1. pets
2. cats

CatChat
CAT HAVEN’S QUARTERLY MAGAZINE | June 14
CAT UNDER A
HOT TIN ROOF!
Gerrie’s Tale
FOCUS ON ISABELLE
One of Our Fabulous
Foster Carers
ANIMAL
SUPPORT
PROGRAM
A program to rehome
our older cats
Fat Cats
How to make sure your cat has the
right diet and exercise for a healthy life.
Please
Donate,
Adopt, Foster,
Bequeath,
Volunteer.
Message from Roz Robinson Cat Haven CEO
Dear Members,
Another year is flying by and all of us at Cat Haven are looking
forward to a respite from kitten season.
We have been extremely full this summer, with at times over
300 cats and kittens on site and 500 in foster care. But we are
fully committed to saving the life of every treatable cat or kitten
which comes in to us and we understand that at times, this
leads to large numbers of cats.
We have trialled some different ways of rehoming cats, such
as giving cats away for a limited time ‘adoption fee free’
and donations of choice for our golden oldies. We did this in
the middle of kitten season, when the older cats always get
overlooked. Both rehoming initiatives worked exceptionally
well with one lady giving us a donation of $400 for a “fee free”
cat! We rehomed close to 200 cats during this campaign. The
people who adopted were all very genuine and it was lovely to
see so many cats go out at a time of year when they normally
languish in kennels being overlooked.
A big thanks to all our staff and onsite volunteers who have
looked after the increased numbers during one of our
hottest summers.
Cat Management Facilities (CMF)
March saw the official opening of our Cat Management Facility
by Minister for Local Government Tony Simpson. We again
thank the State Government for providing the funding to us to
be able to offer these modern, state of the art facilities. We now
act as Cat Management Facilities for 12 councils:
•
•
•
•
Cockburn
Melville
Stirling
South Perth
•
•
•
•
Vincent
Cambridge
Nedlands
Fremantle
•
•
•
•
Subiaco
Perth
Bayswater
Canning
Cat Haven but one stands out more than any other. Our onsite
clinic performs 4,000+ procedures annually, most of them
de-sexing which is one of the most important things we do
in reducing the oversupply of kittens.
We maintain very high hygiene standards with each and every
procedure having a sterile pack. Our current autoclave, the
machine used to sterilise our equipment is old and constantly
breaking down, adding to the workload and stress of the
already busy clinic staff. A new one is in the region of $10,000
- Can you help us with a donation towards a new autoclave so
we can continue with our vital work?
Amnesty Shed Renovation
A big “Thank You” to all of those who made a donation
towards the renovation of our amnesty crate area which is now
complete thanks to James our Maintenance Officer. It will be a
more secure, hygienic and comfortable area, protected from
the weather, for cats left overnight.
Lottery West Grant
We have recently had a Lottery West grant approved to
upgrade our Shelter software to Shelterbuddy, a new system
allowing us to keep better track of our cats and treatments
administered. It provides us with important information such
as problem suburbs for unsterilised cats, where we can target
promotions of cat de-sexing programs.
I hope you like your new look Cat Chat – feedback from the last
edition has been very positive. If there is anything you would
like to see featured, drop me a line at
[email protected]
Again, thank you for your never ending
support.
Fundraising – End of Financial Year Donations
We’re also at the end of the financial year and if you have been
meaning to make a donation to assist with your tax, then now
is the time! As always, there is no end of items we need at
Roz Robinson
Contents
pg.8
pg.12
pg.15
Message from Roz Robinson
2
Give a Cat a Second Chance 10
Fat Cats
4
Focus on Isabelle
12
Cat Scratch CPR
7
Volunteer – Sonya Edelman
15
Community 8
Vets Voice 17
Lucky Ducky 8
Getting to Zero Update
17
Cat Under a Hot Tin Roof! 8
Animal Support Program
18
Fundraising Events
9
Cat in a Can 19
Connect with us...
Storm (Photo by Alma Sarhan)
facebook.com/CatHavenWA
Magazine designed by Design City. Supporting Cat
Haven’s brand since 2005.
twitter.com/CatHavenWA
Photography is kindly supplied by Alma Sarhan,
Alicia Cook & Sue White Perfect Clarity Photography.
youtube.com/user/CatHavenWA
Please call Chandra Woodley on 0412 115 937 if you
are interested in advertising in Cat Chat.
2 | Cat Chat June 2014
Cat Haven sterilises over 4000
cats a year. This is a crucial step
to reduce the number of stray
cats in WA. We are in desperate
need of a new sterilising unit in
our vet clinic and it costs around
$10,000 to do this. Please Help.
Help Us Buy a New
Sterilising
Machine
Your details
NAME: ____________________________________________________________________
ADDRESS:____________________________________________________________________
PHONE:___________________________
I would like to donate:
$ _________________ to Help Buy a New Sterilising Machine
$10 will provide flea and worm treatment for a cat
$25 will feed a cat for a week
$50 will help fund a foster care place for an extended amount of time
$100 will contribute towards vital vet care
Send form to:
Cat Haven
Reply Paid 83881
23 Lemnos Street
Shenton Park
WA 6008
$200 will provide a subsidised sterilisation and a microchip for two cats
Type of Card:
Visa
MasterCard
Credit card number ________-________-________-________ EXP. DATE: _______/_______
Signature __________________________________________
If you are interested in becoming a regular donor, please tick here:
Donations of $2.00 or more are tax deductible
feature
Fat Cats
How to make sure your cat has the right diet and exercise
for a healthy life.
