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We received amazing news following the initial public vote our Rudy Reporting on the Kitten Influx Appeal film made it into the final round. The judges from Smiley Charity Film Awards will now select the winner for our category. Voting opened on14th February for the People's Choice Awards so if you haven't voted already please follow this link and cast your vote before midnight on Tuesday 12th March. https://smileycharityfilmawards.com/films/rudy-the-cat-reporting-on-kitten-influx-and-appeal A huge thank you to everyone that voted for Rudy's film in the first round we really appreciate it and thank you in advance for your votes in the second round. Here is Rudy's video asking for your votes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fz09kQAYz1E You can check out his film here if you haven't seen it already. https://youtu.be/_ZQohxdcmUE

Rudy has helped check the giant chocolate Easter egg donated to us by Magna Confectioners in Telford. You could win this huge egg just by signing up to our weekly lottery between now and 10pm on Thursday 21st March. You can sign up for just 1 entry in a single week or set up to be entered for future draws. Each week you are entered you will also have the opportunity to win up to £25000. It costs £1 per entry into the weekly draw. (There is a maximum of 20 entries per week). Participants must be 18 or over to sign up to enter. A minimum of 50% of the total lottery proceeds go to supporting the work carried out by Shropshire Cat Rescue, 18.4% on prizes and 31.6% on expenses and administration of the lottery. We are unable to post the egg as it is very heavy and fragile so it needs to be collected but this is ok as in comes the other half of your prize a tour around the shelter. The winner will be notified and a date will be arranged for them to come and collect and be shown around the shelter by one of our lovely volunteers. For more information about our lottery and to sign up please head to the lottery section in our website menu or follow this link https://www.shropshirecatrescue.org.uk/lottery Please Be Gamble Aware and seek help, advice or support from BeGambleAware.  They have a freephone number available 24-7. It is 0808 8020 133.

We received amazing news following the public vote our Rudy Reporting on the Kitten Influx Appeal film has made it into the final round. The judges from Smiley Charity Film Awards will now select the winner for our category. There will be another chance for you to vote for our film from 14th February in the People's Choice Awards as soon as we have information about how to vote we will be letting you know. A huge thank you to everyone that voted for Rudy's film in the first round we really appreciate it. Here is a little video from Rudy with the exciting news. https://youtube.com/shorts/O4APYm8qpPM?si=uMcHrh3DnsXYNoJs To check out the Rudy Reporting On Kitten Influx Appeal film follow this link https://youtu.be/_ZQohxdcmUE?si=eqq_0U6TjxnGvPKA

Rudy Reporting on the Kitten Influx Appeal film is an entrant in the Smiley Charity Film Awards and we need your vote to help get us to the next stage of judging. Voting ends at midnight on 24th January 24 please cast your vote and share with your family and friends. https://smileycharityfilmawards.com/films/rudy-the-cat-reporting-on-kitten-influx-and-appeal If you could spare a few minutes and vote for us we would really appreciate it. Thank you for your support.

Micky our mascot cat and Claire a volunteer are kickstarting their new year with challenges to get active. Micky will be doing a virtual challenge to the South Pole and needs to cover 100 miles between now and 31st March. Micky will be popping up around Shropshire so keep your eyes peeled you may see Micky when you are out and about walking. Micky will use a treadmill for when its very wet and muddy to get the miles in as he is like most cats and not a fan of the rain. Claire who volunteers at the shelter is starting her couch to 5k on New Years day. Claire is passionate about Shropshire Cat Rescue. Claire is completing this challenge in memory of Molly who lived in our Retirement Village, sadly we said goody bye to Molly in October she had reached the grand age of 22. She would have been 23 on the 9th February so Claire aims to do the 5k run on that day. Claire has said she is not a runner so this is going to be a real challenge for her. Micky is going to join Claire on her training runs when possible and is hoping to cheer her on along her 5k run. They both have JustGiving pages that are linked to Shropshire Cat Rescue’s Winter Appeal which is now Mic’s legacy appeal after he sadly passed away in November following several seizures. He had come back to the shelter for a second time following the sudden death of both his previous owners and due to being 13 with spinal issues that needed close monitoring he had gone into our retirement village and had settled well. Micky’s Just Giving Page https://www.justgiving.com/page/mickywalking100miles Claire’s Just Giving Page https://www.justgiving.com/page/claire-herzig-1701549415583 Check out Micky's start of his 100 mile journey https://youtu.be/C4xPTgHwfJ4?si=nA0PTQrI9kd02TQ9

