You don’t need a degree in maths to figure out that times are tough for cat rescues everywhere. Some do more than others to help themselves, and Sunny Harbour Cat & Kitten Rescue is just one of those.

So here is the deal. Animal friendly insurer, Animal Friends is running a Facebook poll between 4 animal charities, all deserving of the £5000 prize in their own right. Here is the link to the Facebook page where you can find out all about the Charity Poll. You can also find out more about Sunny Harbour Cat and Kitten Rescue at their Sunny Harbour Cat and Kitten Rescue .

So why Sunny Harbour? Well it’s become the fashion in Scotland, regrettably, for most charities to wash their hands of difficult rescue cases. Money is tight everywhere, and sadly cats in need of long term help get turned away from most places.

Here’s where Sunny Harbour spring to the rescue. As well as taking in unwanted pets they rescue street cats in terrible shape. But they won’t put a cat to sleep for being in poor shape and they don’t routinely screen cats out for FIV or FeLV.

So what could £5000 mean for Sunny Harbour? As well as clearning their vet bill – which is always in four figures – they’d like to set aside money for furture difficult cases so they can help cats in need like Bruno without hesitation. They have other plans to such as an animal ambulance but between you and me, I think the cash will go on helping sick and unwanted cats throughout Eastern Central Scotland.

Sick Bruno

No matter where you live – in the UK or in the US or elswhere you could be part of that. These days most of the time we are fundraising. Begging people to part with their cash. This time no money is needed. Just a click of your mouse..

She now wants another kitten. What is it about the elderly that they want kittens rather than adopting an older cat? Surfing around the web this seems to be a common situation.

When so many cats need homes, it is wrong to insist that a pensioner adopts an older cat?

My problem with this particular individual is that she refuses point blank to consider an older cat. She wants a kitten she can “mould” to her own situation. I’ve concluded that she wants a kitten for purely selfish reasons.

I don’t think it’s ethically right to adopt an animal that is likely to outlive you. But there’s more to this story than that.

People fail to realise that kittens can be quite a handful. You need eyes in the back of your head at times and you need to treat ‘kitten proofing’ your room seriously.

All responsible rescues take “succession planning” seriously when it comes to rehoming to older people. They want to know what will happen to the cat or kitten if the worst happens. For that reason some rescues are now chipping cats and kittens with their own details.

When so many cats and kittens need homes it is sad but true, that the quality of home is still very important if we care about the welfare of animals and simply don’t want to “recycle” pets.

I have therefore concluded after much thought, that the elderly lady I know (who once said of kittens, “never again”) should not be allowed to have a kitten.

The fact that she simply said to me “Don’t all kittens grow into cats?” means she is completely missing the point. There are very few circumstances where I think the elderly should be allowed to adopt kittens..

That’s Preloved advertising cat CAT RESCUE.  We’ve always said that the free ads such as Gumtree and Preloved are used by people looking to rehome their cat. Unfortunely they are also used by people who have abused their pets or are back street breeders. Its clear from the descriptions of some of the cats and dogs that the writers know nothing. A chocolate coloured maine coon anyone? We know without question because we have approached quite a few “sellers” on Preloved that many don’t give a hoot where the animal ends up and won’t vet new owners.

Sadly some well intentioned owners may be taken for a ride by users of Preloved. To suggest it’s an appropriate source of Cat Rescue is a joke. Worse than that it’s a lie. We’ve complained to Google but I suspect nothing will happen.

Reputable cat rescue services work hard to find sound, loving homes for the cats in their care. Preloved allows people to advertise pets for sale / rehoming and but doesn’t advise or scruinise the transaction in anyway.

Even when sites like Preloved and Gumtree do have guidelines they don’t bother to police them instead leaving it to members of the public to complain.

The average cat owner who feels they must rehome their cat may not realise that there is more to “cat rescue” that posting an ad online. We understand that some people get turned down from rescues who have no spaces. Nevertheless they need to seek guidance on how to use the free ads if there is no alternative.

To think that Preloved believes its ethical to advertise ‘cat rescue’ services simply underlines that all they think about is revenue. I dare say no one at the top of preloved is responsible pet owner. Shame. They could make more money if they changed their operation.

won’t help cats in need of intensive or prolonged care due to the expense. The Harbour will never turn an urgent case away.

Sick Bruno

From the inital call there was no initial indication that Bruno was at deaths door. Turns out however that life on the streets has not been kind to Bruno. Although his prognosis is uncertain, based on similar cases we think that 2 more weeks outside and he would have been beyond help. Beautiful isn’t he? But don’t be fooled by that long coat which hides 70% mattting and many bald patches.

As soon as Bruno came to Sunny Harbour it was obvious to seasoned rescuers there was someting very wrong. Bruno was lethargic and extremely dirty. Two signs that things were not good.  Worst of all is that he has a prolapsed rectum. A rare condition in an adult cat and a sure sign that Bruno will have been eating everything and anyting to get by. His ‘bottom’ problem means that he’s constantly leaking and dirty although he tries to keep himself as clean as he can.

