Here at C.L.A.W.S, we pride ourselves on the care that we take in matching our cats to their new families.
There is an unwritten pledge, between the people who take care with the home finding, that we will only place a cat in a home into which we would be happy to hand over our own cats and so we look for a safe and loving environment for each and every moggie that comes to our charity.
Every cat that crosses our threshold is blood-tested, wormed, vaccinated, neutered and micro-chipped. You can imagine how high our vet bills often are! But we consider this to be a very important part of running an animal welfare charity. We do everything that we can do to give our cats a good start in their new lives.
They come to us for a variety of reasons often through neglect or abandonment but also because people give them up, with a heavy heart, as they are moving to accommodation where the keeping of animals is prohibited. We try to take as much of the pain out of the separation as possible, understanding, only too well, how much it hurts to lose a much-loved pet.
Over the years, we have carried out many hundreds of home checks and have been invited into many and various homes.
We hear from elderly people who have recently lost a much-loved companion and from excited children who have greeted us at their front doors with 'you must be the cat lady. Please come in. My bedroom is very tidy today so I do hope that you will let us have a kitten'.
We always take the time to listen when people feel the need to remember a moggie who has shared their lives and who, sadly, is no longer with them and we try our best to find them a kittie that will bring joy back into their lives.
We look for homes where a love of animals is evident; where our cats would not be chastised for leaving a few hairs here and there. A home with people who understand that our cats can sometimes take a while to become accustomed to new surroundings having, often, seen a myriad of owners, vets' nurses and a fosterer before we find them a cosy new home where they can be loved again.
We are not looking for the immaculate show home. Our aim is a cosy place, away from main roads, with a garden in which our mogs can sun themselves on a balmy afternoon with owners who understand the importance of regular meals, annual vaccinations and lots of affection.
Over the years, we have met some lovely people and many have given secure havens to our little orphans.
If you can give a cat or kitten a new, safe home, please contact : -
SUE on the C.L.A.W.S. help line
01189 341699