WE rehome about 100 rabbits a year and currently have 14 awaiting loving homes

Welcome to the website of Perry Barr Retired Greyhound Trust.

On July 1st 2006 Perry Barr RGT moved our retired dogs to Daybreaks Kennels in Solihull.The first dog through the gate was Jay, pictured right.

The kennels are being run by Ruth Boswell who has given up her full time employment as a medical secretary to dedicate all her time to looking after the retired greyhounds.

Our kennels are open daily and you can arrange a viewing time to suit your needs. We have many volunteers who help at ‘The Trust’ all of whom have been working actively in greyhound rescue and adoption for many years and all have owned their own greyhounds.

The name ‘The Retired Greyhound Trust’ suggests that the dogs we are trying to home are old, but nothing could be further from the truth, most greyhounds on average retire from racing aged anything between 18 months and 4 years old.

These wonderful dogs are good with children, are very placid and need only a couple of short walks a day.

If you think you could give a loving home to an ex racer then give us a call on             0121 782 7702      .

If you cannot make up your mind about homing a greyhound, please come along to any of our awareness roadshows and see for yourself what greyhounds are like as pets. Details of these can be found on our events page.

If you would like us to send you some literature or a video/dvd on homing a greyhound, with no obligation, please give Ruth a call on            0121 782 7702      

From  the  main road outside, a solid, stone Victorian villa in Allerton, West Bradford, is nothing special. Inside, it is a haven of comfort and protection for the outcasts of society.

Brenda turned her house into Bradford Cat Rescue. For more than 40 years she has cared for the unwanted and unloved cats of the area; finding good homes for those which are adoptable, and keeps, for the rest of their nine lives, the old, injured and ugly. Thousands of abandoned and mistreated cats have been rehomed over the years.

Brenda was awarded the International Fund for Animal Welfare, Animal Action Award Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002.

Readers of ‘The People’ newspaper suggested Brenda be nominated and she was asked to go to the House of Lords where she was presented with the Award by the IFAW.

Bradford Cat Rescue relies on people’s generosity but it has been a struggle over the last couple of years. Local supermarkets do help by having food donation stations but not as much food is being left as it used to be, and financial gifts have reduced greatly since the credit crunch. Legacies have been left in the past, but not recently.

Brenda is very concerned as to what will happen if donations continue to dwindle. If the rescue was to close, what would happen to all the abandoned and mistreated cats in Bradford?

Ray of Hope Animal Rescue is a not for profit organisation run entirely by volunteers. We are a small rescue and currently can only rehome within a 25 mile radius of Leeds. We currently extend that to Todmorden, Hebden Bridge, Holmfirth, Skipton and surrounding areas as we have volunteers in that area.

All our animals are fully health checked, vaccinated, spayed/castrated, microchipped, de-flead and wormed and any dental or other veterinary work is carried out. All animals are subject to a homecheck, rehoming policy and an adoption fee. We are a no kill animal rescue.

Rescuing and rehoming unwanted cats and kittens from the Dewsbury Area. Permanent, loving homes are always needed, in safe, quiet areas, well away from busy roads. Kittens are often avaiilable in the spring/summer, and adult cats throughout the year. A home visit is made prior to adopting a cat to assess mutual suitability. Adult cats are always neutered/spayed prior to adoption.

Since 1997 the trustees of FCW had worked as volunteers for Adel Branch of Cats Protection in Leeds until it was closed in January 2010 by the National Cat Centre. As well as taking in and caring for unwanted domestic cats, the Branch had been supporting feral cats by neutering and providing food thus preventing their numbers from increasing and reducing their suffering.  Knowing the struggle feral and timid strays face, being the least popular of cats and the most persecuted, the trustees wanted to try and continue helping those that had once been supported regularly by the Branch and do whatever they could to help those that would come to their attention in the future.  Feral Cat Welfare was formed in March 2010.

HOW WE WORK

AIMS

• To educate the public with regards responsible pet ownership.