The level of obesity may vary (one UK study suggested as
many as 1 in 3 British cats were obese) but most vets will
agree that it is far too common a complaint and if they’re like
me and been practicing for more than thirty years they would
agree that it is a problem that is on the rise. Just like us, cats
that are overweight have an increased risk of some pretty
serious diseases including liver disease, diabetes, urinary
tract disease, osteoarthritis and, worryingly, cancer.
So what’s the cause? Well, on one level it’s pretty simple: it
occurs when there is “a positive mismatch between energy
intake and energy expenditure”. In other words, cats get fat
when they eat more calories than they burn! We feed them
‘Storm’ is the perfect
example of a healthy
weight for a cat. She is
a beautiful mixed colour
cat who was surrendered
to Cat Haven last November
with kittens and she has
been successfully adopted
into a loving home.
4 | Cat Chat June 2014
too much, feed them wrongly or don’t ensure they have some
sort of exercise. Let’s have a look at those three factors a bit
more, but first how do you know if your cat is overweight?
Here’s where you have to be honest.
Ask yourself: Can your cat still jump? Does she groom
herself well? Do they still like to play? Can you feel her
ribs and spine? Can you see his waist? Do they have a
saggy tummy?
If you need a little more convincing try the Body Condition
Score calculator at www.hillspet.com.au/weightmanagement/pet-weight-score.html.
feature
Excessive body weight and obesity is without doubt
the most common nutritional disorder that cats in the
Western world suffer today.
How much should I feed my cat?
If you are using a commercial
diet, either tinned or dry, I would
recommend feeding the minimum
amount recommended on the label. It’s
always easier to adjust upwards rather
than down. Weigh your cat regularly!
Also, not many cats will self-regulate
their intake (although they are better at
it than dogs) so be very careful about
leaving food down for them all the time.
This is a common error especially with
dry food. Feed them an appropriate
amount two or three times a day. Most
importantly DO NOT reward your cat
with food when they vocalize. That is
a sure fire way to create a problem for
you and your cat. Plus, it’s vital that you
understand that what looks like a tiny
meal to us is probably a banquet for
your cat!
What should I feed my cat?
Cats are obligate carnivores – that
means they must eat meat to remain
healthy. Cats in a natural setting ingest
almost no vegetable material at all.
Most of their energy intake is made
up from the proteins and fat of the
animals they capture. Consequently
cats lack the required digestive and
storage mechanisms required
to successfully handle calories
derived from plant based
carbohydrates.
Diets high in grains such as corn are
best avoided if you have concerns
regarding your cat’s weight. Hill’s now
make a dry food which is grain free
– a great idea for overweight cats.
Lowering carbohydrate intake is a more
sensible approach than lowering fat if
we are trying to limit calories.
Should cats exercise?
Absolutely! We all know how lazy cats
can be. With the move to keeping cats
indoors the opportunity for cats to lead
increasingly sedentary lives will only
increase. It is essential to provide an
environment that will encourage your
cat to burn some calories. You can
provide structures such as climbing
trees or other interesting structures they
can interact with. Access to a secure
enclosed outdoor run might be helpful.
Or you can put aside 30 minutes a day
for a play session that will encourage
your cat to burn some calories.
What if my cat is overweight?
Remember we want a perfect match
between energy intake and energy
expenditure. That might take a bit of
time and effort to work out. Most of
the time the blame lies with our best
intentions but sometimes it’s because
we don’t really want to change our
own behaviour. I’d like a dollar for
every client who has told me “Oh but
Doc, I hardly feed him anything at all”!
There are good ideas on the internet
(once again be careful – you don’t
have to be right to put something on
the web) that will assist you with diet
and exercise. However there is a big
word of warning. Before you start
dieting your cat, talk to your vet first.
If a cat’s caloric intake is suddenly or
excessively reduced it can set off a
chain of metabolic changes resulting
in a sometimes fatal disease called
hepatic lipidosis. Your vet can assist
you in preventing that from happening
whilst helping you get your cat back to
their best.
Fat Cat article contributed by
Dr Tony Pusey
Vet Clinic Manager
Cat Chat June 2014 | 5
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news
Cat Haven
Winter Feline
Health Program
This winter Cat Haven wants to help you give your cat the very best.
We know you have helped us in the past so now it’s our turn to help you.
That’s why Cat Haven Veterinary Clinic is providing some extra
services, some great giveaways and free stuff, and some very
handy discounted offers.
Did you know that Cat Haven sterilizes, vaccinates and
rehomes over 3000 cats and kittens every year? That’s a lot
of households and families that now have a furry friend just
as precious as your cat is to your family. By participating in
our winter health program you can help us to continue our
work uniting people and cats, and our mission of caring for
the cats of Perth.
