News Round-Up: Autumn 2016 Issue 3

Breaking records & a late Baby Boom

Since our last news round-up in Spring we have continued to be extremely busy bees! From 1st April to 31st October we have rehomed 412 animals; unbelievably in October we actually smashed our record for monthly adoptions when we rehomed 68 animals! 

You may remember that earlier in the year we took in dozens of rats who had been abandoned in the street. At the time of writing we can report that only 1 rat is left looking for a forever home! We are so very grateful to all the adopters who came forward to give fresh starts to our special little critters.

Sadly, we have continued to see large numbers of cats & rabbits coming into our care via the National RSPCA inspectors. It seems that the seasonal peak of the ‘baby boom’ was late this year and took place in August-September time for reasons unknown! We’ve had many litters of kittens & rabbits from a myriad of circumstances but the story that sticks out for us is Anita the rabbit. 

Anita was found on a  market stall were she was being sold for £1 for meat.  A member of the public spotted her and couldn’t just walk by, she paid £2 and brought Anita home. Not long afterwards the lady found she had a litter of babies to deal with as Anita must have been heavily pregnant. She contacted the National RSPCA who stepped in to assist and bought the bunny family to us. Thankfully, Anita and her babies are now happy, healthy and ready for adoption! 

At the moment we are averaging 40 rabbits in our care per month (normally we have 20-25) with demand continuing, due to amongst other factors, some local branches in the region being closed to rabbits. We hope our adoption success continues so we can help as many rabbits as possible.

Talking shop

Didsbury Shop Manager Tom Hammersley shares his Summer of fun fundraising for the animals.

What a summer it’s been! From sales to donations, the support from our customers has been absolutely incredible and I’d like to offer my sincere thanks to all of you for contributing to the rehabilitation and rehoming of over 340 animals through 2016 so far. We’ve been given many wonderful, exciting and downright bizarre donations, and I’d like to list some of my personal favourites:

« A Charles Darwin book published in the late 1800s (£120)

« A Planet of the Apes audiobook on vinyl (£5)

« 30+ Troll dolls! (£2.99 - £10 each)

« A collectable Hendricks gin tea set (£70)

« Crazy Cat Lady action figure (£10)

« A strand of Elvis Presley’s hair! Now, this is a tricky one. The certification says it’s legitimate, but this is very hard to prove without the use of police DNA testing equipment (and they won’t return my e-mails). So keep your eyes peeled as we will be holding a silent auction for this item very soon.

People assume that, as well as support from customers, the success of the shop this year is down to mine and assistant manager Richard’s amazing management skills, and in many ways they are absolutely correct. However, I can not understate what an enormous contribution our dedicated, hard-working volunteers make to the running of the RSPCA Didsbury shop. Give ‘em a high five next time you’re in.

What’s The Itch?

Just like us, many of the animals that come into our care suffer from allergies or sensitivities which sadly massively increases their time waiting for a forever home. Many people don’t want the hassle of sourcing the special diets or the extra costs which are sometimes involved so pass up the offer of meeting our ‘special needs’ cats. These cats are just as adorable, affectionate and deserving as the other cats in our care, and just as healthy if kept on the right diet, but it is a struggle to rehome them.

The most common complaints are food and flea allergies, and in Camille’s case it’s both. Camille came into our care at the start of July after being found stray and bald with no sign of an owner. Her bald back and bum were classic signs of flea dermatitis which is when a cat is left with a bad flea infestation so becomes allergic to fleas and loses the hair on the lower part of the body. She was also red and balding on her face and around her eyes which is often linked to food allergies; sadly allergy testing isn’t very clear in cats so rather than waste precious resources we decided to eliminate different allergens from her diet to see what worked for her. 

Camille at the point of rescue

We quickly discovered what suited Camille; monthly prescription flea treatments (which we recommend for all cats) along with a high meat content diet without all the added bulk of wheat and grain that is added to most commercial pet foods. Such a simple remedy considering the terrible state she was in when we found her. We order her food online and it costs us 90p a day, not a big ask when most people pay 60p a day for 2 sachets of Felix plus whatever the accompanying dry food costs. Camille is now healthy and hairy but after 4 months she is still waiting for someone to see past her slight affliction. 

Camille now!

So next time you’re looking to adopt a new furry friend we ask you to stop and think about the ones on a different diet;  we all have a food we’d rather avoid or a type of fur or dust that sets us off sneezing  but it shouldn’t keep us from having a home to call our own. If you can offer Camille a home please get in touch - give our lovely team a call on 0161 882 0680 option 4 or email rspcamcr_salford@btconnect.com

What can I do?

There are so many ways you can help us continue our work; check out our current appeals below if you would like to get involved!

« Rabbit toys & enrichment needed

Due to the large numbers of rabbits coming into our care we are desperately in need of chew toys to keep chompy mouths happy and healthy! You can buy a toy online via our Amazon Wish List   below or by dropping donations into any of our 4 charity shops listed on our website. DIY cardboard tubes stuffed with hay are also very welcome! 

« Ladies clothing needed

Our charity shops fund the vast majority of our work and we can’t help animals without a good supply of stock to sell. Ladies clothing is the most popular, so if you are having a clear out ready for Winter please consider donating to us. Shop locations and opening times here.

We would like to say a massive thank you to all our supporters this year and if you are reading our blog for the first time we hope you too will support Team RSPCA M&S in 2017 and beyond!