to launch a world record bid for Cats Protection... 

Catathon and Moggytastic Cat Costume Show. Just saying those words fills me with a great sense of excitement and anticipation for 30 June 2012. The day, on which 18 long months of planning, organising, uncertainty and, most of all hope, come to fruition in a colourful montage of people dressed as my favourite land animal, cats. Cute Kitties, wild whiskers, posh paws and marvellous mogs will all be gathered together in Bridgend Town Centre in an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of people dressed as cats, currently standing at 800.

It seems like a lifetime away since December 2010 when I had my EUREKA moment during which the idea for the Catathon was born. It happened following a record attempt for the largest gathering of elves in Bridgend and a piece on the news about a record attempt for Santas. The thought just flashed in my head: “we can do the same with cats!” I shared my idea with some of the team at the centre, our Regional Fundraiser and Development Manager. They all thought it was a great idea, so we decided to contact Guinness World Records with the intention of holding the attempt in the summer. Nothing could have prepared me for what unfolded in the next few months.

Cancer. I hear and read about it all the time, know people who have suffered with it but I never expected it to happen to me. It still feels surreal that a visit to my GP in January 2011, for something and nothing, started the ball rolling for a long series of tests and biopsies leading to a diagnosis of bowel cancer in June 2011. Soon after this, I started a six-week course of chemo and radiotherapy treatment. I was determined to stay strong and positive for my family, friends and people around me. The cancer ward I stayed in had an amazing sea view and became my penthouse, the other patients on the ward were inspiring, we used to laugh and joke together to keep our spirits up and talk about our lives and future plans. For me, this was just getting back to a normal life with my family and returning to work, to a job which I enjoy as much today as I did when I started 13 years ago.

I returned to work four weeks after I finished treatment. My illness meant that I’d had to put the plans for the Catathon on hold, but I never lost sight of it. Somewhere along the way, I decided that this would be my comeback event. I had my first all clear in October 2011; this gave me the green light to go ahead with the plans. The attempt is now registered with Guinness World Record, the venue is confirmed and plans for the day are well on the way to being finalised. We had a photoshoot with members of the team and friends dressed as cats, a video to promote the event is in the pipeline, posters are being designed and the publicity ball is starting to roll. All we need now is to get as many people as to let their inners cats come out to be counted on the day to help us smash the record!

The Catathon will be taking place almost a year to the day since my cancer diagnosis. To me it’s more than a publicity and fundraising event, it’s a celebration of life with all it has to bring, courage in the face of adversity and the amazing furry felines at the heart of our charity.

You can find out more about the world record attempt on our Bridgend Adoption Centre website. 

It's nicer to neuter

Cats Protection Volunteer Veronica Robinson explains how Maidenhead, Slough & District Branch tackles the problem of unwanted stray and feral cats in the area…

The Maidenhead, Slough & District Branch of Cats Protection is on a mission to reduce the numbers of unwanted stray and feral cats in the area. Free neutering vouchers provide a solution for cats with owners who cannot afford the cost, but this does not solve the problem of stray and feral cats – trapping and neutering is the only way.

Our fieldworkers are out in all weathers capturing these cats, taking them straight to the vet for a quick neutering operation and returning them to their familiar environment. They like the outdoor life and, providing we are satisfied that there is an adequate food supply and someone who is prepared to keep an eye on them, it is often the only solution.

There are feral cats living rough throughout Slough, in people’s gardens, behind shop premises and on the trading estate. In a recent, ongoing project, we were asked to neuter a small colony living in a back garden. The householder was happy to feed the six adults and 11 kittens, but no more, so fieldworker Ray acted to control the situation.

Ray readies the traps

It was an early start as it’s important to be in position before the cats are fed. Ray had four traps – the maximum he can get in the car – which he primed with food then remained out of sight. As each trap closed, he quickly removed it and covered it to keep the cat calm. After a lengthy wait in the cold and drizzle, all four traps were full. Two black kittens, one black and white and one tabby were taken to the vet. Later in the day the four cats, which were all male, were returned and rushed out of the traps none the worse for their experience!

Ray returned two days later and trapped a further three adults, this time all female. As one adult cat was already neutered – a notch in the ear identifies that cats that have been ‘done’ – and some of the kittens too immature, just two adults and one kitten remained to be trapped. Ray will return in a couple of months to capture the remaining kittens.