Vaccination Month – June & September
Is your cat’s vaccination overdue? For the months of June
and September you can have your cat vaccinated at 15% off
our normal price. Cat Haven knows that you are committed
to your cat’s health but we also know that, sometimes, it’s
easy to forget when vaccines are due. That’s alright! It’s easy
to start again and it is in Puss’s best interests.
And it’s not just a booster shot that your cat will receive. They
will get a thorough physical examination and you can take the
opportunity to ask our vets any questions you have about their
health and well-being.
Don’t
forget that you
will need to book
your appointment.
Don’t miss out!
Senior Pet Month - July
July is Senior Pet Month at Cat Haven. This is a great
opportunity to make sure your senior is doing well (or if there
are problems we can tackle them early). Throughout July we
will be doing a special extended consultation for cats over
the age of 8 years that includes a blood test for blood sugar,
kidney function and liver function (thyroid hormone test is
optional) a checklist of your cat’s examination and a FREE
sample bag of Hill’s Age Defying dry food. All that for the
price of the blood test (around $50) – the vet is FREE! We can
only fit in 6 seniors a day so make sure you book in early.
Dental Month - August
August is dental month at Cat Haven! Does your cat have
smelly breath? Do they drool? Have they become finicky
eaters? Gone off their dry food? Your cat might have dental
disease! Dental disease is the most common health condition
of cats. Most vets agree that poor dental health may
predispose a cat to infection, kidney disease and other
serious health conditions.
We will be doing FREE teeth checks for the entire month of
August. If your cat needs any dental work we can book in a
time for your cat to have the dental work they need under the
safety of a gas anaesthetic. With a 15% discount! And a FREE
bottle of mouth wash! And a sample bag of Hill’s teeth diet
(whilst stocks last). Bookings are essential as we can only fit
in 6 dental exams each day and 3 teeth cleans per day.
Cat
Scratch
CPR
A Life Saving Cat!
In May’s Australian Medical Journal
an article featured about a 72-year-old
man with a history of heart relatedproblems visiting his GP after being
repeatedly attacked by his loyal moggy
– while he was sleeping.1
The lateral-thinking GP thought that
“perhaps the cat was witnessing
something which it deemed required
intervention,” the authors reported.
The GP sent the man, who had a history
of stable coronary artery disease, type
2 diabetes, diabetic neuropathy and
hypertension, to have an overnight
polysomnographic assessment. The
assessment revealed that the man had
sleep apnoea and bradycardia with
7-second cardiac pauses.
“Although 7-second cardiac pauses do
not normally require cardiopulmonary
resuscitation, the patient’s cat rushed
in, knowing no better, to perform C(at)
PR,” the authors reported.
The man was treated with continuous
positive airway pressure and his cat
has since refrained from ‘saving’ him.
They discuss the possible mechanisms
for a link between the obstructive sleep
apnoea and the asystole, and suggest
that the cat was somehow picking the
patient’s ‘impending doom.’
Visit our
website at
cathaven.com.au/
news-and-events
to download our
Winter Feline
Health Program
brochure
The authors then speculated that this
might be the next big thing in animal
detection of human conditions and
made a stellar recommendation:
“In times of economic austerity, at least
in Europe, let us commend this ‘natural’
intervention. We hope that guideline
groups will take note of this case and
recommend the prescription of felines
to patients at risk of obstructive sleep
apnoea rather than home oximetry.”
1
S eligman WH, Manuel A. The cat and the nap.
MJA 2014;200:229.
This article appeared in the April 2014 issue of the
Australian Veterinary Journal
Illustration by Trish Hazell
Cat Chat June 2014 | 7
community
COMMUNITY Your cat, your stories
Cat Under a
Hot Tin Roof!
Gerrie’s Tale.
Lucky Ducky
Rosaline and a friend were
gardening in their back yard for a
greenwaste collection one morning
in April, when from the bottom of
the garden, they could hear a loud
and continuous crying noise that
they thought could have been a bird.
In the end, they were curious so
followed the noise to a bore hole at
the very back of the garden. In the
depths of this borehole, which was
at least 6 metres deep and filled with
cockroaches and spider webs, they
saw a very small, frightened kitten!
A friend climbed down a ladder
into the borehole as far as he could
go, and lowered some sheets
down to the kitten, who managed
to somehow climb up the sheets.
Rosaline said “All the kitten wanted
then was to be in the arms of her
rescuer and to be cuddled, and
she fell asleep exhausted from her
ordeal, on the way to Cat Haven
a little later.” Rosaline has since
blocked off the bore entrance!
At Cat Haven our vet gave her a
good check over and could see no
injury, so after a short stay at the
shelter, where due to her extremely
loud ‘duck-sounding’ meow she was
christened Ducky, she was fostered
into the care of a loving home.
Phillipa, Ducky’s foster carer said “I
was a bit concerned for the first week
as Ducky wasn’t eating much, but
then we brought in 3 other kittens to
help teach her how to eat properly
and play normally, and she’s now a
happy, healthy kitten.”
Ducky was a very lucky kitten as her
extraordinarily loud duck sounding
meow saved her life and to top it
off, she is now being adopted by
the good Samaritan who found her.
Thank you Rosaline!
8 | Cat Chat June 2014
On Friday 2 May a lady heard meows
from outside her office window
which is on the second level in an old
building in Fremantle. She contacted
the Fremantle Fire Department and
they attended. They reported seeing
two young kittens but were unable to
catch the kittens so the lady from the
office put food out for the kittens over
the weekend.
