Cats Protections Haverhill appeals for more volunteers and foster carers

A long-standing charity is making a plea for like-minded people to join it in its mission to make life better for cats.

For the past 25 years volunteers at Cats Protection Haverhill have dedicated their spare time to ensuring cats who find themselves homeless are looked after.

The team has been led for the past 14 years by a co-ordinator who has been part of the group for 23 years.

While the group has enjoyed continued loyalty, numbers have naturally dwindled as people have retired from voluntary life or moved away, sparking their appeal for new people to come on board.

The most urgent need is for more fosterers, who provide hands-on care and accommodation for abandoned and homeless cats before they go off to their new homes. They need to have a dedicated room for a foster cat or kittens or space for a garden cat pen, as well as an appreciation of cat welfare and hygiene standards.

Alice Warner, regional cat welfare advisor, said: “We pride ourselves on providing the highest standard of welfare for all the cats that come in to us, giving them a comfortable and safe stay until a new home can be found for them.

“Fostering is a really flexible way you can enjoy caring for a cat in your own home without the commitment of cat ownership.

“Cats Protection provides everything you need, from food and litter to toys and scratching posts – and cover the costs of veterinary treatments.

“We rarely have to advertise the cats that we look after as word soon spreads that we have cats available.

“Our local vets surgery has adopted at least 10 cats from us over the years.”

While the majority of cats that come into care do so for reasons such as owners moving, financial difficulties or owner’s health, sometimes the team has to intervene in tougher circumstances.

Some of the more challenging cases they have dealt with include that of Gracie, who was handed over after becoming pregnant for a second time in quick succession.

Alice added: “Gracie is such a gorgeous cat and she did the best for her kittens but many were extremely sick, probably because of interbreeding, and only two survived.

“This was hard on those that cared for them but one of our fosterers took such a shine to Gracie, that she adopted her and now Gracie has a wonderful stress-free life.

“We do a huge amount of work to help local cats, but really we needs some new people to join the team to ensure we carry on supporting as many cats and kittens as possible.”

As well as fosterers, the charity is looking for someone with social media skills to support its activities through various channels, raising awareness of its work and fund-raising.

Full training and support will be offered and the social media role is flexible and can fit around work or study.

To enquire about volunteering for Cats Protection Haverhill email enquiries@haverhill.cats.org.uk or call 01440 535131.