A Plea for Our Many Black Kittens and Cats.

We admitted the two cats mentioned in last blog and I am pleased to say that they are very  homeable. Mum Suzy is a ginger and her daughter Becky a lovely dark tortoishell. (pictured below)It would be nice for them to be adopted as a pair and I think they will appeal to visitors unlike the poor black ones.

In fact, we have so many half grown black kittens now that I have contacted the local newspaper  this morning to feature them in an article about unwanted cats. We had high jinks trying to gather an armful of black youngsters for the photo shoot and in the end only two remained in Sues arms!  5 months old Misha and Sophie have been here since they were 8 weeks old and have been overlooked every time. I am confident though, that the newspaper feature will result in a good home for them .

One of Meis relatives was forced to part with her Golden Retriever Max  due to health issues and I have rarely known so many people to be clambering after him. I was kept very busy fielding calls from hopeful people desperate to adopt Max.The truth is that within an hour of advertising him, a suitable home was found. Some very good homes were offered  but it is a great shame that a mixed breed dog does not attract the same attention.
Mind you, there seem to be just as many pedigree dogs needing homes nowadays, I am sure that was not the case when I first started in animal welfare.Having said that, in those early days I saw far more badly neglected animals , dogs in  particular ,than I do now so  SOME things have improved slightly.The worst cases of neglect  I have seen have  been with pedigree dogs and  the ones which spring to my mind immediately are a Poodle, an Afghan Hound, an Old English Sheepdog and a Doberman, all of which were extreme cases and will stay in my mind forever.
I think that the introduction of Council Dog Wardens made a huge difference to the situation and of course more animal rescue organisations similar to Freshfields were set up in and around cities in the Eighties so there was less reason for a person to simply leave an animal to deteriorate.; there were suddenly more  places these dogs could be taken when no longer wanted.
That doesn't mean that there will not be any more heartrending neglect cases , I'm afraid that there will always be people who will behave irresponsibly and cruelly ,but at least now  there are more options  available which must have some effect on statistics.

Just had a call from a man who wants to board his  4 pet hens for 4 -5 days. I dont feel I can have them here, it would not be safe for poultry.Am trying to think of someone who has a safe enclosure.Does anybody know anyone who could help?