Patrons:
65 Longmead Avenue
Tony Bullimore
Bishopston
Ian Fergusson
Bristol BS7 8QB
Piers Morgan
Registered Charity
No. 10770330
Chair: Christine Bayka
Telephone: 01179243128
www.themoggeryrehomingcentre.co.uk
Facebook: The Moggery
Newsletter No 128
Oct 2015
Dear Supporters,
I thought we were saturated with kittens in August. Now we are ankle deep! The kittens run
across your flight path as you are walking and it’s extremely difficult to avoid them!
Fortunately, August was a very good adoption month as everyone returned from their
holidays eager to adopt.
We’ve gained some very keen new volunteers. ROBYN GAMM and her husband ROB are
revamping our website which is going to be very exciting. New volunteers HEATHER and
EMILY have joined the ranks of cleaner/cuddlers and we have a large group of young people
keen to do their Duke of Edinburgh Service Project here.
Time is passing quickly so please put these dates in your diary (if you haven’t already)
DEC 5th_ CHRISTMAS FAIR 1pm
St Michaels & All Angels
Gloucester Road
DEC 12th_ COLLECTION
Almondsbury Garden Centre
10-5pm
DEC 19th- BUCKET COLLECTION
Asda- Abbeywood Filton
From 10am
Do we need your help? Yes most definitely. Please call and offer an hour or two.
Thanks
Christine
The Moggery Diary
1st August
JULIET’s two kits were brought to me for
rehoming after all (As they were born
under a shed they weren’t handled and are
nervous and spitting which meant the
finder couldn’t cope with them)
2nd August
Horrified to find out today about a grey and
white cat who had been sitting outside a
Central Bristol hotel for nearly a year! The
hotel’s manager quite cheerfully told me
she had been pregnant about six months
ago. Why didn’t any member of staff ring a
rescue? My ‘A Team’ i.e. Derek went
straight down to check the site armed with
a tin of pilchards in tomato sauce. No luck
today but he will persist.
3rd August
An elderly Southmead resident rang to say
she was feeding a heavily pregnant stray
who was being bullied by an unneutered
male she had fed for some time. New
foster home SIOBHAN drove to pick up the
female and I booked the male in for
neutering.
4th August
SIOBHAN rang to say that the female was
breathing heavily so I drove to see her in
her Sea Mills home assuming she was in
labour and probably needing a caesarean.
When I reached the house I realised she
wasn’t pregnant-her huge bulk and knobbly
spine were symptoms of Feline Infectious
Peritonitis (FIP). I rushed her to the
Vets4Pets in Filton where she was quietly
put to sleep as I held her.
A young man rang me from the Holly
Hedge sanctuary in Barrow Gurney. His
father had died last week, the council was
boarding up his flat today and he was
driving around with his father’s two cats
begging rescues to take them in. Holly
Hedge were full (as all rescues are in the
kitten season). I begged the manager there
to take one and I would take the other.
(Sadly he wouldn’t budge) As the female
was unsprayed and vulnerable, I agreed to
admit her and the young man took her to
V4P for spaying then I would admit her
after her op. The second cat was taken in
by another rescue whose number I had
given to the young man)
5th August
Asked for help under our Assisted
Neutering Scheme by a family in Lawrence
Weston who have three females two of
which have recently had kits and one who
is heavily pregnant.
7th August
A woman was on the doorstep this morning
with two tabby kittens whom had been
brought down from Derby and given as a
surprise present to her family. They were
not wanted and handed over to The
Moggery. (I named them after our Sunday
helpers NATHAN and SADIE)
9th August
A kitten was being tormented on waste
ground in Southmead by a group of
children. A local resident rescued the
frightened grey tabby and brought her to
H/Q. (Raven is friendly and will be homed
quickly)
11th August
A St George resident moved to Wales and
couldn’t take her cats to her new property.
I admitted GINGER GEORGE and her tortie
baby GEORGINA. Both are very friendly.
14th August
An eventful day. A new door was being
fitted with a ten point locking system to
replace the flimsy wooden original door. I
woke up I couldn’t lift my head this
morning and after crawling out of bed I just
had to lie down on my bedroom carpet
hoping help would come. I expected to wait
two days before my volunteers realised
something was seriously wrong and
contacted emergency services. Fortunately
ROBYN GAMM realised something was very
wrong when I didn’t answer my phone for
several hours and came over to my home
and seeing my car in the drive rang and
ambulance and the crew rang the police
who had to break down two doors to reach
me. Hearing the doors splintering was a
wonderful sound. I was taken to hospital
and put on a drip and after a lot of tests
labyrinthitis was diagnosed. Apparently it
can occur without warning and just has to
wear off. Meanwhile our lovely new door
was being fitted at H/Q
17th August
PEACHES a sweet natured grey and cream
mother was admitted today with her
babies, SUGAR, LITTLE TITCH, PUMPKIN,
TANGERINE and black and white GRAPE.