• To raise funds for and run neutering campaigns to reduce the number of unwanted kittens being born and so reduce the number of homeless and feral cats.

• To supply food to those people feeding feral cats on a regular basis and contribute towards veterinary treatment if necessary. 

• To loan traps to and wherever possible assist those people willing and able to trap feral cats for neutering.

• To raise funds to provide a permanent refuge for feral and timid stray cats.

WHAT ARE FERAL CATS?

Many times cats that are considered feral or wild are just frightened domestic pets that have been abandoned and left to fend for themselves, often unneutered.  Once in care they soon show their true characters and are found to be friendly and affectionate.  Even cats considered feral or wild can turn into loving, trusting and loyal companions if given time and patience.  If nursing feral mothers can be brought into care before their kittens are too old then the kittens are just as tame as a domestic kitten.  If brought into care slightly older, they can still be “socialized” and eventually become as friendly and trusting as domestic kittens. 

Feral and timid strays live an often precarious life and many kittens don’t even reach adulthood.  They are considered vermin by pest control companies who trap and dispose of them, not always humanely.  Many people are unaware of ferals because they are shy and nervous of people and usually stay hidden during the day.  Calls for help with feral cats often only surface when a litter of kittens is found in a garden or outbuilding.

Unneutered females can become pregnant repeatedly, struggle to find safe situations to rear their kittens and are constantly hungry.  Before they have regained their strength and their kittens have become independent they become pregnant again.  A feral mother rarely succeeds in feeding two litters of kittens at the same time and  some inevitably suffer.  Unneutered male cats wander and fight for territory and food and soon deteriorate due to starvation, infected wounds and disease. 

NEUTERING ASSISTANCE

Feral cat numbers would be greatly reduced if pet cats were neutered.  Feral Cat Welfare does not have the funds available to support reduced cost neutering but if cat owners are on benefits or low income half price or free vouchers can be obtained from Cats Protection.  There are many Cats Protection branches around the UK that are run by volunteers, some of whom may be able to help with the trapping, neutering and return of feral cats.  They supply neutering vouchers to the public for their own cats, dependent upon income, and assist with funding the neutering of larger colonies of feral cats by providing grants.   

If you know of any domestic or feral cats in need of neutering, please contact Cats Protection on             03000 12 12 12       who may be able to assist.  You will also find a list of local Branches on the Catchat website:   www.catchat.org. 

As a result of the closure or scaling down of several cat rescue charities (both national and independent) in Leeds, many dedicated former volunteers from one of those charities have now regrouped and formed Leeds Feline Friends. We will endeavour to improve the lot of as many cats on the streets of Leeds as finance and time permit.

We aim to improve the lives of the vulnerable cats of Leeds, wherever and whenever possible, and to leave them healthier, happier and more secure than when we found them.

We are a small group of friends who started out together on this venture and, although we may lack funding at the moment, we have a wealth of experience and, just as importantly, we enjoy working together for the benefit of needy local cats. We do not look for any reward other than seeing these cats blossom under our care and find safe and secure new homes.

As a recently established charity we shall mainly be concentrating on fund raising – please see our EVENTS  page.

            URGENT APPEAL FOR FOSTERERS

Sheffield Hallam is a Branch of Cats Protection, the oldest charity for cats in the UK. The Branch is run by unpaid volunteers who are committed to the rescue of sick, ill-treated and unwanted cats and to find them safe and loving homes. No cat is ever put to sleep unless a Vet advises that nothing more can be done. We vaccinate, microchip, spay and neuter all cats over 4 months old before they go to new owners. We try to help whenever we can, but we are a very small group of volunteers and at present more people are bringing in unwanted and abandoned cats than are offering to give them homes. Our pens are full and other cats are waiting. Please look at the cats on this Website that are ready for adoption and let other people know who might be interested in them. This information is updated every day. We would also be very grateful if you could support us through a subscription to our regular newsletter “Mews” from Sheffield Hallam Branch (£5 per annum). Contact the Editor oncatsprotection@talktalk.net