Bruno saw a vet immediately on admission to the Harbour and was deemed too weak to be able to stand up to any invasive procedures. He’s a big cat but only weights about 4kg at the moment.

He will go back to the vet next week, as long as he doesn’t relapse in the meantime. So for now, its antibotics and antinflamitaries, quality food and lots of love. Whatever lies ahead of Bruno, it’s going to a long haul.

But it’s not just Bruno. Alice a young dark tortie has similar issues, and again will be at Sunny Harbour for months rather than weeks – if she recovers.

It’s one of the ironies of cat rescue that the cats who need the most amount of care and veterinary expense don’t always get it. However at Sunny Harbour, cats will always be treated as long as it’s in the cats interest.

Raising extra funds for difficult cases such as Bruno

and Alice mean that Sunny Harbour can provide treatment as it’s needed without having to hestitate until funding becomes available.

To find out more about Bruno’s story and donate if you can please see Bruno’s Own Appeal Page

Sadly this kitten died in a loving home where the adults in the house are used to having young animals. All it takes is a few minutes for events to end in tragedy.

With kittens you really need eyes in the back of your head. The top four danger zones are TVs, microwaves, washing machines and cookers.

Kittens are naturally curious. It surprises as that more rescues and breeders don’t develop materials to educate owners about the dangers zones for young kittens in the house whether there are children around or not.

Cat rescues and breeders can’t control the children of owners. But they can educate owners in the precautions they need to take to ensure the safety of any new arrival.

Take TVs. Many kittens become besotted with the TV. At first they just seem to enjoy watching changes to the screen. However it doesn’t take long before they climb onto the TV stand. Then they try to climb on the top of the TV.  Unsecured TVs cause no end of fatal accidents. If you have animals in the home the TV must be secured. This should be a standard requirement for breeders and rescues rehoming cats.

Of course you can’t account for all eventualities. However cat and kitten proofing homes, and making sure young children are not left on their own with kittens goes some way to ensuring that your kitten will grow up!

A year ago, an lady in her 70s accidentally suffocated her kitten in the washing machine. Our prescriptions for the under 10s also apply to the over 70s. as a rule of thumb it’s not acceptable to rehome kittens to people who are unlikely to outlive them. .

So why raise this in relating to the rehoming of cats online?  Online friends (really virtual friends) are not friends at all. They are no more your friends than strangers who may respond to an online advert or respond to question on a forum.

This is important because of the growing number of people selling  or adopting or rehoming cats without doing the necessary checks on where there cats are going adn who to. Whether you’re a French maine coon breeder thinking of shipping a kitten to Argentina or a private individual trying to rehome your own cat – care and caution should be your watch words. Even a vet reference can’t be relied upon.

Recently a Scottish rescue was contacted about rehoming a 19 year old cat.  But rather than put the cat into a “real world” rescue that could have easily been visited the owner rehomed the cat via a forum to a complete stranger hundred of miles away. To be fair the owner belives the individual has a rescue background. But the owner has done no further checks – almost priding herself on being so smart that she didn’t need to. Sadly private individuals dabbling in rescue can prove to be unfit caregivers, just like anyone else or possibly more than anyone else.

The range of situations where cats find themselves moving between homes online is extremely wide. However a fair proportion appear to be moving from owners who simply ‘want rid’ of a pet as soon as possible. Surrendering your cat to a registered rescue is a very difficult situation to deal with. A rescue, if properly run won’t look like home. At best the cats will be penned with access to an exercise area at regular intervals. There are good reasons why cats are penned and not simply allowed to free range in rooms. But naive owners can fall into the trap of believeing that someone they found online is a better option, is ok or has their cats interests at heart. 

We know of a number of cases where this online rehoming has gone very badly wrong.

Cat owners need to face facts and do what is really in the best intests of their cat rather than what makes them feel better.

It could almost be funny if someone wasn’t trying to scam the ignorant or exploit their pet! as anyone with more than 2 brain cells will know a maine coon is never a short haired cat. while the advert may be funny to some, its just the tip of the iceberg. It illustrates pefectly well why online ads involving animals need to be banned or regulated.

Its been clear for years that the likes of kittenlist, gumtree and preloved are not capable correctly scrutinising their own ads.  Pets need to be protected from people.

How do these adverts managed to get published in the first place? And how can online publishers continue to perpetuate the status quo? It seems that greed rules.

The Preloved advert linked to above  claims to offer the stud services of a short haired maine coon. The ad shows a picture of what is clearly a ginger moggie. Of course we’ve asked Preloved to remove it.

While it’s not actually offering pets for sale it does illustrate the typical IQ of buyers and sellers on Preloved. There are of course genuine adverts, but sites like these are resposible for a unhealthy trade in pets where the animal’s welfare is not the uppermost consideration.

