Karen's Cat Community - Animal Rescue and Sanctuary

14/07/2025

Please reach out if you live in these areas. There are still far too many cats and kittens, roaming the streets unneutered, contributing to The UK Cat Crisis 😿💔

Low cost neutering vouchers available. Please get in touch with these guys. Hey cover lots of areas including Aberdare and Merthyr. 👍🏻👍🏻

11/07/2025

🐾 Cookie & Frosting – Ready to Reserve! 🐾
Beautiful bonded siblings looking for a loving forever home

Meet Cookie and Frosting—our last two kittens currently looking for a home through Karen’s Cat Community. These adorable siblings are around 10 weeks old. They've had their first vaccinations, are booked for their second, and will be neutered in a couple of weeks. Once that's done, they’ll be ready to go home—but they’re available to reserve now!

🍪 Cookie is a stunning tabby and white girl—bright, inquisitive, and full of personality.
❄️ Frosting is her charming white brother—more chilled than his sister at times, but equally playful and full of cheeky character.

These two are extremely bonded, and we will only rehome them as a pair. They’ve been tested with other cats, and while they’re still very young, both can show signs of being spicier than your average kitten—particularly Frosting. Due to this, we are ideally looking for:

✅ A home where Cookie and Frosting will be the only cats,
OR
✅ A home with very experienced cat owners who understand how to carefully and gradually integrate kittens into a multi-cat household.

📩 Interested? Please email [email protected] to begin the process and request an application form.

⚠️ Please note: We have a proper adoption process in place. This includes an application form, home check, adoption fee, and rehoming paperwork. We do not give kittens away for free—every step helps ensure their safety, health, and long-term happiness.

Thank you for helping us give rescue cats the futures they deserve. 💛🐾

09/07/2025

Why adopt a cat from experienced rescuers?

This is Art in his decompression room - not even a week in his new home.

His new family visited him and welcomed advice and guidance from us as to which kitten to adopt and introduce to his new older sister (she was adopted from us too).

They scent exchanged before even picking him up. Providing us with blankets.

Art was born in foster care (our emergency fosterer) and then spent time being handled by us and spending a minimum of 14 WEEKS with his Mum and siblings acquiring vital socialisation and hunting skills.

He was neutered, chipped, vaccinated and received regular flea and worm treatment. His Mum was tested for FIV FeLV.

He was tended to when he reacted to his vaccinations (yes, people with fibromyalgia and ADHD CAN sit on a settee and syringe feed a kitten through the night, especially when they don't sleep anyway). He was taken to the Ddole Road Veterinary Clinic Ltd when needed. Received three vet health checks in total and was fed good quality kitten food.

Shouldn't the question be, why get an 8 week old kitten who has been fed Go Cat, etc, 4% only, full of grain feed, not vaccinated, not chipped, not neutered, not health checked (neither has Mum or tested for deadly viruses) from Doris on the local free site?

It's a no brainer surely?

05/07/2025

💫 NANCY & FAGIN – RESERVED! 💫

We’re so excited to share that Nancy and Fagin have been reserved and will soon be heading off to their wonderful new home! 🐾💛

We spent a lot of time considering the right match for this special duo, and we’re delighted that they’ll be joining one of our long-time followers and supporters. Their future home is a true feline paradise—cat-proofed garden, plenty of space to explore or retreat, and an adopter who is incredibly in tune with each animal’s individual needs.

As a self-employed professional, she has the time and flexibility to manage introductions carefully, and their decompression room is already beautifully set up with enrichment and comfort in mind. 🏡🧡

Her existing cats are on a high-quality diet and receive top-tier medical care, and we know Nancy and Fagin will receive the same gold standard of love and attention. We’re also thrilled to be promised regular updates as they settle in.

We can’t wait to see them thrive in their new chapter! 🌿🐱🐱

04/07/2025

Excellent idea, I wish more vets would do this.

