Cat Action Trust 1977

Ayrshire Branch

looking for homes...

why adopt a rescued cat or kitten?

Every year in the UK, millions of companion animals - cats, dogs, rabbits, horses - are euthanised because someone deemed them 'unwanted'. An animal bought as a Christmas present and now no longer 'cute', a litter of kittens born to a domestic or abandoned mother and unable to find homes, a dog whose daily walks have simply become a 'chore' for the humans who bought him... We do not believe that any animal should be deemed 'unwanted' for any of these - or any other - reasons.

That is why we encourage people to adopt a rescued companion animal rather than support a pet industry that thrives on breeding and selling particular breeds of animals at the expense of the millions of cats and dogs who are already alive and facing a lonely death for no reason other than being 'surplus to human requirements'. This is never a reason to kill an animal.

Please consider giving an abandoned, abused or 'unwanted' cat or kitten a happy life.

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adopting a rescued cat or kitten

We always have cats and kittens looking for new loving homes.

For more information on any of the cats and kittens who are currently looking for new homes, please contact us. Thank you!

Below are some of the cats who are looking for new loving homes:

Still waiting for the right home; can you offer these long-timers a forever home?

New additions; can you offer a new start for one of our new residents?:

Bandit

Bandit

Age: 4 years / Sex: male / Colour: black & white / Good with other cats?: Yes / Good with children?: Older children / Date added: 1st June 2008

His story: Bandit and his brother Smokey, through no fault of their own, were no longer wanted by their owner. These two boys are about 3 years old now and have been together their whole lives. However, although they do get along well together, they aren't particularly close and so could be homed separately. They are lovely natured boys who love to explore outside. 

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Gordon and Hughie

Age: 10 months / Sex: male / Colour: black & white / Good with other cats?: yes / Good with children?: yes / Date added: updated 16th August 2010

Their story: These poor wee lads were living in a back court in Haghill, Glasgow with their young mother. Gordon and his brother Hughie are now about 10 months old. Both boys are really gentle with the younger kittens and love to play with them. We have been very keen to keep Gordon and Hughie together but they do get on so well with the younger kittens that they could be homed separately from each other but teamed up with either Karen, Bluebell or Daffodil. Bluebell and Daffodil are Gordon and Hughie's sisters, all kittens of Tracey and Butch. We had the whole family, taken from a Glasgow street (see Tracey's story). Butch is now homed and is just loving all the comforts and love he was denied as a kitten and youngster.

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Luther and Louis

Age: 12 weeks / Sex: male / Colour: black / Good with other cats?: yes / Good with children?: older children / Date added: 16th August 2010

Their story:Kittens Luther and Louis came into our care from a stable yard along with their mother (for spaying) and their brother and sister. The kittens had been handled so were already socialised to human company. Their siblings are now homed and settled but Luther and Louis are on the lookout for a great home together. They are little purring machines who thoroughly enjoy their favourite pastimes of lap dancing and playing Kamakaze Kitten on the stairs. They would settle well with a family with children and would love to have a garden to play in.

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Lily

Age: young adult / Sex: female / Colour: black & white/ Good with other cats?: yes, but she'd prefer to be an only girl / Good with children?: older children / Date added: 16th August 2010

Her story: When Lily came into our care in May we thought she might be pregnant. that turned out not to be the case, however, and so she has now been spayed and  innoculated and is ready to move on to a new home. Lily is a very young adult but had been living on the streets since at least Christmas. It was then that she appeared, hungry and frozen, and was given food  regularly by a compassionate person who took pity on her. At that time, Lily must still have been really young - just months old.  She is a sweet, affectionate, little cat who would probably be happiest as the only pet (and centre of attention!) of her new family. Access to a safe outdoor area is a must as Lily gazes longingly out of the window in her foster home.

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Ruby

Age: approx 3 years / Sex: female / Colour: grey tortie / Good with other cats?: yes, but she'd prefer to be an only girl / Good with children?: older children / Date added: 16th August 2010

Her story: When we first heard of Ruby's plight, she was being fed by the neighbours of her negligent owner, who had now acquired a dog and no longer wanted the cat. Although she is young (about 3 years), Ruby's mouth was in a mess - the result of terrible negligence. She had to have most of her teeth removed and be given antibiotics for some time before her mouth became healthy again. An abcess on the middle of her tongue must have added considerably to the great pain she had suffered but it, too, is now healed with only a scar to show that it had ever been there. Despite being so badly neglected by her previous owner, Ruby has chosen to see only the good in people and, although initially shy with people she doesn't know (for about three minutes!), she desperately wants to give and receive affection. She is certainly of the opinion that there is no better way to spend an afternoon's snooze-time than to cuddle up with her foster mum on the sofa. Too bad foster mum has to work, eh Ruby?? Like Lily, Ruby would probably prefer to have her new people all to herself rather than share them with other pets, and she too would love to get out and about once settled.

