New cat beds!

Couple of months ago we had shiny new cat beds delivered from Cats Protection head office. These beds are called “Feline Forts” which look like kitty bunkbeds, they are great for cats to hide away underneath or to sleep above.

This year these beds have been great for our kittens, like Si and his sister Sarah. They just love sitting in the top looking out of the window or playing hide and seek underneath. Si and Sarah are currently looking for a loving home together, both very friendly, affectionate and playful. They will make great additions to the family!

Please visit our website or facebook page for more information about adopting Si and Sarah :) Thank you.  

Our 25th Anniversary

Our adoption centre celebrated its 25^th Anniversary this open day. On our information boards, we displayed many of our old newspaper articles and old photos of the centre which our deputy manager Phil had collected over the years. Here are some facts about our centre and some photos from the early days….

 

• New building first opened in September 1987
• First cat homed from Centre was called Bagpuss
• Officially opened on 14^th August 1988 by TV Personality Johnny Morris
• In 1989 our centre had some special visitors from Russia (former Soviet Union) – The Moscow Cat Club filmed around our centre, this film was shown cinemas across the USSR.  
• In early days, Axhayes not only re-homed stray & unwanted cats & kittens, but a wing was dedicated to boarding cats until the mid 1990’s.
• There is an on-site surgery where the vets perform basic operations such as neutering, this was upgraded in 2007
• Outside chalets & pens have been rebuilt & refurbished over the years, the Centre now has a dedicated Isolation block
• During the 25 years Axhayes has re-homed in excess of 17,000 cats & kittens and helped thousands more through our neutering support programmes & advisory services
•  We are always looking at new fundraising ideas and in November 2010 the Friends of Axhayes Group was formed and has since held many fundraising events including a Firewalk & our infamous annual Easter Extravaganza!
• These funds raised have not only helped maintain the upkeep of the centre but has enabled us to build our Feral Enclosure – to be opened very shortly

• Several of the staff are taking part in ‘Puss in Chutes’ Skydive in October. We are hoping these funds will help our future cats and kittens.

We would like to thank everyone for their help and support over the years. We hope to continue helping thousands of cats and kittens in the future....

Happy Endings - Allium and Sweep

Some of you may remember Allium, our very friendly boy who loved the children from Mill Water school who visited our centre. He has been in his new home for eleven weeks now and is doing very well. He’s now been renamed Archie, he spent the first few days of hiding under the sink cupboard, he is now confident and happy. We’ve been told his favourite occupations are sleeping and grooming. He’s been out in the garden but would rather be around the house. His owners are very pleased with him and we are pleased he’s happy and settled in his new home.

We have also heard from Sweep’s new owners after a couple of weeks. Sweep came in with Tinkerbell back in March after their owner sadly passed away. He was very shy when he came to us, after lots of TLC from the girls his confidence started to grow. His owners have contacted us, he’s doing really well and getting used to his new surroundings. He loves to lay in the sun when it shines in through the window. We’re so pleased that he’s happy with his new family. His friend Tinkerbell has been reserved and will be going to her new home in a few days.

We would like to thank Aluim (Archie) and Sweep’s owners for sending these wonderful photos and stories. If you would like to give any of our cats or kittens a loving home, please visit our website at www.axhayes.cats.org.uk. Thank you.

Success Story - Ruddle

Regular Facebook and Blog followers may remember little Ruddle one of our kittens from last year. He came into to us in October 2012 when he was 3 months old with his sisters Otter and Tanglefoot. He was always a little shy and needed a lot of TLC and cuddles from our CCAs and volunteers to help build up his confidence. His sisters found homes, leaving Ruddle behind, after six months he finally found a loving home.

Last week his owners sent us some lovely photos of him (now renamed Casper) with his new canine companion Daisy. He really enjoying his new home and exploring the garden with Daisy. We are all so delighted he is doing really well and would like to thank his owners again for the lovely photos. 

Here are some of the photos of him…

If you would like to give any of our cats or kittens a loving home, please contact us www.axhayes.cats.org.uk. Thank you.

Bob's Story

A cat with a small name and a big personality…

Bob came to Axhayes on 26 March after being handed into St Davids veterinary surgery by a member of the public. He was straying in Exeter and had some obvious injuries that needed to be treated by a vet.

Bob resting his weary paws

He had lots of scratches, a broken tooth, an abscess on the front of his leg and weepy eyes. He wasn’t neutered or microchipped so we couldn’t trace an owner for him.

No one reported him missing so Bob was kept in our care until he was medically ready to be adopted. Bob received antibiotics for his wounds and cream for his eyes. He also had to be neutered, vaccinated, microchipped and treated for fleas & worms.

Bob really made himself at home and was soon making friends with all the staff. He craved attention so much that as soon as you opened his pen door, he would climb out and cuddle you or jump on the floor and climb up your legs until he was picked up.

