Jack

Jack needs a new home.

He is a 2yr old Sorrel male neuter.

We are looking for a single cat home for Jack.

Please contact Alison for more details.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT WELFARE & RESCUE.

1. WHAT IS IT?

The Somali Cat Club Welfare & Rescue exists to help Somalis who, for whatever reason, need to find a new home. We keep a list of those people who would like to offer a home & when a cat becomes available that may be suitable for their circumstances, we make contact. Fortunately, not many Somalis need rehoming, so patience is required – you may have to wait for some time! We are also here to help with any queries you may have about your Somali.

2. ARE THERE ANY CONDITIONS ATTACHED?

We like to arrange a home visit to meet you & see the environment offered & if you adopt a cat, you will be required to sign a form indicating that you will keep up vaccinations & provide veterinary treatment as necessary. To adopt a Somali, a donation will be required towards our Welfare fund & we like to hear of the cat’s progress from time to time. 

3. MUST I HAVE EXPERIENCE OF RESCUING A CAT?

Not necessarily, just a vast fund of patience, some experience of cat ownership & the time to give the attention & affection that all Somalis need.

4. HAVE THE CATS UP FOR ADOPTION BEEN MALTREATED?

Very rarely! Most are in good health & need rehoming for social reasons – marriage breakdown, not getting on with other cats in the household, moving abroad etc.

5. MUST I KEEP MY CAT IN?

We try to home adult cats to households that are as similar as possible to the original home. Thus, if the cat is used to going out, we look for a rescue home that can safely offer access to the outdoors. All cats that have been rehomed need to be kept in for a least four weeks to enable them to bond with their new owners & become familiar with their new surroundings. All cats MUST be kept in at night & a litter tray provided. A cat that has been kept in may enjoy some limited outside access, but a cat who is used to going out will rarely adapt to being kept in unless there is plenty of human company & stimulation available.

6. WHERE ARE THE CATS FOR REHOMING LOCATED?

A TALE ABOUT A TAIL!

During late Spring & Summer of 2008, anyone who has attended the AGM or a show where there has been a Somali Table will have been aware that our usual  fundraising efforts have been concentrating on Gypsy. Emma made some lovely badges to sell, Rachel & I have been sweating over hot stoves baking cakes, Di’s customers at Brizlincoat Farm have had a collecting box rattled in front of their noses, & large stuffed toys have had names chosen for them at £1 per go! We’re always collecting for Welfare, so what was all the fuss about, & why was Gypsy any more special than all the others??

In the Spring of 2008 I was contacted by a lady wishing to re home a Somali. Gypsy, a 6 year old sorrel female neuter, had been with her since she was a kitten & was much loved but used to a country life of considerable freedom. She was also a cat with ‘attitude’ who was very loving to her people but with a dominant personality who would not tolerate another cat in the household. Circumstances had dictated that her owner was forced to move to a tiny rented cottage on a very busy road & with a toddler & another baby on the way, she found it impossible to keep Gypsy contained & was anxious for her safety. I promised to try to find the perfect new home for Gypsy & 6 weeks later found the ideal new owners – arrangements were made for them to meet Gypsy & then disaster! The very thing her owner had been fearing happened, & Gypsy arrived home two days prior to rehoming dragging her tail.

Gypsy was taken to vet where the prognosis was guarded in the extreme – the tail was broken close to the base & on initial examination she had no bladder or bowel function. The lines were buzzing as the emails & phone calls flew between the committee that weekend & it was decided that if her owner would sign her over to us, the Somali Cat Club would fund & Di would care for & attempt to rehabilitate her until a suitable new owner could be found. I headed up to the Midlands to collect her from the vet & was greeted by a very sad, rather damp looking cat & the news that it was highly unlikely that she would ever regain bladder control. There was no option – she had to be given a chance as the alternative was unthinkable. She protested loudly throughout the two hour drive to Birmingham & was obviously as relieved as I was to arrive at Brizlincoat Farm & be settled comfortably into Di’s Special Care unit.

Once accustomed to her new surroundings, Gypsy became increasingly confident – Di sorted the bowel problems by judicial administration of tuna in oil but we were still very doubtful of success with what can be a very intractable problem – there was no way of knowing whether the damage she had sustained to the bladder was just severe bruising or whether nerves had been harmed irretrievably. After several visits to the vet, a plan was made to watch & care for Gypsy in the hopes that she would regain some control & her tail could be amputated slightly lower down rather than right at the base. By June, she had full bladder function & the operation was carried out successfully. She was moved to a pen where she could see everything going on & she made a complete recovery from the operation & her scut of tail started to grow new fur.

We had all become so involved with & attached to Gypsy that when the time came to find a new home, it had to be perfect – without any input from her original owner, we knew there had to be no mistakes. It was obvious that this was a cat who would be desperately unhappy if she was contained – she really needed her freedom, but safely! I have been dealing with rehoming for many years & it is quite uncanny how the right person for the right cat turns up time after time. I had been talking to a couple who were about to move to an old house they had been refurbishing – it was an ideal country situation backing onto farmland, they had no other cats & were very keen to have Gypsy – they seemed heaven sent. They collected her from Di in mid August and as is the way with Somalis, she took them over completely. She lives in rural bliss, with a flock of chickens for company of whom she is apparently very fond (though she treats the cockerel with due respect), delivers a constant stream of small rodents for her people to play with & rules the roost. She is very talkative & no one is ever in any doubt when she needs food – which is often – has full run of the house & her freedom during the day. To quote her new owners ‘Gypsy has been such a wonderful addition to our lives.’

So to all of you who contributed so generously to Gypsy’s care, financially & in kind, thank you! She deserved it!