Cats Protection Charity
Cats Protection, formerly The Cat Protection League, is the UK’s leading feline welfare charity dedicated to rescuing and rehoming stray, unwanted or homeless cats and educating people about cats and cat welfare.
Their vision is a world where every cat is treated with kindness and an understanding of its needs. It’s an ambitious vision however, Cats Protection truly believe it can be achieved because of their passion, their professional approach and simply because cats are among the UK’s most popular companion pets!
Cats Protection has simple and clear objectives to help cats:
Homing - Finding good homes for cats in need
Neutering - Supporting and encouraging the neutering of cats
Information - Improving people’s understanding of cats and their care Their vision is a world where every cat is treated with kindness and an understanding of its needs.
The Perth Branch of Cats Protection was established in May 2000 with 5 outdoor units. Those units were located in various fosterers’ gardens, mostly in the Perth/Scone area. It soon became apparent that 5 units were not going to cope with the demand and today they have more than double this in several different locations throughout Perthshire. They also have “elastic sides” whereby they utilise various volunteers’ spare rooms, studies, sheds, garages, etc as and when required for their most urgent cases. So, if they do have to say they’re full, they really have exhausted every possible space they can think of!
As a result of this set-up, people looking for cats are not able to visit all of the cats at once, so the Perth branch operate more like a dating agency and try to match up prospective owners with suitable cats which they then arrange for them to visit to make a final choice. On the plus side, the cats and kittens get much more “one-to-one” care and attention than they might otherwise receive in a more traditional shelter environment.
It’s an expensive business getting a cat or kitten ready for adoption and Cats Protection vet check, neuter, vaccinate (against cat flu, feline infectious enteritis and feline leukaemia virus), microchip, worm and de-flea every cat and kitten that they rehome. On average, the Perth branch re-homes around 300 cats and kittens every year.
As well as helping domestic cats, Cats Protection also operate a “trap, neuter, release” scheme for feral cats to stop numbers from spiralling out of control. Whilst a feral cat is being neutered, Cats Protection also pay to have them vaccinated and treated for fleas and worms, thus giving them the very best chance possible. Cats Protection will never ever euthanase cats except on veterinary advice.
This year, the Perth Branch are working on an exciting project to replace all of their outdoor fostering units. The new fostering units are larger, better equipped and conform to the very latest cat care standards so will provide an even better environment for cats in their care. Each unit costs around £3,000 so this is an expensive undertaking but it is a solid investment and essential for the future of the branch.
The Perth Branch of Cats Protection can be contacted via their website at www.perthcats.co.uk, or by email to mail@perthcats.co.uk or by telephoning 01738 700070 and leaving a message. The telephone line will always go straight to voicemail as they don’t have someone manning the phones 24/7 however, calls are returned every day of the year by volunteers on a rota basis. They also have a facebook page at www.facebook.com/perthcats
The Perth branch is run entirely by unpaid volunteers and all monies they receive go directly towards cat welfare in the local area. They raise funds through adoption fees, donations and various fundraising events throughout the year including a Quiz Night in March, a Sponsored Walk in June and a Coffee Morning and General Sale in October.
Cats Protection Perth Branch
c/o 7 King Street, Perth, PH2 8HR
Tel: 01738 700070