Friends who operate a Scottish charity are asking for an urgent review E-Petition – Urgent Review of the Laws Governing The Sale of Animals Online.

Each year thousands of animals and owners get into difficulties via the sale of pets online.  The evidence is irrefutable. Just speak to those at the sharp end – charities and rescues the length and breadth of the UK. Calls come in every day from people who end up buying animals they can’t cope with. While not every rescue or charity adoption goes according to plan, there’s always backup. That can’t be said of back street breeders, and people who sell pets to fund their lifestyle or worse.

Of course people are suffering as the outlook for the economy is bleak. But sorry, that’s no excuse.

The festive season and beyond is usually the ‘silly’ season in cat rescue. Friends took a call sometime between Christmas and New Year from an Edinburgh couple who wanted rid of their cat of five years the very same same day.

The reason? They’d bought a puppy. Not knowing (or caring) how to introduce the two pets they’d simply places the cat infront of the bouncy puppy and got themselves scratched. The result, they were now terrified of the cat and wanted it removed from the house with immediate effect. These people were too thick and terrified to take any information in. However it’s the type of situation that is all too common among certain classes of people who won’t think twice about ‘sacrificing’ their pet cat or kitten when things don’t go according to plan.  Or take the next thicko who wishes to rehome her cat because it has fleas (really).

At this time of year cat rescues in the UK and US are stealing themselves for calls from owners who find themselves with an unwanted kitten or two. Usually the calls start around the third week of January. The phone never fails to ring.

A high proportion of people who will be calling will have acquired a cat or kitten from Gumtree (or a similar source) and find that it’s too much work or that junior has lost interest or the new arrival doesn’t get on with existing pets. Grrrrrrrrrrr.

Whilst rescues will attempt to vet new kitten owners and will do home checks, those selling kittens in the free ads don’t care. Indirectly these sellers simply contribute to the post Christmas glut of cats and kittens looking for new homes. They will sell kittens to anyone. Just another argument to make it harder for people to buy or adopt kittens.

Unwanted Christman kittens usually come into rescue exhibiting signs of a lack of handling and stress. People never seem to learn that young children and kittens don’t mix. Each year rescues face the same uphill struggle.  There’s no ‘cat sense’ test for prospective cat and kitten owners but there probably should be.

Fergus has been FOUND

Lost cat, from Middlebank KY11 has returned home.

. Last seen in his garden at Middlebank, KY11.  Also missing from the same area is a tortie and white female cat. Can you help find them?

Fergus has now been missing for more than 48 hours which is very out of character for this gentle, friendly boy. Everyone who knows him is very upset by his disappearance.  

Fergus is a male neuter, with a semi long hair coat. He is very distinctive because of his longer than average coat and his size – he is a maine coon and you simply don’t see many of these out and about.  He is microchipped and lives near the SSPCAs Fife rehoming center. This boy is very friendly, and a much loved family pet.

We are also aware of a female cat (from a different family on Masterton Road) who are missing one of their cats – a female tortie. She went missing a few days before Fergus. Co-incidence or not?

If you have seen or heard anything suspicious please get in touch at the number at the end of this post.  or So please if you have welcomed this handsome chap into your home thinking he was a stray – he’s not. His mum thinks he could have wandered off in reaction to guests staying at his home. His family have had him for 6 years and desperately want him back as he is an important member of their family.

If you live in the masterton road /middlebank area of Dunfermline please check sheds, water butts and garages. Sightings of this lovely boy, should be telephoned immediately to Sunny Harbour Cat and Kitten Rescue on 01592 783732.

Also if you know of removals vans or trades’ vans in the area its possible this cat has gone into a vehicle and left the Masterton Road area. Please check with any workmen you have using over the weekend.

Missing Long Haired Tabby

Missing cat Masterton Road area,  Dunfermline. This cat has been missing in Dunfermline, Fife since 21 August 2011. That’s only 24 hours we know but it’s very out of character for this boy not to come home for his grub. His human and feline family are distraught.  This cat is a male neuter, with a semi long hair coat. He is very distinctive because of his longer than average coat and his size – he is a maine coon and you simply don’t see many of these out and about.  He is microchipped and lives near the SSPCAs Fife rehoming center. This boy is very friendly, and a much loved family pet.

So please if you have welcomed this handsome chap into your home thinking he was a stray – he’s not. His mum thinks he could have wandered off in reaction to guests staying at his home. His family have had him for 6 years and desperately want him back as he is an important member of their family.

If you live in the masterton road /middlebank area of Dunfermline please check sheds, water butts and garages. Sightings of this lovely boy, should be telephoned immediately to Sunny Harbour Cat and Kitten Rescue on 01592 783732.

Also if you know of removals vans or trades’ vans in the area its possible this cat has gone into a vehicle and left the Masterton Road area. Please check with any workmen you have using over the weekend.