04/07/2025

💉 Neutering Saves Lives — and We Need Your Help 💉

One of the biggest ways you can help cats — both pets and strays — is by getting them neutered and microchipped. It’s safe, routine, and can prevent countless kittens being born into a life of struggle.

Here’s a quick look at local vet prices in Mid Powys (July 2025):

🐾 Ddole Road, Llandrindod Wells
- Spay (female): £96
- Castration (male): £60
- Microchip: £17.40

🐾 Hafren Vets, Crossgates
- Spay: £82.15
- Castrate: £56.82
- Chip: £16.09

🐾 Builth Wells Vets
- Spay: £84.19
- Castrate: £58.80
- Chip: £16.50

🩺 Additional costs may include pain relief or a recovery collar/suit — though these can often be bought online more affordably (apart from prescribed meds, of course).

Why Neutering Matters:
🚫 Prevents unwanted litters
🐾 Reduces spraying, roaming, and fighting
🦠 Lowers the risk of diseases like FIV/FELV
💔 Stops the endless cycle of rescue overflow

🌟 We were blown away today by a local man who contacted us about a stray cat.
He’s taking full responsibility — covering neutering, chipping, and even FIV/FeLV testing. If the cat settles post-castration, he may offer him a forever home. If not, we’ve said we might be able to offer pen space once one becomes free, and Lauren will support his rehab.

We’ve also given him the contact details of another local rescuer with pen space and experience in rehabilitating strays — a real breath of fresh air in a situation where most people walk away.

Too often, rescues are expected to do everything — scan for chips, trap, fund vet care, rehome, rehabilitate — while already overwhelmed.

Here's How You Can Help Strays:
✅ Take them to a vet to scan for a microchip
📜 Use a paper collar with your number in case they’re owned
🎣 Borrow or hire a trap and arrange vet care
💸 Contribute to the cost of neutering or microchipping
🏠 Offer a temporary safe space or consider rehoming
📲 Share posts and raise awareness — it really helps!

💬 If you spot a stray or need advice, feel free to message us — we’re here to support people who want to do the right thing, even if we can’t always take cats in ourselves.

Together, we can make a difference. 🐱✨

03/07/2025

😺Show Us Your Catios.

Our rescue cats and kittens enjoying the sun In safety in our small catio built for our special needs sanctuary cats ☀️🤍

N.B. All emails have now been answered regarding these cats and kittens. If you haven't responded, your emails have now been filed under, "no reply". Please don't apply to adopt if you are not serious or not yet in a position. It really does take time and focus away from answering serious enquiries and caring for our cats. Thank you.

02/07/2025

A Heartbreaking Morning – Please Read

We’ve had some incredibly sad news this morning. One of our previously rescued kittens, adopted by a long-time follower, ex-moderator, and now close friend, has likely been involved in a road traffic accident. He is still alive, but in a very poorly condition. We are absolutely devastated.

On top of this, we’ve had a very difficult night. Misty, our beloved senior cat, is unwell and needed care through the night. Ethel, another of our senior sanctuary cats, is also not well. Jessica, our longest resident, is declining too. When you’ve seen so many cats come into your care, learn to trust again, grow and flourish… only to be hurt or taken by something out of your control — it is utterly heartbreaking.

Lauren, as always, looks to the positive — the hundreds of cats we’ve rehomed safely, the joy we’ve brought to so many families. But my ADHD makes it harder to sit with that peace. I go straight to blame — I should have done more. This is my fault. Especially when we have so many poorly ones at the moment. Deep down I know that’s not true — he went to a wonderful, loving home and was adored. We’re praying for the best outcome.

This also brings up a topic we see debated all the time: indoor vs outdoor cats. It’s something that divides many in the rescue world.

Some rescues will not adopt to homes without cat flaps or outdoor access. Others won’t adopt to homes with outdoor access at all. For us, we assess each cat individually and match them to the home that best suits them. In some cases, we do rehome with safe outdoor access — such as enclosed gardens, catios, or in rural homes with very low traffic, where the cat’s needs and temperament make it suitable.