Gerrie the kitten and Jeremy from
Fremantle Fire Department.
On Monday 5 May she saw a kitten
which was out on the roof next to
her window. The kitten was under a
wire mesh cage covering a drain so
she was unable to get to it, so all she
could do was put some more food out
for the kitten and contact Cat Haven to
see if we could assist.
Cat Haven’s ranger attended that day but because of the location (on a roof, under
the roof sheeting) the lady was given some food by the ranger to leave out to try to
entice the kittens to come out to the food and try to locate them that way.
On Thursday 8 May, the lady still kept hearing a desperate cry from outside her
window which was very distressing, so she contacted the Cat Haven ranger directly
again. The lady also contacted the Fremantle Fire Department for the second time
and four fire men attended along with the Cat Haven ranger, and located the area
where the kitten was being heard. A light rescue kit was used by the firemen and
the metal roof sheeting was pulled back, and a little kitten was seen stuck under the
roof sheeting in a shallow gutter. The kitten was very dehydrated and skinny and is
only about five weeks old. She stayed overnight at the Cat Haven vet clinic and was
monitored and given fluids. She is currently being fostered by the ranger until she
is big and strong enough to be sterilised, micro-chipped, vaccinated and placed
up for adoption.
A very big thank you to Jeremy and Gavin, and the fire crew from Fremantle Fire
Department for their quick and caring response to rescuing the kitten that has been
named Gerrie after Jeremy, her rescuer.
Fundraising Events
A huge thanks to all Cat Haven’s wonderful, tireless volunteers – without their help,
none of these fantastic fundraising events would be such a success.
Next Event
21
June
Quiz Night
Saturday 21st June, South Perth
Community Hall, Sandgate St,
South Perth at 6:30pm.
Come down to Cat Haven’s annual Quiz Night! Our Quiz Night always sells out,
so get your tickets quickly. All funds raised go directly back to Cat Haven.
Strictly no BYO. Tickets $20 each, with tables made up of 10 people.
Bookings at: www.trybooking.com/ESYV
Cat Haven’s
creative
brand, web
and print
partner
since 2005.
Past Events
Pay and Play at Fremantle Markets
A big thanks to Fremantle Markets for
initiating a Pay and Play afternoon in
March this year. Cat Haven volunteers
set up a stand and brought down two
litters of our cutest kittens for the public
to see, and for a gold coin donation,
they could cuddle a kitten. We raised
awareness of the plight of so many
kittens during kitten season and
received $600 in donations.
Lego Film Morning
Cat Haven held a Kids Movie Morning
on Sunday April 13th at Events Cinemas
in Innaloo to view Lego - The Movie.
The event was a huge success, and
our sincere thanks go out to our
very generous sponsors Toyworld
at Claremont for providing all of the
fabulous Lego vouchers and door
prizes. We are also very grateful for the
members of Perth Allied Costumers
who, at their own expense, came
dressed in full Lego costumes for the
event. We are thrilled to advise that our
efforts raised over $1100 for Cat Haven.
High Tea - The Owl and the Pussycat
Went to Tea was held on May 31st
at Royal Perth Yacht Club and thanks
to the tireless, wonderful work of a
team of volunteers, it was again a
big success. There were great raffle
prizes and a silent auction, and the
143 attendees raised well over $5000
for Cat Haven.
Let us help with
your brand
Identity
Photography
Reports
Packaging
Websites
Advertising
SEO
Copywriting
Marketing
Signage
Our thanks to our wonderful
volunteers for their hard work
at these events...We couldn’t
do it without you.
Official Opening
of the Cat
Management
Facility Condos
The Hon Tony Simpson ML, Minister for Local Government; Community
Services; Seniors and Volunteering; Youth attended an official opening
ceremony of the new cat pens at Cat Haven on 6 March this year. It was a
pleasure to officially thank State Government for their generous contribution
to the building of the new cat pens last year.
Building brands.
Transforming businesses.
adoption
Give a Cat a
Second Chance
– Adopt a Cat Today.
Cat Haven has hundreds of cats and kittens in need of a good home. Please come
into Cat Haven to meet your new friend or see our website: www.cathaven.com.au
Adelaide
Axel
Botswana
Chuckles
Cindy
Collingwood
Fritz
Gabby
Hamish
Hollie
Houdini
10 | Cat Chat June 2014
Lillypad
adoption
Salior
Adopt Sailor and be First on the
Animal Support Bridging Program
– Supported by Andstruct
Sailor is a 3 year old stray male, surrendered to Cat
Haven in March this year. He is ready for adoption
now as he has been couped up here far too long!
The Animal Support Bridging Program is kindly donated
by Andrew Gilmore of Andstruct Creative Commercial
Solutions. If you would like to become a contributor to the
ASP Bridging Program please contact Chandra Woodley
or Roz Robinson at Cat Haven – we have many special
cats that need your help to find a loving home and they
may not even ever get sick!
Although he has tested positive for FIV, he is a
loving, beautiful cat and currently in perfect health,
and he is eligible for our new Animal Support
Bridging Program.