Santa Paws has been busy throughout December visiting various places around Shropshire and Wolverhampton. Children have been writing letters saying what their pets would like for Christmas and Santa Paws ensured he read every single letter. It was so heartwarming for Santa Paws and the volunteers to read them. Santa Paws did regular posts with the help of the resident cats so people could hear a small selection of the letters received. The letters melted your heart when reading them, you discovered children wanted their pets to be happy and receive love and kindness. On Christmas Eve at 4:30pm Santa Paws arrived in style at the shelter with Sidecar Santa to deliver the donated toys. This was streamed live on Facebook and TicTok so Shropshire Cat Rescue followers could watch and get into the Christmas spirit. The toys were mostly donated via our online shop using the donate to shelter option and our Amazon wish list, food, beds and scratch posts were also sent or brought to the shelter during December. The cats all enjoyed receiving their gifts and some dived into the basket and helped themselves without mentioning names Pongo, Maya and Philly. The Yeowww and other catnip toys went down a treat and there were some very happy cats on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Santa Paws visit would not have been possible without our fabulous volunteers and supporters. We can’t thank everyone enough for their continued support and help throughout the year and especially during the festive season. Check out highlights of Santa Paws visit here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9TtYBmdQzw You can also catch up on where Santa Paws has been throughout December https://youtu.be/GWK7xLtxR5g?si=ciAZRz-EcuqTnvSe Santa Paws will be back in December next year.

On Christmas eve at 4:30pm Santa Paws will be arriving at the shelter to hand out the gifts donated by our supporters. You can watch live via Facebook and TicTok Here is the link for the Facebook live https://fb.me/e/38aJll6Dx We hope you are able to watch online and enjoy seeing the cats receiving the lovely donations. Thank you to everyone for your support and donations.

Sadly Mic has come back to us for a third time. Due to the sudden and tragic loss of his previous owners. Mic has now lost two loving homes in tragic ways 😿Mic is a sweet 13 year old boy who loves fuss. Due to spinal issues, Mic needs close monitoring, regular veterinary care and pain relief. Mic has become our most recent Retirement Village resident. He is already soaking up the fuss from volunteers and settling well. Mic’s story is extra sad as he has lost two loving homes in the same way but it is a similar story for a lot of our Retirement Village residents. The most common reason a senior or super senior cat comes into our care is due to their owners passing away or going into a care home. Our monthly vet bills on average are between £8,000 - £10,000 and a sizeable amount is due to caring for our elderly residents, it is important our seniors receive all the veterinary care they need. Each week volunteers weigh the Retirement Village residents to monitor for changes which could indicate a health concern. The vet visits each week and the majority receive a monthly injection for Osteoarthritis, this injection is costly but the improvement in the mobility and pain relief it provides is worth ten times that cost. So please support us and help us help more cats like Mic, who through no fault of their own need love, warmth, shelter, food and veterinary care. Please help us reach our target of £10,000 by donating what you can every £1 makes a difference and sharing our appeal will hugely help us. Thank you for your support. https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/shropshirecatrescuemicappeal

Rudy the shelter managers cat who was hand reared from a day old. He is now 2 years old and has taken on the role as supervisor around the shelter, he helps out volunteers and regularly tries to break into the Retirement Village and is always keen to play with kittens and other cats. He does also go on toy stealing missions when the gift shop is open on event days, he is not the only cat to spot a opportunity to get a new catnip toy Pongo and Maya are just two of the free range residents who spy and take up the opportunity as soon as volunteers backs are turned. Rudy has recently taken on a new role and this is to report news from around the shelter, Rudy has been checking on the recent rise in calls for assistance and the amount of kittens that have arrived over the past couple of weeks. Last weekend our total topped 52 kittens and Rudy was keen to help out by reporting the news, to help get the word out there we have a kitten appeal for funds to help provide food and veterinary care for the kittens both orphaned and those with their mums. Thirteen of the kittens arrived after being found on a neighbours drive, Rudy of course helped volunteers write a post for social media asking the person who left them to either get in touch with us as we would offer assistance with neutering the mums and to ensure the mums are ok. If they didn’t want to contact us we urged them to seek help from another charity. Rudy helped out with being the reporter for the Kitten Appeal video that takes you through stories of the cats and kittens who are being cared for by our devoted volunteers. He tells the story of the two sisters who arrived together heavily pregnant and didn’t take to being separated so they were given a pen together with two birthing boxes. The sisters gave birth within a day or so of each other and doing so in the same box they helped each other through giving birth and have progressed on to taking it in turns to feed the kittens. It really is beautiful to witness and a true representation of how female cats in feral colonies will share caring responsibilities. As a charity we urge people to get in touch if they are struggling for any reason and unable to neuter their male or female cat. It is so important cats are neutered to not only prevent unwanted pregnancies but also for their welfare as unneutered cats will roam further and be at more risk of fighting and obtaining injuries. Our admin volunteers are working really hard to keep up with requests for help and requests to adopt and they will respond as soon as possible. We are so fortunate to have such willing and dedicated volunteers. To watch Rudy’s Kitten Report head to our YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZQohxdcmUE If you would like to support our appeal to help pay for the kittens food, litter and veterinary care we would really appreciate it https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/shropshirecatrescuekittenappeal If you feel you are interested in adopting from us then please apply via our website https://www.shropshirecatrescue.org.uk/adopt-a-cat-application If you need help with rehoming your cat/s then please complete our enquiry for help form https://www.shropshirecatrescue.org.uk/enquiry-for-help If you need assistance to get your cats neutered then please email info@shropshirecatrescue.org.uk