But we want to be crystal clear:
🔺 We do not support cats being outside without being neutered, chipped, or if under 1 year old.
🔺 We do not support kittens being let out before they’re fully grown, ideally after one year.
🔺 We do not support cats being locked out all day while people are at work. This isn’t enrichment — it’s abandonment.

PROS & CONS: INDOOR VS OUTDOOR CATS
We’ve put together this quick overview, not to shame, but to educate and support better decisions.

Indoor Cats – Pros
✅ Protected from cars, predators, poison, people
✅ Less likely to contract viruses or parasites
✅ Easier to monitor health & habits
✅ Live longer, statistically
✅ Less risk of getting lost or stolen

Indoor Cats – Cons
⚠️ Can become bored or overweight without stimulation
⚠️ Need lots of enrichment and exercise
⚠️ May become frustrated if they previously had outdoor access
⚠️ Some cats never fully adjust to indoor-only life

Outdoor Cats – Pros
✅ Natural stimulation and exercise
✅ Allows expression of natural behaviours
✅ Some cats thrive with this independence

Outdoor Cats – Cons
⚠️ Risk of RTAs (road traffic accidents)
⚠️ Fights, injuries, FIV/FeLV transmission
⚠️ Poison, traps, people with ill intent
⚠️ Can wander too far and become lost
⚠️ Can be taken in by others who think they’re strays
⚠️ Shorter lifespan

It’s always a personal decision, but it should be a responsible one.

Yesterday, we shared a post about a missing 6-month-old kitten who had outdoor access. The owner was alerted to the post as she had shared the post on other local sites. While it understandably upset the owner, we want to clarify again: we never share identifying details. No names, no photos of people, no addresses or even specific locations are ever published, in line with data protection and our ethics as a rescue.

The post had already been shared publicly by the owner, and we reposted the information from there, of course removing certain photos and names, etc. We share posts like these to raise awareness and promote neutering, which was a concern. The photo has since been removed at the owner’s request, and we hope the original post (which was not edited to include or target the owner personally) still gets the message across.

We’re not here to shame. We’re here to speak for the cats, because they cannot speak for themselves. We always try to explain, with facts and offers of help. We’ve since supported this lady with accurate information about neutering and said we can possibly help with neutering, although we do not receive grants or funding and have paid high vet bills ourselves recently with our own personal cats (she’d been quoted £200 — a figure we’ve never seen locally) and she has promised to follow up today. We hope she does.

This isn’t about being a “bad person.” It’s about being a responsible person — and being open to learning, especially when it’s about the welfare of an animal you love.

We’re sorry if we upset anyone. But we stand firmly by our message, because we’ve seen too many cats suffer when these conversations are avoided. It is extremely difficult to comment on these posts as we are often met with hostility or ignored or admins turn of commenting or delete our comments. We understand that lots of people including rescues feel awkward commenting on these posts but avoidance will not help solve the UK Cat Crisis or educate people. We ourselves sometimes feel it deflects from the actual missing cat post and can hinder the cat being found, this is why we will sometimes share posts to our own page and discuss the topic here. We have shared many missing cat posts over the years for people.

To our friend and the family of the injured kitten — we are holding you in our hearts. Your boy was loved deeply and had a wonderful home. Please know we are with you every step of the way, and we will help in any way we can.

01/07/2025

🆘 ENOUGH IS ENOUGH: Kittens Are NOT Disposable 🆘

WARNING - SENSITIVE POST AND PHOTOS

We're seeing more and more posts like this one.

A young kitten, just a baby at 5 or 6 months old, has been let outside unneutered, unchipped, and now hasn't come home.

The owner refers to her as “my baby” — and yet, this “baby” has been exposed to extreme temperatures, the constant threat of fights with other cats, traffic, predators, and the very real likelihood of sexual aggression from tom cats. Yes, we said it — grape. Because that’s what it is when a young, unspayed female is pinned down and mated repeatedly by roaming toms. It’s violent, stressful, and traumatic — and it happens more often than people realise.

