Bits for Pets Blog

A NEW charity has been launched to help deal with the growing number of unwanted cats in Bolton.

A group of volunteers, who have worked with animal services in the town, set up Bolton Cat Rescue because of the increasing number of abandoned pets.

The Bolton News reported earlier this month that the RSPCA was struggling to cope with the amount of homeless cats, blaming the crisis on the credit crunch.

Cat rescue workers said people have been putting their pets out on to the streets after realising how costly, due to food and vet bills, it could be to keep animals.

Emma Hedley, Bolton Cat Rescue chairman, said: “The founding volunteers of Bolton Cat Rescue have been involved with existing animal charities in the Bolton area in the past and are aware that they struggle to meet the demand of cats in need.

“It was decided the group would be best able to help by launching a new charity, which will work alongside the existing charities.

“In the current climate, cats are more in need than ever. There has been a massive surge in pet abandonment in the area recently as many people struggle to afford to keep their pet or are forced to relocate and are unable to take their pet with them.

“We have been able to take a number of cats and kittens into our care and have already successfully rehomed some of them.

“We are now looking to strengthen the group by recruiting new volunteers.”

The charity, which is funded entirely by donations, is taking in abandoned cats and kittens from across the town.

It has a small number of cat pens provided by Earls Farm Cattery in Harwood, to offer temporary homes for pets while new homes are found for them.

In its first month, 12 cats have been taken in and two rehomed by the charity.

The charity also runs a Home2Home service, for a small fee, for families who feel unable to keep their pet, helping find a new home or taking their pet in. It will also neuter cats to prevent unwanted kittens.

To find out more about the charity, adopting a cat or joining the volunteers, visit boltoncatrescue.co.uk or email boltoncatrescue@ yahoo.co.uk.

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A cat has become such a well-known user of a Devon bus service that its drivers know where to let him off.

Casper has been queuing with other passengers to get the number three service from his home in Plymouth for months, bus company First said.

It added that he often sat in the queue and then quietly padded on board and curled up on a seat for the ride.

Casper’s owner Susan Finden, 55, who picked him from a rescue home in 2002, said he had always been a free spirit.

Mrs Finden said she named her pet after Casper the Friendly Ghost, as he has a habit of wandering off.

A spokesman for First said that drivers had been bussing Casper around for months, but Mrs Finden said she had only just found out about his use of public transport.

The care worker said: “He’d always go off and have a wander.

“Once I had to walk a mile-and-a-half with a cat basket to bring him back from a car park.

“He does love people, and I don’t know what the attraction is but he loves big vehicles like lorries and buses.”

A notice has been put up by First in the bus drivers’ rest room in Plymouth bus station asking them to look after the rogue passenger if they spot him sneaking on board.

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Two rare lizards have been born as part of a captive breeding programme at an aquarium in Dorset.

The reptiles, named Andy and Murray after the British tennis star, hatched on 29 and 30 June at the Oceanarium, Bournemouth.

They are the first to be born at the aquarium after nine Spiny-Tailed Lizards were rescued in 2003 after being illegally imported into the UK.

Their parents are Peter and Jordan, named so because of their orange skin.

Charlotte Brown, from the aquarium, said: “Andy and Murray are a true testament to the breeding programme we have been running.

“Since the arrival of the creatures six years ago, we have been working on the breeding programme and even this year loaned one of our four female lizards to Sparsholt College in the hope that she would mate with a male lizard there.

“It was a delight to see the birth of Andy and Murray this week and only fitting to name the lizards after the tennis player dominating the headlines.”

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POLICE are investigating after a spate of mysterious cat deaths in a Worcestershire village were blamed on a lethal household poison.

Officers were called to Honeybourne, near Evesham, after two pets died in suspicious circumstances.

A vets’ report concluded the animals were poisoned with anti-freeze. Since then, a third cat has reportedly died in the same village.

Anti-freeze is very attractive to cats due to its sweet taste, but even a small amount can cause fatal damage. It is not known if the Honeybourne deaths were accidental or malicious.

Evesham resident and animal rights campaigner Lynn Sawyer, aged 42, is a friend of the owner of two of the cats who died. She said: “I got a phone call from my friend saying his cats had been poisoned, so I drove over to Honeybourne straight away.

“I picked him and his cats up in my car, and the cats were having convulsions. We drove over to the vets and they ran some tests, and said it was anti-freeze poisoning. In the end the cats had to be put to sleep. My friend is really upset, obviously – they were his babies.

“Then a few days ago we heard someone else’s cat had died. We just want to get the message out there about how dangerous this stuff is for cats.”

Anti-freeze is made of a highly toxic chemical called ethylene glycol. The sweet chemical is sought out by cats and dogs but as little as a teaspoonful could kill them.

Ms Sawyer said: “If it had just been one cat then you could understand it, but two or three?

“We can’t be sure, but we think it’s really suspicious.”

A spokesman for West Mercia Constabulary said: “Police were called to the village following a report that two cats had been poisoned. We discussed the incident with the owner but no formal complaint was made.

“The local policing team is investigating. Obviously residents are encouraged to report any similar incidents as soon as possible.”

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Thomas the kitten was mistakenly shut inside a washing machine for five days… and has survived to tell (meow) the tale.

The two-month-old tabby hopped in the tub just before owner Darren Nellist and girlfriend Maria Richardson went to stay with friends for New Year. They thought their pet was hiding in the house in Hereford and left food and water out for him.

But it was untouched when they returned and a two-day search failed to find Thomas. Then Maria found him unconscious when she filled the washer. Darren, 34, said: “After 10 minutes he stood up and walked to his food bowl. I feel awful. I’ll always check where he is now.”

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