AlStrays This Week 17/05/10

It seems ages since I have posted one of my AlStrays updates, although of course you will have seen lots of news on my blog and in the local free newspapers in the meantime.

The featured photo is a new one of 2 of our happy little tomcats, Rocky & Domino, in their new home in Germany.

Since my last update post 5 more cats have travelled from us to Germany on May 7th. Only one, little wild Nelson, actually came from Almerimar, the other 4 of our travellers being Mojacar cats. All are doing well in their new foster or forever homes. Nelson understandably was very stressed after the journey being a feral boy, but he has a very understanding new Mum who loves him already just the way he is.

The 4 Mojacar cats have all also featured in recent posts. Rusty who went alone to his adoptant was the most nervous of the 3 ginger boys when he stayed a couple of nights here. We were concerned because these 3 had been in the cattery for some 10 months (almost all of their lives), and Rusty had already had one failed adoption attempt in Spain. He is absolutely fine, and apparently runs under the legs of the huge soppy cat-loving dog in his new home! Rufus and Robin, his brothers are obviously fine too, from the photos in my last post, and beautiful Kalem is slowly making friends with the male cat in his new home in Switzerland.

I have already written about my relationship with the PAWs cattery in Mojacar, which came about through my articles, originally in the Reader newspaper, now for Euro Weekly News. They contacted me to ask if I could help them find homes for some of the cats who had been in the cattery for a long time, having read about all our happy re-homed cats in Germany.

I actually see this as a very positive relationship for all of us for the future. They have some beautiful cats and I am happy to help them. The plan is however, that they will be able to help us too in the future, when we are struggling to find foster homes or need help shuttling cats to Alicante airport to meet flight partners.

Almerimar strays has a great process for re-homing cats in Germany but this is hugely reliant on temporary foster homes while the cats have all their vaccinations etc. to be ready to travel. Here in Almerimar we are a group of dedicated animal lovers but we are not a cat rescue, and having access to a brilliant cattery for short term stays really adds to our resources.

It is also for me great to have some more lovely girls to bounce ideas off of and just to be part of a bigger team. On Saturday 8th May, Jayne and I went to Los Gallardos to see PAWs Cats’s annual fund-raiser, BBQ & Fashion Show We had a great afternoon and picked up some useful ideas. Then on May 11th, the first the Beachcomber Bar Booksale was another opportunity to meet up with the girls and talk some more about our cats!

The last few weeks have remained quiet regarding stray kittens and abandoned cats actually in Almerimar itself, which I hope has a lot to do with the work Almerimar Strays has done over the past 2 years. However if I widen my net just slightly, then I have a list from the local villages and towns that I am already planning for, a searching for foster homes for.

The first is a very tame ginger tomcat, currently being fed by one of the yacht owners, outside their house in Berja. He will have a place in PAWs cattery, once I can get all the dates sorted of which cats are going in and out. I have also just spoken to another Cafe Bar Ankara regular who has a very young mother cat and 4 4-day-old kittens that she is curretly feeding in her house. They are now on my growing list!

The next transport I am working towards is June 4th, and I am hoping to send 5 cats, but this will depend on the great work of the girls in Germany finding adoptants or foster homes in time. The places on the transport van are secured, but this is only one part of the jigsaw puzzle. IF these 5 cats can all travel then it frees up both foster home and cattery places here and in Mojacar, all of which are always in short supply.

I am talking to some more people this week, who I hope can help us foster over the summer, but as always I am asking for anyone who can help to please contact me via this blog or on my mobile: 676 404 901. I would love to hear from you.


Rocky & Domino

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