29th January 2010 - Safe House for Unwanted Animals (SHUA)

Safe House for Unwanted Animals (SHUA)
(Posted 29th Jan 2010)

Safe House for Unwanted Animals (known as SHUA) is a small charity whose volunteers have been operating in the Barry and Vale of Glamorgan area since 2001. They are funded entirely by donation and the proceeds from their shop in Barry. Burns provides food to feed some of the cats in their care.
SHUA helps unwanted stray and feral cats and they are often asked to help other rescues with emergency cases. All the cats they take in are health checked, blood tested and neutered (if old enough) and no healthy cat is ever euthanized.

Every attempt is made to reunite strays with their owners. This is not always easy as many cats are not micro-chipped or the details are not up to date.

The majority of cats and kittens are rehomed following a careful selection and home-checking process and there is a strict spay/neuter and micro-chipping policy.

Kittens from stray or feral cats (many of which have to be hand-reared) are tamed, health-checked, wormed, treated for fleas and then rehomed.

Any feral cats which cannot be returned to their original location or relocated (where their health and welfare can be monitored) can remain at the rescue centre.

FIV positive (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus) cats which are not homed as indoor cats are welcome to stay as residents.

SHUA rehomes around 250 cats and kittens each year, not including the many feral and stray cats that pass through their hands or those who sadly have to be euthanized for medical reasons. They actively promote neutering/spaying to prevent unwanted litters and encourage all cat owners to have their pets micro-chipped and ensure their details up to date so strays can be returned.

This recent case provides a real illustration of SHUA’s work.

“On the morning of 11th January Cats Protection League called to say that a mother cat and her five kittens had been found in a garden on BURNS Crescent........HELP!!!!!! Armed with traps, nets, gauntlets and hot chicken we set off to see what the situation was. The area has a terrible reputation for animal cruelty and abandoned cats and dogs have to fight and forage for food and shelter. The kind owners of this particular garden put food out every day to help feed all the animals they can. When we arrived we counted five feral tom cats and some very frightened kittens with flu-like symptoms. All the cats fled from the garden as soon as we arrived so we knew that this was definitely going to be a trapping job.

That night the snow fell! Luckily we have a 4x4 and following ten trips over six days, skidding and sliding sideways through the snow, we had six tom cats and four kittens. Although Cats Protection League agreed to pay for neutering we had to have them all blood tested for F.I.V. and F.E.L.V and vet assessed before we could operate. Sadly one of the feral toms not only tested positive but was also injured and very ill so we had to have him euthanized. The other adults were fit, healthy, tested negative and had good body weight so they were neutered. Two of the toms were timid but tame so they were wormed, treated for fleas, and returned to the garden. All the other cats would need further help from SHUA.

"BIG BOB"(named for Robbie Burns), a handsome tabby who purred in the trap when we picked him up and loved being fussed by the vet and nurses, tested F.I.V. Positive. Cats Protection League wouldn't take him, the tenants in Burns Crescent didn't want him back and we couldn't face having this friendly puss put to sleep so he has joined the other permanent residents of SHUA.

It is obvious that the stunning young blue male, “HAGGIS”, and the kittens all once had homes where they were fed and played with before being thrown out when the novelty had worn off! With time we hope that Haggis will calm down and remember how to be a pet so he can find a new home.

The kittens, two males and two females between 14 and 18 weeks old, were all emaciated and had problems. “BURN O DETT” was really poorly with flu, "EDDIE" has her third eyelid stuck to her eye and will need surgery, “BURNSY” has terrible battle scars and a bad attitude whilst the last one, "ROBBIE" was almost lifeless and his head was three times its normal size! Urgent veterinary treatment revealed an immense subcutaneous build up of air but we couldn't find the cause. After 48 hours of repeatedly bathing and massaging his head the first puncture wound appeared and promptly burst. Five more puncture wounds were located as they festered and subsequently burst. For eight days Robbie had a drain in his head and was nursed around the clock to remove all the discharge and keep the wounds clean. The drain was removed on Wednesday this week and we could finally see the plucky little kitten beneath the wounds. Robbie must have upset one of the tom cats while trying to get food and would certainly have died if he hadn't got in the trap!

All four kittens now enjoy a cuddle but only one can purr properly. The others sound like spluttering drains but there are broken purrs there to be had. We're also trying to get them to play. It is such a simple thing but up to now they've been too busy fighting to stay alive.

No doubt we will be back to Burns Crescent and the surrounding areas to deal with similar problems again during the year. No matter how many free neutering campaigns are offered some people just can’t be bothered to get their animals done and in some cases the desperation for drink or drugs means the small amount of money raised by selling a kitten is enough to keep them breeding cats. They don't consider that the animals need feeding and caring for and just see them as a source of income. 75% of these kittens will become outdoor strays before turning feral and producing more kittens. This creates a perfect breeding ground for flu, F.I.V. and .F.E.L.V, the most miserable and unnecessary of deaths.

If anyone is interested in taking on any of our "BURNS BRIGADE" or any of our other damaged but darling cats please contact us through our website www.shua.org.uk or text us on 07831 216170

Safe House for Unwanted Animals (SHUA) (Posted 29th Jan 2010)

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Safe House for Unwanted Animals (SHUA)
(Posted 29th Jan 2010)