Bob and I enjoying a cuddle

He was so hungry and ate all of his meals in record time without stopping and would look up at the cat care assistants with his chubby cheeks and sad eyes to see if he could get an extra portion. The way to Bob’s heart was definitely via his stomach and although he had problems with his eyes, his hearing was excellent. He could detect the sound of a rustling packet of treats very well and would always be ready to comply with whatever was asked of him for a tasty snack.   

When he was examined by our vet, it became clear that Bob’s eyes were weeping for a reason. He was diagnosed with Entropion of both eyes. This is when the lower lid folds inward. It is very uncomfortable as the eyelashes constantly rub against the cornea and irritate it. Surgery is needed to correct the problem but if left untreated, the trauma caused to the eye means it may need to be removed. Luckily for Bob, he was in the care of Cats Protection and we were able to provide him with the treatment he needed.

Bob became available for adoption at the end of last week and got lots of attention from visitors to the centre over the weekend.

He is such a friendly, chatty, cuddly cat that we knew he wouldn’t be short of admirers.  He soon won over his new owners who met him on Sunday and came to collect him yesterday.

We wish Bob and his new family a very happy life together and hope they will send us some photos of him when he has settled into his new home.

We will miss Bob, a very charming cat!

Bob with his cute smile on adoption day

One of the reasons, we do the job we do is to help cats like Bob who have no one to care for them and as a charity we rely on donations to fund the medical treatment that they need.

Some of the cat care assistants have decided to do a Tandem Skydive later this year to raise money for our centre so that we can continue to care for cats in need like Bob.

“Puss in Chutes” will be taking place on 6 October.  We’d really love you to sponsor us or if you want to join in with the jump, you can raise your own sponsor money.  For further information, please click on this link to the events section of our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/events/160076540823650/

Meet our wonderful black cats!

We’ve had a busy weekend here at Axhayes, we managed to rehome eleven cats. Our annual open day is only a week away… we have lots of gorgeous black cats just waiting for someone to take them home! All of them are friendly, affectionate and have great personalities! Please join us here at Axhayes adoption centre on Sunday 19^th May for our open day and meet some of our wonderful cats here at the centre…

Pew and Pete (8 month old male black kittens)

Pete and his brother Pew are a friendly, playful, wonderful pair of kittens who were born here in September and have been overlooked ever since. It is heart breaking that he has spent all his young life in a pen; we are desperate to find a loving home for him. Please make Pete's dreams come true and take him home today!

Merlin (12 year old male black cat)

Merlin is a very sweet boy looking for someone to show him all the nice things he's been missing out on. His owner brought him in when she thought that he wanted more than the indoor flat he's been used to. We are sure Merlin would love a nice garden and the freedom to do what he wants to do. If you think you can spoil this beaut rotten then please take him home today!

Ella (5 year old female black cat)

Ella is a lovely chatty cat who is very charismatic. She is very friendly, so much so that she wants all the attention to herself and not share it with another cat, so needs to be the only cat in the home. She would make a wonderful companion. This is Ella's third time at Axhayes - she really has been an unlucky black cat! Please make this Ella's 'third time lucky' and adopt her today!

Oscar (8 year old male black cat)

Oscar is a lovely cat who was passed onto us after being taken into a vets as a stray. It transpired that he was microchipped and had been missing for 4 years. Unfortunately his owner could not offer him a home again as their circumstances had changed. He is now looking for a new forever home where he can enjoy a few home comforts once again.

Juno and Joseph (8 and 9 year old male black cats)

A family break up means these chaps need to find a new home. They are good all-rounders, having lived with other cats, dogs and children. They are affectionate and playful, and would love a home with lots of space to explore. Please take them home!

 

Sahara and Kalahari (1 year old female and male black cats)

We don’t know how these cats came to be found in a nice man garden all lost and alone. They are so friendly we are sure they must have had a home at one point, they have been looked after and cared for. If you are looking for some great little cats to brighten up your home please say hello to the deserts.

Etcha (4 year old female black cat)

When Etcha’s owner became ill, there was no one to care of her, so she was brought here. While she’s been in our care we have found her to be a very affectionate cat. She is very sweet and loves attention. She will make a lovely companion for someone. Can you offer her the new home she deserves?

Please visit our website at www.axhayes.cats.org.uk for more information about any of our cats.

Open Day 2013!

PLEASE HELP OUR SPRING OPEN DAY!

We are looking for volunteers to help out at our Open Day!

On Sunday 19th May is our annual Open day, this year is extra special as it’s our adoption centre’s 25th Anniversary! Our centre has seen many thousands of cats through its doors and we are very proud to still be able to rescue and rehome hundreds of cats and kittens each year.

We are looking for volunteers to help on the day to either help run a stall or to organise the car parking. If you could spare an hour or two of your time, we’d be very grateful. If you are unable to attend, perhaps you could help by baking a cake or two, or if you love gardening, maybe you could spare us some cuttings to sell. We’ll also need plenty of prizes for raffles and for the auction, so any good-quality items you could donate would be very much appreciated.

If you are able to help us, please call Phil on 01395 232377. Thank you for your support. We look forward to hearing from you and hope to see you on the day :)