Chris and I sorted through and packed up all of Bones' stuff last night, in readiness to donate it today to a local cats hospice I'd briefly read about at our vets. I'd rang the contact number and arranged to come by today, with Mum. Although I'd read a little about this place, nothing prepared me for actually seeing it in person.
The St Francis Hospice for Cats is run singlehandedly (since her husband died recently) by one woman. She has a band of fundraisers behind her, and a woman who comes in once or twice a week to help, but otherwise, this one, amazing woman does it all. For 30 ish cats (used to be 70+ when it was the two of them!).
Her long downstairs reception room has been completed laid out for the cats, beds are on every available surface, and there are cat towers everywhere. The cat sanctuary extends beyond her pation doors through a long conservatory type extension, again solely designed for cats. They have the run of the whole thing, from about 20-30 feet in the extension through to the 18 or so feet of the main room.
As we are let in through the "airlock" of the kitchen, the cats start coming out to greet us. They all clamour for attention, and love chin tickles, belly rubs, being picked up and cuddled. It's beyond obvious they're well cared for, and Mum is so pleased to meet them and be able to pet and fuss them. Within minutes she's sitting down and there are three cats squashed on her lap, with another trying to climb up her leg and join in. I am also totally becattified and loving every minute.
About 90% of the cats here are FIV - the whole project started when the lady was having a discussion with their vet, and it came out that most vets (then) euthanised FIV diagnosed cats. She immediately wanted to offer them a home - the rest, as they say, is history.
We spent about an hour there, we have an open invitation to go back anytime, and I left feeling totally awestruck by this unassuming, modest little lady who does so much. One of life's real angels.