This means that if you adopt him and he gets
sick due to FIV related issues between now and
when he is 5 years old, these medical costs will be
covered up to the value of $3000 at the Cat Haven
vet. Once he reaches 5 years old, he will then be
eligible for the full Animal Support Program so will
continue to have these costs covered.
Silvy
Lime
Little One
Milo
Minx
Miska
Paris
Petra
Rhonda
Snook
Taco & Burrito
Tulip
Cat Chat June 2014 | 11
foster care
Focus on Isabelle
One of Our Fabulous Foster Carers.
Isabelle Nash lives with her husband and three small children (Scout, 6, Ottilie, 4, and Bonnie, 3) in a
pretty small house in Leederville. She works a couple of days a week as a pastry chef, and spends the
rest of her time running around after the kids and keeping up her hobbies, which include baking, knitting
and regular board games nights with friends. We asked her to tell us a little about her experience as a
Cat Haven foster carer and this is her story.
When did you become a foster carer?
We started fostering around
September 2013.
How did you hear about the Cat
Haven foster care program?
I found out about fostering through the
Cat Haven website and had read about
it in the local paper.
What made you decide to become a
foster carer?
At the time, we had two ageing cats
(16 and 17 years old) who had no
interest in being played with by my
children. The kids love animals and
spent a lot of time at the neighbours’
house playing with their cats. I thought
it was sad that we had no animals
for them to play with at home, but I
didn’t want to adopt any new animals
before George and Lola had lived out
their days. I thought fostering might be
a good solution – bringing new cats
into the house for the kids to play with,
while helping out cats in need. It also
12 | Cat Chat June 2014
gave us the flexibility to stop fostering if
our current cats became very unhappy.
How many times have you fostered?
We have had 3-4 sets of kittens, plus
some adult cats. It’s funny how fast you
lose track of all the kittens you’ve had!
How many cats/kittens do you tend to
foster at once?
We started out with 4 kittens, which
was a good number to begin with.
The most we have had so far was a
mum with six kittens, plus another
mum with an older kitten. That was
a bit nuts, to be honest, but the kids
loved it and every one of those cats
was a pleasure to have around. It was
certainly pretty quiet once they all got
adopted out though.
Why do you do this?
I have always had cats in my life
and it feels great to be able to help
out the Cat Haven whilst getting lots
of furry cuddles. My children love
having cats around, my husband has
the occasional favourite cat and it’s
really nice to be part of the chain of
connecting cats and kittens to new,
caring families.
How do you cope with fostering cats/
kittens? How does fostering work in
your home; with your family; with
other pets etc?
Fostering does make my life a little
busier - there are cats to feed and litter
trays to clean, and trips to and from the
Cat Haven for vet visits and supplies,
but I do feel that we are more than
repaid for all this with the affection of
the cats and reward of seeing them go
to lovely new homes. Our two elderly
cats chose to move outside for the
summer, but now that the weather is
cooling, George has started to come
back in at night (unfortunately, Lola died
before Christmas). All the cats seem
to be aware that the feline population
in our house is a fluid arrangement,
so even though our house is quite
small and there is not much space for
segregating cats, they seem to find
foster care
We adopted one of our cats from a fellow
foster carer and were able to find a cat whose
personality really matched our family.
ways to get along, or places to hide, so
we have had no problems introducing
new cats. We have actually adopted
two more forever cats (I know, I said I
wouldn’t!) within the last month, and
they have eased into our house with
no trouble at all.
house, we are open to having other
recovered ringworm cats here, which
is rewarding, as they are cats who
normally struggle to get adopted out
from Cat Haven as their post-ringworm
accommodation is minimal.
What are the highs and lows
of fostering?
What has your experience been like
in dealing with Cat Haven? Would you
recommend it?
Highs: Cuddles with cats, watching
them play and grow, watching their
personalities emerge as they get older.
Also, with the really young kittens, we
get to name them! Being part of the Cat
Haven fosterers facebook group has
been really lovely – lots of great people,
advice, stories and cute pictures, plus
a really good network for linking foster
cats with new owners. We adopted one
of our cats from a fellow foster carer
and were able to find a cat whose
personality really matched our family.
The Cat Haven staff are extremely
helpful and really appreciate any
help people offer. You really get an
understanding of how busy and
committed the staff and volunteers
are. I feel really grateful that fostering
seems such an easy way to help out,
yet I know I am making a difference
in my own small way. There are other
ways to volunteer which are difficult for
me while my children are small, but
fostering fits into our lives well.
Lows: Saying goodbye when they
move on to new homes – however,
there is usually a new batch of kittens
to pick up, so there is a silver lining to
that cloud! Also, given that my children
are still quite young, there is more
supervision required when we have
small kittens around, to ensure the kids
are not being over-enthusiastic in their
loving attentions.
Please let us know any good
stories you may have about any
of your fostered.
If fostering ringworm cats, what has
this experience been like?
