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If you are genuinely
interested in offering a Somali a new home,
please read ALL
of this page. |
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WELFARE AND RESCUE REPORT.
SCC AGM 29th MAY 2011.
Thankfully, this last year has been fairly quiet year, with nine cats
having been re-homed and another ongoing. All these cats have been moved
for genuine social reasons – in the main, not getting on with other cats
in the household and needing to be ‘only ones’. In one case, two sisters
were found a home together when a change of circumstances meant that
their owner was working away from home four days a week, and he rightly
felt that they were missing the attention they were used to. Somalis are
sensitive cats, and of all the breeds I have come into contact with over
many years, their need for human interaction is paramount.
In the last month, Di and I have been dealing with a rescue situation
that is our worst nightmare. I was contacted by Cat Protection Head
Office when a breeder was being evicted and had upwards of 14 entire
Somalis needing to be rescued – the local CP was full, so Di took three
entire males (another escaped while being penned by Cats Protection and
to date has not been trapped) and a contact of CP took six entire
females, all in poor condition. None of these cats were registered or
vaccinated (and the males were not even named) and their owner has
obviously been continuing to breed and sell kittens indiscriminately for
many years without any concern for the most basic duty of care. The
males (who obviously had minimal human contact) have now been neutered
and remain with Di at Brizlincoat where she is slowly and gently
rehabilitating them, and there are hopes that two of them will
eventually be able to be homed together, as they are very emotionally
dependant on each other. However, the outlook is bleak for the third who
is completely feral and un-handleable, even after a month of good food
and the best care possible.
We have had dealings with this breeder previously, at great cost to the
S.C.C., and although she is no longer a club member, the ramifications
of her activities continue to affect the club. She has taken several of
her cats with her and doubtless will be starting up again. I implore all
breeder members of the Somali Cat Club to assess prospective purchasers
very carefully when selling kittens for breeding and make them aware of
their responsibility to any kittens they breed, in the hope of avoiding
a similar time bomb. Situations like this not only bring the Somali
breed and the club into disrepute, but cause great misery to the
blameless cats involved.
Alison Lyall - Welfare and Rescue
Co-ordinator |
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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
cats 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?
We try to
re-home our cats from their existing homes direct to their new owners.
Thus, our cats can be located all over the country our Welfare & Rescue
Co-ordinator does not run a cattery for them. When you contact her, it is
always helpful to give your name, address, landline telephone number and a
few details of your circumstances & what you can offer eg. other animals
kept, safe outside access, proximity to busy roads, children, whether
there is someone home during the day & any experience with re-homing cats. |
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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
Gypsy was taken to vet where the prognosis
was guarded in the
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 Gypsys care, financially & in kind, thank
you! She deserved it!
Photo's by
kind permission of J Sharples |
WOULD
YOU LIKE TO OFFER A HOME?
In
that case, we would be delighted to hear from you!
Contact
the Rescue & Welfare Co-ordinator, Alison Lyall, at:
a_lyall@uk2.net
Her New Address is
PORTERS HOUSE,
We
look forward to hearing from you. |