Flump, Johnny, Rudy, Joe Snow turn their paws to reporting the news at the shelter to try and help us find homes for some cats who we can't share on social media. Sometimes we have cats come in that for various different reasons can not go on social media. Their journey to us can be very traumatic for them meaning they need extra support and help to trust humans again. So whilst they are with us they are under witness purrtection. Check out the news report and if you have a space in your home for a cat who is in witness purrtection then please check out our adopt a cat page https://www.shropshirecatrescue.org.uk/adopt-a-cat

Oscar and Reggie have been with us a while and they each need a special home where they can receive the love and care they deserve. Oscar needs to be a only pet where Reggie needs time and patience. Oscar is a beautiful boy who needs a home without other animals. ​ He initially came into the retirement village, but as he has settled and grown more confident he has started bullying the other cats. ​ Oscar loves to be held and cuddled. He wants to be the centre of attention! He enjoys playing and settling on a lap afterwards. He loves children and would make a great family pet. ​ Because of his history, he cannot be homed with other cats or dogs. Reggie is a shy girl looking for her new home. She prefers the quiet, and would make a lovely companion for someone with the time and patience to build up her confidence. ​ Reggie is very sensitive, she quickly picks up on the stress in the household and seems to react by not eating. In an ideal world, she is looking for a calm home that are not expecting any changes in the near future. ​ She enjoys fuss, and is a lot more beautiful than her pictures would suggest! ​ Reggie has lived with other cats before, and could again with patient introduction. She would not suit a home with young children. She has not been dog tested. ​ Reggie has shown a fear of men, so is looking for a predominately female home. Please help us find their purrfect foreverhomes. If you feel you have a Oscar or Reggie shaped hole in your life and would like to adopt them then please complete a adoption application form https://www.shropshirecatrescue.org.uk/adopt-a-cat-application

We have 5 feral cats that are in desperate need of a rural location to live. We normally home feral and cats who need an outside home direct from their current location to avoid bringing them into the shelter, but we had to bring these 5 in as they were in a life-threatening location. Unfortunately, we have been unable to find them a suitable foreverhome so far and we are asking for your help to locate the perfect place for them. We can split them up to be in a 2 and a 3 if 5 is too many for one location. They ideally need a rural location with outside shelter areas so they have a warm and weatherproof place to sleep and rest. They will need to be fed twice daily with someone looking out for signs of illness or injury. Over time they may begin to trust the people that feed them, it is doubtful they will ever want to be stroked or accept fuss they will hopefully become bold enough for those feeding them to get close so they can keep an eye on their health. It is essential they are monitored when feeding to ensure there are no signs of injury or illness. If you feel you have a home that would suit these cats or would like more information then please email our adoption volunteers on adoption@shropshirecatrescue.org.uk you can also apply to adopt feral cats via our website https://www.shropshirecatrescue.org.uk/adopt-a-feral-cat-application As you can see from these pictures of Tofu, Miso, Cayene, Habanero and Ghost really are in need of an outdoor space. Please help us find the home they desperately need where they can be safe and enjoying the life they deserve.

We have launched an appeal to help us create a fully enclosed outdoor space for Johnny who is a 3 year old cat who is deaf and blind. He came to us via another rescue who have had him since he was 6 months old when found as a stray. He went to a foster home but as he grew older his desire to be able to go outside meant he became increasingly stressed and started to overgroom. He also would make attempts to break out the house to get to the outside world. Due to not being in a position where they could provide him with a safe outside place they put out a plea for help and one of our supporters suggested they got in touch with us and they did. The original plan was for him to go into the Retirement Village unfortunately after a very closely supervised introduction to the Retirement Village we realised that it was too big an ask for him and the other residents. So, we are creating a fully enclosed outside space with climbing frames, shelves, ramps, inside space and cat safe plants. We are already providing him with a climbing frame and sensory boxes with toys in that play to the senses he still has. He loves cat nip and we are interchanging his toys regularly to help provide added stimulation and engagement due to them having different textures and smells, we also use ones that give off vibrations intentionally or due to the movement that occurs like track toys. If you would like to help us provide Johnny with the space he needs and deserves then please pop along to our JustGiving Johnny Appeal page. https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/johnnythecatssafeoutdoorspaceappeal