We had a bout of ringworm in the
house, which just sprang up when
we were fostering Raspberry and her
six kittens. After initially feeling quite
overwhelmed by the situation, I got
lots of good advice from Cat Haven
and other foster carers who had dealt
with it before. It turns out it’s not that
bad! Slightly annoying, in that there are
medications to give, and a few extra
vet visits to get them checked over,
and you have to keep your house a
little cleaner than before - but maybe
that’s a good thing! Once the cats had
ringworm, we adopted them out from
our house rather than sending them
back to the Cat Haven. This meant we
got to keep them a little longer than
usual, which was kind of nice, plus we
got to meet their future families, which
we wouldn’t normally get to do. Now
that we have had ringworm in the
One of our ringworm kittens was
a gorgeous fluffy fellow named
Gingerbread. Our whole family was
in love with that boy – so placid and
handsome. He started off with us at
four weeks, and was quite a small
kitten compared to his siblings. After
a week or so I realised he was having
tummy troubles, so I took him off to the
vet and got him some medicine. The
next thing you know, he had grown
bigger and fatter than his five siblings,
and was the first one to be adopted
out. His new owner was so keen to
have him that she adopted him despite
his ringworm, on the agreement that
his symptoms cleared up before she
took him home to her other cat. The
poor lady had to wait six weeks before
she could take him home - it was the
most stubborn case of ringworm I’ve
seen. Gingerbread kept growing and
growing - I started to send her photo
updates so she wouldn’t miss too
much, and I arranged for her to come
for visits to get to know him better.
When she finally did take him home
it was so lovely to see how happy
she was, and to think how well
cared-for Gingerbread would be in
his new home.
Foster carers
save Cat Haven
tens of thousands
of dollars a year by
taking cats out of the
shelter environment
for a break or
nursing them back
to health.
We are always looking for
foster carers to help ease
the burden of so many cats
in the shelter. Cat Haven
provides all the food and
litter, plus full support during
your time as a foster carer –
all you need to provide is a
temporary home and a lot
of love! If you are interested
in becoming a foster carer,
please contact Trish at
[email protected]
Cat Chat June 2014 | 13
HoundstootH studio –
HoundstootH studio
not j u s t fo r hounds
STUDIO
PHOTOGRAPH
PARTNER FOR
Y
CAT HAVEN
www.houndstoothstudio.com.au www.facebook.com/HoundstoothStudio
volunteers
VOLUNTEERS Our greatest resource
corporate sales executive for AAPT
on deregulation. I spent 2 years in
San Diego working in an advertising/
marketing agency.
What do you do now?
Retired five years ago and do as much
as I can for Cat Haven. When I’m
not working on a project I divide my
time between family and friends and
relaxing at home with my two cats,
Charlie and Buddy (naturally Cat
Haven rescues).
Sonya
Edelman
A Valued
Volunteer
What is your background?
I was born in Perth but left at 20
years old for the traditional overseas
holiday. One year in London followed
by 11 years in Rome. Jobs in that
time spread equally over the movie
industry, stockbroking for the Vatican
and then the United Nations. Back in
Perth I worked in the travel industry
for a decade (Wholesale Manager for
American Express and the same for
a couple of airlines). I moved over to
telecommunications, setting up Telstra’s
first direct marketing bureau and then
When did you start volunteering for
Cat Haven? What inspired it?
My love of animals and especially cats
has been life long and I fed and cared
for the many stray cats of Rome.
Largo di Torre Argentina Rome is a
city replete with cats. An estimated
250,000 cats live all over the city but
seem to have a particular affinity to the
ancient ruins. www.romancats.com/
index_eng.php
A couple of years before retiring I
decided to get together a Christmas
gift carton of wet and dry food for Cat
Haven. I took donations from all at
work and anyone else I could cajole.
On delivery to Cat Haven I found they
raised money via the sale of chocolates
and from then on I must have sold
many many hundreds of dollars-worth
of Cat Haven chocolates in my office.
On retirement I started volunteering
for data entry and also doing pick-ups
and deliveries of cats/kittens as well
as airport pickups. During that time
there were a lot of sausage sizzles,
street appeals, shopping centre stalls
and of course, Wet Nose Day where
the now famous Tree of Hope started. I
have worked on many direct marketing
campaigns to source gifts for various
functions, towels and bedding for the
cats and the latest was contacting all
the Perth vets to place some of our
beautiful cats and kittens.
How much time does it take out of
your year?
I don’t consider it ‘taking time out of
my year’. Sometimes I’m busy every
day, other times not so much. My heart
goes out to each and every animal we
receive and if I miss a coffee with the
girls, then too bad.
What does volunteering at Cat Haven
give you?
As Albert Einstein said: “The only
escape from the miseries of life are
music and cats...”
Would you recommend it to others?
It’s easy to make a buck. It’s a lot
tougher to make a difference and a lot
more rewarding.
Do you have any cat stories from your
volunteer time?
I collected a dumped cat from a lady
who had been caring for it. She had
recently lost her husband. When I got
the cat to Cat Haven we decided to call
him Michael. When I returned home I
phoned her to tell her the cat was fine
and what he had been named. She
burst into tears. Seems that Michael
was the name of her recently
deceased husband.
“Sonya is an all-round champ, but she has a forte for raising funds. I remember the
time she was taking cash at a sausage sizzle, and in the best up-selling manner
would ask customers as they handed over cash, “Would you like change with that?”
– She raised over $300 simply by asking this!
