aka “A lot can change in a week”
A couple of weeks ago we had an email from one of our lovely adopters. A dishevelled elderly cat had accosted them on the way to the pub on Friday night, clearly asking for help. They were concerned about her and hoped we might be able to assist her. Sadly we get dozens of similar emails every week, more than we have the time or emotional resources to respond to. It’s hard work caring for the cats that we have. Being constantly reminded of how many more are out there that we don’t have space to help is heartbreaking and soul destroying.
We replied giving the usual advice about first needing to check that the cat genuinely didn’t have a home and wasn’t just trying it on: the usual things about checking local social media groups, paper collars and checking for a microchip. We agreed that I’d pop up and loan them my scanner … the lure of potentially seeing H&H who were adopted from us nearly 7 years ago was too strong to resist. At the same time I was very clear that we didn’t have space for any more cats. I explained that we had Clive and Martyn & Morven and that it’s taking a lot longer to find nice homes for cats that it used to in H&H’s day. Martyn & Morven had been waiting for some months with no sign of any interest in them.
I delivered the scanner, got a wonderful long glimpse of one H before he legged it up the garden. Sadly (or strategically) the other H had gone off to the allotments for the day.
My money was most definitely on the cat not being chipped so it was a big surprise when a message arrived later that night to say that she was indeed chipped. Even more of a surprise when we looked up the registration details and she was listed as living over 70 miles away and was thought to have been born almost 20 years ago. The only contact details were no longer in use. Some detective work on the part of the adopters revealed that she’d perhaps had more than one home on the street over a period of quite a few years and now, although she was being fed, she was living outdoors.
Then the most amazing thing happened. After months of no one being interested in adopting Martyn & Morven, we had an enquiry from someone who sounded perfect for them. Within 48 hours they were reserved for adoption and planning to move out last weekend. There was going to be a space for the old lady cat after all.
We decided not to wait while the weekend. Having got this far it would have been awful if something happened to her or we weren’t able to find her a few days later. So we set up the dog crate on the dining table as a temporary measure, and Mildred arrived.
It’s been a while since the residents have been asked to accommodate any new cats downstairs in their space. Rowan was in his element: our official meet and greet purrson, he always rushes to welcome new people, human or furry and is keen to chat about the rescue and his life here. Flipper stopped by briefly to bark up to her that she (Flipper) was the best cat in the multiverse and was generally in charge of the house, ‘the hum’, and anything else that seemed important enough for her to want to boss around.
Mildred wasn’t terribly impressed and spent quite a bit of time glaring at us all and swearing at any feline who came to close to her crate.
A few days passed. Morven & Martyn packed their stuff and moved out last Sunday night. On Monday we rejigged the office, changing it from a kitten playground into a hopefully comfortable pad for an older lady. The pace of life in the office and upstairs generally has changed considerably.
8 Lives: Sheffield 8 Cat Rescue 