Let’s break this down clearly:
🔹 A female kitten can get pregnant from 4 months old.
🔹 Unneutered females will attract males from miles around.
🔹 Cats do not mate for pleasure. It is instinctual, and often brutal.
🔹 Kittens having kittens leads to complications, deformities, and death.
🔹 Letting an unneutered cat outside is irresponsible and leads to suffering.

We are exhausted and heartbroken seeing the same pattern again and again. People get one kitten (often from unregistered litters or backyard breeders), don’t neuter them, don’t keep them indoors, don’t chip them — and then panic when they go missing.

We have offered help in the past to writers of many posts such as these and so have other local small rescues, very few offers are taken up. No matter how lightly we tread on eggshells. Some of the people are repeat offenders and as quickly as we, or another rescue neuters a cat, they go and get another one. We offer neutering when we have funds. We offer advice.
But far too often, we get abuse, guilt-trips, or excuses.

🚫 “I can’t keep them in” — then don’t get a cat. Doors and windows close as well as open!
🚫 “I was in hospital / had kids / couldn’t afford it” — then wait until you’re ready. Lots of people go into hospital, suffer deaths in the family, have health issues but they still manage to care for their cats.
🚫 “They wanted to go out” — they’re a kitten, not a weather-hardened adult cat.

Cats and kittens suffer because of human decisions. We see kittens come in mangled by cars, infested with fleas and worms, pregnant before their bones are done growing, or terrified after traumatic fights or attacks. It doesn’t need to be this way.

Please know:
❤️ We are not sharing this to shame one individual.
📣 We are sharing this to educate — because this post is one of many.
💬 And we want to open this up for discussion.

👉 Should kittens under a year old be allowed outside, especially unneutered, unchipped, and alone?
👉 Should people get a cat if they cannot afford or make time for neutering and basic vet care?

We welcome your thoughts, respectfully. Let’s have an honest, compassionate, and real conversation about cat ownership and the responsibilities that come with it. The UK is in a real cat crisis, it's time to take action and not sit on the fence.

💔 The cat in the post has apparently returned home and the owner's will be contacting local vets close to them to compare spay and chip prices and book her in. They have assured us that she won't be going out again until she is spayed.

—
Karen’s Cat Community
Rescue • Sanctuary • Education
🌿 Mid-Wales

30/06/2025

🐾 Meet Cookie & Frosting – Our Final Intake of 2025 🐾

We know we said no more intakes… but when a long-time supporter reached out asking for help, we simply couldn’t turn away. Meet Cookie (tabby & white girl) and Frosting aka Frost (white boy) — two beautiful, 10-week-old siblings who are the very last kittens we’ll be taking in this year.

These babies come from a familiar situation. We strongly believe they are related to the group of white and tabby/white cats we previously rescued — all litters from the same unneutered line. Their mum is heartbreakingly still only young herself, already pregnant again, but thanks to the incredible efforts of the adopter of an older sibling, she is finally being neutered. These two kittens are the last of that long and exhausting cycle.

💛 We are so grateful to their rescuer — a generous donor and determined advocate — for stepping in, and for trusting us with Cookie and Frosting’s care.

We’ve made the decision that this will be our final kitten intake of the year. The toll on our physical and mental health, time away from our own family and cats, and the ongoing battle with abuse, neglect, and the constant need to beg for resources have left us burnt out. We need to draw a line — not because we don’t care, but because we care too much, and we can’t pour from an empty cup.