– Roz Robinson, CEO at Cat Haven
National Volunteer Week – May 12-18
National Volunteer Week is a time when organisations across Australia celebrate their volunteers and the contributions that they
make in various community organisations. Cat Haven has 230 volunteers who assist with a range of functions including cleaning,
administration, reception, fundraising and more.
As a way to recognise and say thank you to our on-site volunteers, you will notice names on paw prints around the shelter –
if you volunteer for us see if you can find yours!
Cat Haven truly appreciates the hard work and commitment of all its volunteers – we would be lost without you!
If you would like to volunteer, please contact Sam at: [email protected]
Cat Chat June 2014 | 15
BLDG132
Protecting every
Tom, Felix and Kitty
To help keep your feline friend happy and healthy, don’t miss
their annual vaccination booster and health check at Cat Haven.
Learn more about feline vaccination here.
Passionate about animal health
Vets Voice Mythbusters
Did you know that FIV (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus) is not often a sexually
transmitted disease in cats! It is an immune deficiency, only found in cats
and spread by cats biting/scratching each other, and it is not transmissible
to humans or other animals. Most cats with FIV live a long and healthy life,
with just the possibility of complications caused by a depleted immune
system if they pick up other illnesses along the way that other cats would
deal with more easily.
Get your copy of Cat Chat online and
save Cat Haven thousands of dollars!
Please let us know if you are happy to receive your copy of Cat Chat magazine as
an electronic copy by email and this will help save thousands of dollars spent on
postage each year. Please email us on [email protected]
Getting to
Zero Update
Cat Haven is still fully committed
to G2Z (Getting to Zero
Euthanasia), which aims at
reducing the level of euthanasia
in shelters and pounds around
Australia until it reaches “zero”.
We are consistently working towards
the G2Z goals with our annual
euthanasia figures reducing over 20122013 and our continued effort to reduce
this again for 2014.
Some of the G2Z initiatives at Cat
Haven include our foster care program
for cats that are surrendered with
ringworm, our treatment and rehoming
of cats with FIV and our Animal Support
Program, without which, hundreds of
cats would have to be put to sleep
each year.
Thank you to all who donated
towards the renovation of our
Cat Amnesty Shed.
Thank You to Vets
Cat Haven would like to extend thanks to all the vet clinics that have helped
out during the intensive months of kitten season this year and particularly the
following clinics for all their hard work in assisting with the sterilisation of so
many cats and kittens:
Ocean Keys Vet, Subiaco Vet and Mosman Park Vet
cat haven news
Animal
Support Program
Last year Cat Haven was fortunate enough to have been
approached by a committed cat lover who is prepared to
assist us financially with a program to rehome some of our
older cats (5 years plus) that have special needs.
We have named this the Animal Support Program (ASP),
which will be funded by up to $25,000 each year by this
generous lady.
The Animal Support Program covers amongst other things:
• On-going medication costs
• Routine test costs
• Quarterly vet checks
• Special dietary requirements
• Dental
We can also extend this to owners surrendering older cats
due to any of the above reasons and we believe that we can
treat up to 50 cats per annum due to this new initiative.
Cat Haven CEO Roz Robinson said “When I first started
here, any cat 7 or over was simply euthanized! How our
ASP pioneer saw it, was that people might be happier to
take an older cat, but didn’t want to take on the costs which
may come with them e.g. costs for on-going medication or
treatments. We cover items such as ultrasounds on heart
murmurs, testing of renal functions, visits to specialists such
as skin and eye specialists, and special food the cat may
need, insulin for diabetic cats – the list goes on.”
She added “All in all, it’s fantastic and we just love that we
have such a generous benefactor to fund this for us.”
• Accident insurance
Here’s a few of our ASP successes from the over 35 recipients we had last year.
Leila – 17 years of age!
Beautiful Leila is one of the oldest cats
we have had up for adoption. She is 17
years of age and is in quite good nick for
her age! She doesn’t have any particular
health problems at the moment (her
urine, heart and bloods were all quite
normal!) but we placed her on the ASP as a precaution so
her new owner wouldn’t have to worry about the health
problems that can eventually come along with a geriatric cat.
We covered all her food also!
We were aware that it may be a bit of a challenge to adopt a
17 year old cat but kept positive all the same, so we featured
Leila as the Western Suburbs Weekly ‘Cat of the Week’ and
also featured her on Facebook. A couple of days later she
was adopted to an older couple who had previously had
a Tortiseshell cat from us that had lived 21 years! Well
done Leila!
Mudcake
Handsome Mudcake was dumped in
our amnesty crates one night and was
named for his gorgeous chocolate looks.
When we were doing his usual tests
we picked up that he is FIV positive and
he also had some fairly bad teeth and
gums. So we did a full blood profile and extracted some
of those rotten teeth. Our vets saw that despite the FIV he
is quite healthy. So we placed him on the ASP to cover any
costs associated with illness that can stem from the FIV
because his immune system can be slightly compromised.
He also needed a special diet for his dental issues! Mudcake
spent a while with us and went to foster care for a while. His
foster carer decided she was unable to part with him and
she adopted him. Wonderful news for Mudcake!