A good job done and one that is of real benefit to both cats and humans. But this work is expensive in both time and money. If you can help with a donation towards our feral cat neutering programme, please send a cheque made payable to Cats Protection Maidenhead Slough & District to CP Treasurer c/o 44 Switchback Road South, Maidenhead SL6 7PZ or online at www.maidenhead.cats.org.uk. The problem is likely to increase as the financial situation gets worse so any help will be much appreciated.

Did you enjoy reading our latest post? Let us know what you think by leaving a comment below!

Win a signed copy of Talk to the Tail by Tom Cox

How about beating the January blues with a fun competition?

Well-known author and self-confessed cat man, Tom Cox has kindly offered to give away a signed copy of his latest book, Talk to the Tail to one lucky Cats Protection blog reader!

 

To be in with a chance of winning the book, post a caption for this photo of two of Tom's cats Ralph – tabby – and The Bear – black – in the comments section below.

We'll announce the winner on Friday afternoon. Good luck!

You can keep up with Tom's musings on his blog, Under the Paw via his Facebook page or on Twitter.

Branching out – part two

Jess Hall of our Volunteering Development Team continues her report of spending time with her local Cats Protection branch...

As part of my induction to the neutering role mentioned in my last post, I met up with Neutering Volunteer, Angie Ellingford. As well as working as a Veterinary Receptionist, Angie maintains an up-to-date record of neutering statistics and produces reports for the branch and the National Cat Centre in support of grant applications. To support Angie in her role, I have taken on the management of incoming neutering enquiries. This involves phoning into the branch inbox voicemail inbox and listening to any messages that have been left and dealing with accordingly, as well as providing members of the branch neutering vouchers as and when required.

Angie provided me with a great induction to the role, giving me everything I needed to get started. I was a little nervous at the beginning, just because dealing with the public can be… unpredictable, to say the least! The majority of messages I have picked up from the inbox so far have been from people requiring help from Cats Protection in the neutering of their cats. My role is to respond to these people, find out a bit more about where they live, their cats and to issue them vouchers, to cover the cost of neutering.

These are the majority of enquiries, however I also receive some random ones from time to time… ranging from unwanted cat food, feral cats found in people’s gardens, to delightfully in-depth toileting issues! These, I must point out, I gladly pass on to the Welfare Team Leader, Jean Bailey. Thanks Jean!

When talking through with people how the neutering voucher scheme works, I often have to answer questions about preparation for the operation and what is involved. To help me answer these questions and to learn a bit more about how the branch works with local veterinary practices, I met with Anja Silvani, who fulfils the Veterinary Liaison volunteering role, as well as working full time as a Veterinary Nurse at one of the vets used by the branch.

Meeting at Anja’s house, I was also very honoured to meet Petal, the smallest kitten in Surrey! Confirmed as a ‘dwarf,’ Petal was extraordinarily small for her age, making her perhaps the cutest kitten I have ever seen! Anja was fostering Petal until she was well enough to go to a good home.

Petal

Maintaining a good relationship with local vets is vital for the health and welfare of the cats in CP’s care. Anja plays a huge part in maintaining these relationships, liaising with the vets, she ensures that they are adhering to Cats Protection veterinary guidelines, she also maintains an accurate account of veterinary stock levels, making sure that the practices never run short, ordering new products via the National Veterinary Service (NVS) as and when required. As well as this, Anja also provides a vital support to all of the Fosterers in the branch, offering help and advice whenever she can.

Learning about this vital aspect of the branch was a real eye opener for me. To help me in my Neutering volunteering role further, Anja, very kindly let me observe two operations; one female spay and one male castration. So I donned on the hygiene mask, what looked like a shower cap and watched in complete fascination! I couldn’t believe how fast the male operation was, just literally, ‘pop, pop’ and it was over!

The female one was slightly trickier, but still a relatively simple operation. It didn’t take the cats long to come round either, seemingly unfazed by the whole affair, they were soon up on their feet again and begging for food! I had a great day at the veterinary centre, and would like to say a huge and heartfelt thanks to Anja and the team. I will close on some good news… Petal has now been homed and is doing really well. She has grown a lot and is now best friends with her owner’s resident deaf cat, Roxy. Anja assures me that she is very happy and could not have found a more perfect home!

Oh, and if you’re looking for an extra Christmas stocking filler, check out the Caterham, Redhill & East Surrey Branch’s 2012 Calendar Girls calendar!