Summer Plans

I’ve been reviewing our ‘cat list’ for the summer, to make sure we have the priorities sorted. Overall we have an aim to sterilise most of the stray cats in Almerimar and re-home the more tame ones via our friends in Germany. Alongside that we are trying to reduce the number of feeding sites and overall the number of cats that need feeding, as this is a huge ongoing commitment and cost to the kind people who do it.

The workload however is continually being added to by abandoned animals! Now we have a total of 14 kittens to re-home. The first 5 have already started their vaccinatons and I had made provision for the 5 in Darsena 2 that we hope to catch next week. Yesterday our numbers increased again, because Jean and George found another litter of 4 very tame hungry, little buddies left again on the rocks. More book sales are obviously urgently needed but we will manage, because how can we not?

I have already alerted the girls in Germany and we will do our best to get all these kittens over there in the next couple of months. Obviously small kittens are the easiest to find homes for as they are at their cutest, and people want to enjoy this period of their lives. Oscar was adorable at 3 months and I wouldn’t have wanted to miss that, even though he is still gorgeous.

SO we have an immediate priority to sort these 14 little kittens, as well as finding a home for Tommy our FIV positive old boy who is also in foster care here.

Next up are Monty and Mimi who I am still hoping Nicola will be able to help us with once Tommy is on his way. Although Mimi remains very wild we have a great home in Germany waiting for them, where both can live together with 3 other semi-feral cats in a village environment with freedom to roam outside. My aim is to get them inside during July with a view to sending them on their way in early August.

Transport is going to be a problem as we don’t know yet if Jos can take any of our cats for us on his van in July and August. Heat will reduce the number of animals he can transport each trip and of course his dogs are his priority. I am already discussing alternatives with the German girls including them or maybe me flying with lots of cats or maybe meeting them halfway with a van. I continue to be hugely impressed by their dedication.

Today FINALLY the feral cat trap arrived from the UK, after one lost order. We will be field trialing this next week with the rather ferocious mother of the 5 kittens in Darsena 2. This should be interesting to say the least. She needs sterilising urgently and we may then see if Gisela will take her in the cat rescue for a couple of months to see if she calms down. Rumour has it that she was originally an ill-treated owned cat.

We then have a list of other cats who may be candidates for re-homing but these realistically may have to wait until the Autumn when transport and funding is less of a problem.

SO the work goes on and just when I am planning a quiet week, something else seems to happen, but I do feel that we are making real progress. I personally have learnt so much over the past year about cats themselves and also about how to make this whole rescue thing work. If we can keep all the pieces and people in place for the next 6 months, I think we will be well on the way to achieving a lot of our aims.

AND along the way we are actually having some fun. This has to be one of the most rewarding things I for one have done!!!