Pippin has had an eventful life and has represented Shropshire Cat Rescue at shows during her early years and now in her later years she is still helping me to help others. As I am a veterinary nurse, I am often able to use Pippin as an example to help me explain to owners why their cat is behaving in a certain way. She is also an expert with puzzle feeders and uses raised food and water bowls so I have taken pictures of her which enables me to show owners how these can really help their cats. Her pictures appear on many of the handouts I have created and now Pippin has found herself on a leaflet about a treatment that people would think impossible to administer or that their cat would never accept. Pippin was diagnosed with Feline Asthma in June 2021, she has her medication via an inhaler and she has helped demonstrate to owners of newly diagnosed cats how cats can adapt to the inhaler. So, what has it been like accustoming Pippin to having a mask and inhaler to help control her asthma? Pippin has been a star due to her desire for food. Initially I bribed her with her favourite meaty stick treats as I slowly introduced the inhaler spacer and mask. Soon I was able to use her normal dry food. By introducing this potentially alarming machine to Pippin regularly and in gradual stages at her speed it meant that she is now receiving her medication via the inhaler. This is the best method for treating Feline Asthma. Cats can be trained to accept potentially stressful treatments and other things such as a cat carrier. This can make both your life and theirs less stressful and can be worth the effort involved. Each cat is different but providing a positive experience when introducing new things is the route to success. In Pippin’s case it was the inhaler, which she now associates with something that is positive for her and knows it is not to be feared. There is another aspect to Pippin’s story that helps me get an important point across to cat owners. Always get a cat that is coughing seen by a vet. A cat does not always cough because it is going to be sick or regurgitate a hair ball. If a cat coughs more than once but produces nothing, and especially if the coughing is followed by heavy or open mouth breathing, it is important to take your cat for an examination by a vet as soon as possible. There can be various reasons why cats start coughing and your vet should be your first port of call when you notice your cat coughing. If you can film your cat whilst it is coughing, and straight afterwards, this can really help the vet to understand the possible causes. If you want further information about Feline Asthma or about training your cat for things like using an inhaler or to accept a cat carrier iCatCare have some brilliant resources on their website created by Feline veterinary and behavioural specialists. Their website is www.icatcare.org

Wow what a busy weekend we had with Book Buddies on Saturday 1st April and our first Open Day of the year on Sunday 2nd April. The weather was kind and Sunday afternoon was beautiful once the sun came out after initially being grey and cold. Both days were sold out and the volunteers worked hard to ensure the shelter was ready for it's guests including baking cakes to be sold in the Paws for a Cuppa cafe. We started the weekend with Book Buddies, Jessica Keane the author of Mia is Lost came along and told Mia's story before she has her adventure in her book Mia is Lost. Jessica also helped with creating cat crowns and had some fabulous activity sheets about all the animals in her book. The Madam Mayor of Shrewsbury Elisabeth Roberts came to Book Buddies along with Erin and Martha. They enjoyed visiting and read Mia is Lost to our Retirement Village residents "Reading to cats is such a lovely idea to help both children and cats!" (Madam Mayor Elisabeth Roberts). Adults and children enjoyed reading to the cats. It really is a valuable way to help those who find reading difficult or reading out loud intimidating, the cats response to people reading to them is really special and encourages the most nervous reader to continue. It is equally rewarding for those who love to read. People shared their experience on their Facebook and Instagram accounts and there were some lovely pictures and films. Our Open Day was very busy we had kids activities including learning to become a shelter helper. Our cafe was super busy with people enjoying a cuppa and a piece of cake. People loved meeting our Retirement Village residents and freerangers. Guests got to meet the cats we have waiting for their foreverhomes in the homing pens. Everyone understood why we had closed off the nursery due to expectant mums and new mums who had given birth in the last week, they needed quiet and warmth. It was lovely to meet our supporters and introduce them to the cats in our care. Our gift shop not only provided the opportunity for people to buy goodies for themselves and their cats but also provided extra entertainment. Pongo and Rudy were a tag team going into the shop to steal toys. They were given a decoy Yeoww cat nip toy to help prevent them from stealing other toys, much to everyone's amusement. People's generosity over the weekend and lovely comments made it even more special for our volunteers. Our next Open Day will be Sunday 21st May 12-4pm check out our events page for further information and to book your arrival slot. https://www.shropshirecatrescue.org.uk/events-1 Book Buddies will be back in June we are just confirming volunteer availability. We are all volunteers and it is so lovely to be able to put on events. If you are interested in volunteering at our events we would love to hear from you as we have plans to put more events on and having extra help will mean we can. To apply to volunteer at events please complete our online form https://www.shropshirecatrescue.org.uk/copy-of-volunteer-application. The freerangers took their meet and greet roles very seriously. Pongo also helped with clean up by eating cake crumbs from a dropped cake. Philly briefly joined in after escaping the Retirement Village.