18
th
August
ZIEGFIELD a friendly tabby boy from
Brislington was chosen today by a young
couple from central Bristol. (As the only
male in the KK he had been henpecked and
spent a lot of time hiding)
20th August
Little RAVEN was claimed today and went
off to a loving home. (If only everything
coming in The Moggery front door was
friendly and pretty)
21st August
A school caretaker from Yate rang to say a
cat had given birth under an outbuilding.
Could we take the family in? I loaned a trap
to catch the spitting kittens but mum cat
was perfectly tame. MISS HONEY and her
babies TOM BROWN, MR CHIPS and JEAN
BRODIE were settled into the KK.
25
th
August
A pretty dark tortie was admitted today
from Ashton Gate. She is only eight months
and had been given as a surprise present a
few months ago. DAFFY was now
unwanted.
27th August
A young black and white cat walked into a
house in Withywood and gave birth to two
kittens. Volunteer transporter JENNY
brought MILLIE and her new-borns MILTON
and MINNIE.
28th August
A black mother and her kittens and her
black daughter and her kittens were
admitted today from Whitchurch. All of the
kittens are five weeks. (The cat’s owner
didn’t know which kittens belonged to
which mother)The aunts and uncles are
happily playing with their nephews and
nieces and the daughter was feeding her
half brothers and sisters.
31st August
A very successful adoption month due to
everyone returning from holiday. Thirty
nine adoptions with thirty six admissions in
August. We are winning but only just!
1st September
‘I’m in Birmingham visiting family and they
have a cat and kittens in their shed. I’ve
phoned all the local rescues and they are
full. Please can you admit them?’
Black and white mum KORMA and her grey
and white babies TIKKA and BALTI came
down the motorway to join The Moggery
ranks.
2nd September
A stray black and white mother was
brought in from Avonmouth with her two
plump kittens. MARSHA is fortunately very
friendly and her babies Marshall and
Marguerite aren’t entirely black so stand a
chance of being adopted.
3rd September
Admitted two young black cats from a
household being evicted today. SYLVIA and
RUSKIN are extremely nervous.
4th September
I was putting rubbish in the outside bins
when a car pulled up to visit neighbours. ‘I
hear you may be able to help me. I have a
stables and there is a feral cat there who
has had six kittens and she’s pregnant
again’
The visitor borrowed a trap and the mother
cat was caught and admitted today. I
feared the worst and was wearing gauntlets
to transfer her from trap, crush cage and
then to the pen in the wash room. There
was no spitting as is normal with feral cats.
5th September
Helper EMMA cautiously stroked the ’feral’
cat this morning and she responded with
purrs. She’s no more feral than I am. Just
a little stray who had found her way to the
stables and a source of food. When her
babies are homed she’ll be able to have a
normal domestic home herself. She has a
very distinctive white chest spot so SPOT
she is.
8th September
Brummie kits BALTI and TIKKA were
chosen today by a Thornbury family. Just
mum KORMA needs a home.
12th September
Because they are so friendly six of the
black kittens were adopted today. WILLOW,
WILMA, WILF, WENDY, WOLFGANG and
WOTAN left with in pairs with delighted
families.
13th September
This morning, farm cat SPOT gave birth
quickly to four healthy kittens. (After
ZABRINA’s dreadful labour in July I was
relieved to be present at a straightforward
birth) One tabby, one tabby and white, and
two black and white. SPOT was calm
throughout and when they were all safely
born and thoroughly washed she went over
to her food dish. As this was at least her
seventh litter she took the birth in her
stride.
16th September
A Bishopston family chose Brummie mum
KORMA today as a companion for their
existing young cat.
28th September
Today, bossy tortie ZATZIKI was chosen by
a retired woman in Henleaze. For a long
time ZATZIKI had terrorised the older cats
in the living room. Even though she loved
people she would swipe every passing cat
and VELVET and RACHEL and JORDAN are
used to a quiet life ie resting between
meals/Dreamies. ZATZIKIS new name is
AMIRA (Arabic for Princess) I hope she
lives up to her new title!
29th September
Admitted 13 kittens from one home in
Hartcliffe. Volunteer HEATHER helped me
load the lively group. (I booked three
torties in the house for spaying next week)
On returning to H/Q HEATHER and I
shampooed and combed all the kittens as
they were crawling with fleas. As we
washed them the fleas were trying to get in
their mouths and eyes to avoid the
shampoo. (The kittens will be combed
every daily to deal with any strays)