10/03/2025
Devizes Kats and Kits in Care Newsletter.
March 2025
How lovely this is, to be writing my first quarterly newsletter of 2025 sitting outside with our cats in the still, warm spring sunshine
How much they love this new semi-outside exercise area, with their cat trees to jump on and their houses and beds to rest in. Plus the bonus of the sun.
This has transformed their lives and mine too, just to see how happy and relaxed they all are.
Yesterday, 3rd March was a red letter day for two reasons. Both Dave and I took our cup of coffee out with us and sat with cats all around us under their umbrella for the first time. It was Fabulous.
The 3rd of March also marked one year on from taking all the cats out of our home and moving them into the main cat house. This was before the new exercise extension was built.
The next month, on 4th April 2024, was when Dave, myself and blind cats Chocky and Doris moved out of the house and into the mobile.
On the 4th February I took dear Twilight to the vets for a dental, as I was noticing from the left side of his mouth and on his thick mane, a small wet patch in the mornings. The vet phoned and sent a photo of the inside of his mouth. My beautiful boy had cancer of the jaw and it was invading the surrounding tissues of his gum and underside of his tongue. We rushed over whilst he was still under the anaesthesia and I held our beautiful, formerly feral, boy whilst the vet gently put him to sleep. It was heart breaking.
We brought him home to spend the next 24 hours with his companions in the GOSH, particularly Truffle and Bandit. This is so important for any animal who has strong bonds. They do understand death, so this stops the separation anxiety.
Dear old Rambo is now over 19 years old. We took him to the vets on 10th February for another blood pressure test and to collect his Amodip for his high blood pressure. I asked for another blood test, as his previous one at Christmas was showing signs of anaemia.
To cut a long story short, for the past four weeks I have been injecting him three times a week to help kick start his body into producing his own red blood corpuscles. We have had one blood test check in between and we go again tomorrow morning, 10th March.
Also tomorrow, his sibling brother Rocky has another T4 blood check for a second time, as a hyperthyroid situation is looming.
Both cats having been feral, were not wanting human contact for many years. They are now both absolutely amazing and just cannot get enough love from us all. It’s THE BEST!
In the next newsletter I will let you know what’s been happening with dear old Tabitha and blind Doris.
There are some new changes on the horizon, which I would like to share with you all.
First is that our small fund-raising team, Annemarie, Gill and Jenny, together with Dave and I, are going to apply to register Devizes Kats and Kits in Care as a registered charity.
We are in the beginning stages of the process, so more will be known in due course and I will update you via the newsletter.
Also, our very small fund-raising team, who do an admirable job in every way, plan to take a different approach to future events, as we are all getting older and thus finding it increasingly difficult sorting, lifting boxes, transporting and setting up on event days.
We have also been struggling to find enough volunteers to help with the preparation for these events.
We are going to have a big sale at Needham House, Devizes, on 17th May 2025, when we hope to move on a lot of the stock we already have in storage and would welcome anyone willing to help, on the day.
We will have a Tombola stall and would be very grateful for donations of unwanted gifts, etc.
Following that, we need to attend local events, but in a more promotional role, to meet the public and to continue to raise the profile of DK&K.
If you have any fund-raising ideas we would love to hear from you. email [email protected].
Also, we have an Amazon Wish List for cat food pouches and incontinence pads, if you would like to contribute, to help our cats here, we would be very grateful.
On the 11th March, Dave and I have a meeting with the three companies involved with the ongoing rectification work, following the oil spill which occurred over a year ago.
We are heading towards another decision point and hope to start planning reinstatement of our house, soon.
I am pleased to say both dear old Kitty (now hyperthyroid), who I took in on 4th February 2024, from a lovely elderly lady, and Solo, the beautiful timid homeless boy who turned up here, are now totally integrated with our existing cats, are freely moving about and are extremely happy. I could not wish for more.
The lady has serious ongoing health issues and she felt it was not fair on Kitty to stay with her, as she has impaired mobility.
Thank heavens for the cats and donkeys. They are our salvation during this ongoing nightmare.
I wish you all well until the next newsletter in June.
Best wishes
from Dave and Lorraine and all the elderly and special needs cats here at Devizes Kats and Kits-in Care.