18 | Cat Chat June 2014
Muffin Man
Gorgeous Muffin Man was found as a
stray many months ago and he was
sadly never reclaimed. When he initially
came to Cat Haven in 2013 he was
thought to have cat flu and he spent a
while in our sickbay/recovery area. He
went to foster care for a while to recuperate. When he came
back it was noticed that his eyes were still quite watery. We
placed him on the ASP to help cover his ongoing costs and
sent him to an eye specialist where they found he has some
issues with his tear ducts and his eyes are very deep set so
they are quite narrow. He then went to another foster carer
for a few months for further treatment. It was also discovered
that he is mildly hearing impaired. After much recuperation
he came back to Cat Haven as the Western Suburbs Weekly
‘Cat of the Week’. A lovely couple with four other cats saw his
video and came in to meet him. And as they say the rest is
history! Muffin Man is now known as Leon and lives a super
comfortable life with his other feline friends! (photo courtesy
of Western Suburbs Weekly).
Sundae
Lovely Sundae was also left in our
amnesty crates here one night. During
her usual tests we soon found that she
is FIV positive. So we placed her on the
ASP and did a full blood profile. She
also spent a while in foster. We found
that despite the FIV she is quite healthy and would just need
some special conditions with her adoption process. We soon
tracked down a ‘no pet family’ that wanted to adopt her and
they of course promised to keep her indoors so she doesn’t
pose an infection risk to the other neighbourhood felines!
Yaaay for Sundae!
cat haven news
Cat in a Can
This mummy kitty goes back to
the streets.
Shenton Park’s Cat Haven recently made an exception
to its no-catch-and-release policy to return a feral cat
found with its head stuck in a soup can.
This feral cat was allowed to rejoin her litter.
Thanks to Post
Newspapers for publishing
our recent story about a
poor stray cat that was
sadly found in a skip bin
with its head firmly stuck
in a soup can.
The article hopefully helps
raise awareness in the
community to take care to put
lids on bins and skip bins to
avoid this type of accident.
Our ranger commented that
“On release, the cat seemed to
know exactly where she was
going, so although the cat
hasn’t been spotted since,
we hope that she found her
way back to her kittens.” Staff
in nearby businesses are
monitoring the area and making
sure the skip bin lids are closed.
The cat was found in a skip bin at West Coast Fasteners’
industrial site in Balcatta. Cat Haven usually re-homes or
puts down feral cats, but when the haven’s vet noticed it
was lactating they decided to return it after removing the
can. Cat Haven ranger Veronica Rivett rescued the cat
from the site and brought it to the Lemnos Street shelter.
“We de-sexed the cat while it was here and the very
next day returned her, with some food, to hopefully be
reunited with her kittens,” she said.
A sales employee for West Coast Fasteners had alerted
Cat Haven after workers found the cat in the company’s
skip bin. The employee, who did not want to be named,
said her first call was to Stirling council. She said they
were unhelpful and “didn’t have a clue”. She said Stirling
told her the cat was not their responsibility under new
cat legislation introduced last November.
Cat Haven media officer Chandra Woodley said while
councils were supposed to pick up cats in their area they
did not have to. “It is a bit of a grey area in the Cat Act,”
she said. Ms Woodley said Cat Haven had a no-catchand-release “We don’t believe in putting the cat back in
the hideous environment it came from,” she said.
“Out of 8000 cats we would euthanise just under 4000.
“The only time we won’t euthanise [feral] cats is if they
are lactating, because otherwise kittens will be dying,”
she said. Ranger Veronica will return to the industrial site
soon to try to find the cat and its kittens. Workers have
since reported seeing kittens at the park at the end of
the street, but because it is a public area Cat Haven
cannot put down traps. Cat Haven receives 6000-8000
unwanted cats every year.
At the moment Cat Haven is full after this year’s late kitten
season. The haven asks people to consider adopting an
adult cat from them, all of which are sterilised, microchipped and vaccinated.
Our sincere thanks to the following cat pen
sponsors, who have helped Cat Haven cope
with the cost of looking after numerous cats
staying in our shelter so far this year:
Cat Haven Thanks Corporate
Cat Pen Sponsors:
Cat Haven Thanks Personal
Cat Pen Sponsors:
Andrea MacRae
& Phil Robson
Noelle Steenhauer
Grace Wyle
Ann Patricia Rigby
Lucinda Jackson Miller
Roy & Nikuki
Headset’Era
Liz Halse
Taisa Radionow
Ross & Jan Turner
Ian & Jo Adams
Glenys Schiavi
Ongerup Tyres
and Auto
Nicci Murphy
Steven & Amy Becker
Kathy and Tony Clark
Please call us if you would like to become a cat
pen sponsor; it’s only $500 a year for corporate
sponsorship and $350 a year for personal
sponsorship, or our new Vet Clinic sponsorship
is only $100. All sponsors receive an engraved
plaque on the cat pen of their choice.
Please Donate, Adopt, Foster, Bequeath, Volunteer.
Reception
Ph (08) 9442 3600
[email protected]
Boarding
Ph (08) 9442 3655
[email protected]
Open 7 days a week
(Closed Christmas Day and Good Friday)
Please see our website for opening hours.
23 Lemnos Street,
Shenton Park WA 6008
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!
Please recycle this brochure and
give it to a cat-friendly friend.
www.cathaven.com.au