Our recent vet bill after shop takings, previously raised Just Giving money and adoption fees taken off is £2,945.20, this was acrued in a month. The bill mainly consists of care and support given to two very local cats, Ernie and Ethel. Local cats who local people wanted us to support and not put to sleep but these people are not the ones who have never donated, or even purchased from our shop in Llanidloes or our Vinted. We do appreciate the few local people who do donate, whether it is money towards our vet bill, cat toys, blankets, donations for the shop, purchases from the shop, food, litter, etc. But is just isn't enough unfortunately. Rescues in this area are few and far between. They give up their time, money, homes, etc to help animals because animals are their passion but, they are often met with lies, hostility, gossip, bullying. The UK is becoming over run with hundreds of unwanted dogs and cats every year. Hundreds are euthanised but if you don't see it, it doesn't affect you, right? Wrong! to combat this problem, everyone needs to do their bit. Donate, help a stray, adopt from a rescue instead of trying to get a "free" kitten, foster, turn up at events, put a £1.00 in a raffle, NEUTER YOUR CATS, check to see if that animal in the road is really deceased or whether it is laying their in pain after being run over and left for dead. Contact vets yourselves regarding stray cats, you are just as capable of taking a cat to the vet or borrowing a scanner as us and, above all, be kind, do not expect a rescue to be proactive when you are doing nothing. Education is key, help spread awareness.

It is time to speak up against repeat offenders who refuse to neuter their pets, who allow their 6 month old kittens to wander the streets unneutered, who make excuse after excuse. The ones who won't provide their pets with basic vet care. The ones who advertise their pets for free on social media sites and the social media sites who allow this. Report the posts, if you suspect abuse or neglect, ring The RSPCA or Police and keep reporting. Be their voices!

We’ll still be offering support in other ways:
🛠 Lending traps and equipment
🐾 Fostering for other rescues when possible
📢 Advocating for neutering and responsible ownership
💬 Offering advice, signposting, and rehoming assistance (proof of neutering required)
🏡 Fundraising for our permanent sanctuary cats
📜 Continuing work to register as a charity supporting cats and owners in our local area

Our future focus will be on senior cats, FIV+ cats, and specific breeds — those who often get overlooked and need extra care and experience. We’ll also continue supporting owners in crisis, with the goal of helping them keep their cats wherever possible.

✨ Back to the babies… Cookie and Frost have already had their first vaccinations and will soon be ready to meet visitors. They’re a little shy, very spicey with the other cats, but full of potential — sweet, curious, and already forming a strong bond with humans.

They will be rehomed as a bonded pair, and will receive their second vaccinations, be neutered/spayed, microchipped, and kept up to date with flea and worming treatment before adoption.

📧 Adoption enquiries:
[email protected]

We’ll keep you updated as their personalities shine through and let you know exactly what kind of home they’re looking for. In the meantime, please keep advocating for neutering, supporting your local rescues, and being kind — it means more than you know.

With love and paws,
Lauren & Karen
🐾 Karen’s Cat Community

’sCatCommunity

30/06/2025

🌸 Elvira Has a Home Waiting! 🌸

We’re so happy to share that our little whirlwind Elvira has been reserved and has a loving forever home lined up 💕 She’ll be heading off once she's been neutered, microchipped, and had time to recover — but we couldn’t wait to let you know that her future is looking bright!

Elvira’s journey hasn’t been an easy one. All of her siblings were given away on social media, and she was separated from her mum far too young — taken away at just 8 weeks old. When she came to us, she cried for nights and had to sleep tucked up with Karen for comfort 💔

Without her littermates to learn from, Elvira developed what’s known as single kitten syndrome. She was playful but intense, often displaying play aggression — not out of malice, but simply because she hadn’t been taught how to interact appropriately with other cats.

Over time, and with the support of the calm, older cats in our Special Needs Room, she’s learned boundaries and blossomed into a more settled, affectionate girl. It’s been a journey of patience, enrichment, and gentle socialisation — and we’re so proud of how far she’s come 🐾

Her future family includes three kind male cats and humans who understand her quirks, which makes it a perfect match. We’ll be keeping her with us a little longer to complete her vet work and prepare her for the next chapter — but it’s safe to say, Elvira’s days of uncertainty are over 💛

Thank you for following her story — and for helping us make sure that cats like Elvira get the second chances they deserve.