Tracey

Tracey (back left) with her daughters Bluebell and Daffodil

Age: young adult / Sex: female / Colour: black / Good with other cats?: yesl / Good with children?: older children / Date added: 16th August 2010

Her story:When I first saw Tracey, in a back court full of bin bags and abandoned household items, I had just caught her two kittens, later to be named Gordon and Hughie (see above). It was a freezing day, just a week or so before Christmas. Tracey had been sheltering with her kittens inside a broken vent beneath an empty flat. She had seen her babies being trapped and was refusing to take the bait herself. Instead, she walked about for a very long time in the truly freezing conditions, crying for them. It really was heartbreaking, knowing that, by taking her kittens away, I was adding to her misery. To make matters even worse, one of Tracey's paws was very badly swollen and I could see that a large piece of flesh seemed to have been torn from her mid-leg down to the paw. I knew she was in incredible pain, but couldn't get her to go into the trap. Trying to catch Tracey went on for four months until, finally, she was fooled into an especially made 'drop trap'! After her kittens were born in April, and were weaned, I decided to reintroduce Tracey to her older kittens, Gordon and Hughie. Amazingly, after all that time, she knew them at once! Tracey is a wonderful mother and has helped me look after quite a few other, motherless, kittens. She is shy with people, but her confidence continues to grow and, now that she is spayed and her paw healed, it would be just wonderful to find the right person to give this young cat the love that she really deserves. Tracey is named after a young woman who lives across the road from where she was taking shelter. Without the invaluable help of the human Tracey, who fed her on the days when I couldn't be there, the cat Tracey would have suffered so much more and it would have taken even longer to catch her.

Bluebell and Daffodil

Bluebell and Daffodil with their mum, Tracey.

Age: 4 months / Sex: female / Colour: black / Good with other cats?: yes; could be homed with Gordon or Hughie / Good with children?: older children / Date added: 16th August 2010

Their story: These girls are Tracey's daughters (born April 2010) and Gordon and Hughie's little sisters. Bluebell and Daffodil are shy with people they don't know, but are such gentle wee girls that  I know they will settle down well in a special home with a caring family who will understand their initial shyness and give them a little time to just feel safe in a new situation. The girls love their big brothers, who treat them so kindly, and so we would definitely consider homing a big brother and little sister together.

Janey

Age: approx 3 years / Sex: female / Colour: black & white/ Good with other cats?: no / Good with children?: yes / Date added: 16th August 2010

Her story:Janey is a very friendly domestic cat of about three years old. She really loves to be fussed and petted by people but isn't all that keen on other cats! It's not that she picks fights with other cats, she's just a bit lippy. I think if she was faced with a big, scary, 5-week-old bossy kitten she'd probably go belly up... Taliking of belly-up, Janey does tend to think she's just a kitten herself. She loves to lie on her back, halfway out of her sleeping quarters, to play with a toy that dangles down from the roof of her pen. Janey is desperate to get out of that pen and have a good run around. Her waistline might just benefit from that too! Like all of our rescued cats and kittens, Janey is fully inoculated and spayed. 

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our adoption policy

Our procedure for homing is fairly straightforward. First of all, we chat on the phone to the potential adopters and, all being well, we arrange to visit them. There are many reasons why this is a good idea. Firstly, we have to be as sure as possible that this is a genuine offer of a permanent home from people who have given the idea a lot of thought. Secondly, meeting the family, which may include other animals, helps us determine which of our little charges is best suited to everyone’s needs. For instance, an adventurous, confident, cat would fit in well with a boisterous family whilst a quieter little personality would be happier placed with quieter people. Should we receive a request from someone just too far away to be visited, we ask for a vet’s reference instead.

Anyone adopting a cat or kitten from us is required to fill in a Homing Form. This form gives details of the cat or kitten, including when s/he was spayed or neutered (if old enough when adopted), or when this should be done. It also advises on when vaccinations can be given, how long it may be necessary to keep the cat or kitten indoors to allow it to settle and outlines our right to remove the cat or kitten if we are concerned over his or her welfare.

Obviously, being based in Ayrshire, we can’t home cats or kittens too far afield. Having said that, we have homed all over Scotland, with one little kitten being flown by helicopter to her new home in the Highlands.  One very elusive feral cat, who had spent her life living in a car park in Ayr, was flown out to Canada to join the family who had fed her for years. But that’s another tale, to be elaborated on in our archive stories one day soon…….

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