St. Francis Hospice For Cats : Blog

[sfhfc]

It’s Oliver’s one year anniversary as a long term foster with us. This little man arrived after a road trip from Blackpool where he was a stray for many, many years.

Oliver has a lot of health troubles, he is FIV+, diabetic, both eyes have detached retinas so his sight is extremely poor and he suffers with diarrhoea…. But with a lot of love, fabulous vet care and a whole lot of medication he is doing as well as he can be.

He has adapted to living in a home really well and enjoys his home comforts along with never having to worry where his next meal is coming from.

We are so happy with his progress, long may it continue. Keep well Oliver 🐾

[sfhfc]

Here is a little video of Timmy, sent in by one of our lovely fosterers Craig. We rescued him a year ago from a local vets and we are so pleased to see how he has thrived in a loving environment. Thank you Craig, for being his soulmate.

[sfhfc]

After reading some of the lovely comments about our adorable ode boy Donald, I just couldn’t resist sharing a couple more pictures of him. We do love him so much and really are delighted that after a year with us he seems to still be going strong.

[sfhfc]

Today we are pleased to say that it’s Donald’s 1st year anniversary with us. We rescued him after he was found wandering on a busy road in Derby. He was a poor old soul, blind and deaf and weighed just over 2kg. He really was in a poor state.

We thought that we may only have him for a few weeks so made the most of each week we had and ensured he was comfortable and had all he wanted.

So to be sharing this a year on is so wonderful and we feel blessed to have been able to give him what he deserves. He really is such an adorable ode chap who has found a special place in our hearts.

[sfhfc]

Pictured here is our newest resident Oliver, he wants to thank you along with us all at SFHFC.

We would like to say a big thank you to our supporters who have updated the Direct Debits/Standing Orders for their donations to SFHFC to our new Bank account.

Just a reminder that you will need to cancel your old Direct Debit / Standing Order to ensure that it is cancelled.

If you are a supporter of our charity and are able to donate, then please note our new bank details below.

St Francis Hospice for Cats

Acc number: 19883551

Sort Code: 16-28-33

Royal Bank of Scotland

PayPal has remained the same.

Every donation we get is gratefully received and goes directly to benefit the cats in our care. We know that times are difficult for everyone at the moment, but with rising costs all donations are important to us.

We really do thank everyone who supports our small independent charity, we could not do what we do without you, we and all our furry residents really do appreciate it 🙏🏻

[sfhfc]

Hi, we want to share this about an event that’s happening locally in Derby, UK on 17th Feb. We’ve copied some information below from the organisers of this event in the hope that some of our local supporters/followers may be able to come along, enjoy the cat film clips and in doing so help to raise some much needed funds for our charity.

We are the film distributors of ‘Cat Video Fest’, a film releasing in cinemas across the UK and Europe very soon.

As a thank you to local cat charities for the tireless work they do we are offering 10% of our ticket sales (net of VAT) as a charitable donation.

The Odeon cinema in Derby are releasing the movie on 17th February 2025.

The more tickets sold for this fun movie, the more money can be raised for the amazing work you do.

Cat Video Fest has been an annual event in the US for several years, raising over $250k for cats in need. Now for the first time, we have brought it to the UK, and it is already a hit! UK Cinemas releasing the film have enjoyed great success and their nominated local cat charities have gained beneficial PR from it, along with much needed donations.

The film is a compilation of the internet and social media cat video stars rolled into a 75 minute movie. It’s a lot of fun for all the family, and a wonderful celebration of our feline friends, making them the movie stars on the big screen.

We invite you take a look at the Cat Video Fest TRAILER HERE

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SRCrO-zdJJpCWJEHN-AF0oLW5T3Haqzf/view

and our Cat Video Fest WEB SITE, https://www.catvideofest.com/

as well as ODEON’s Cat Video Fest BOOKING PAGE

https://www.odeon.co.uk/ticketing/seat-picker/?showtimeId=917-59492

[sfhfc]

Max decided he just had to help with the Lego Batmobile 😻. How they love a box to dive into. Since Max came to us in March he has been such a lovely character, but he really can be mischievous sometimes and Christmas decs haven’t stood a chance… 😺.

[sfhfc]

Just wanted to share this FB post, can’t believe it’s 10 years ago today since we had to vacate Saperton Close.

Here is the last ever photo of our residents, Francis and Shy-Annie at Sapperton Close. As you will know if you have seen the previous post we have sadly had to say goodbye to our dear Joy. The plan had been that Joy was coming back to our house along with Francis and Shy-Annie but this was not meant to be.

Here I had got them both ready in their posh cat carriers for the journey down to A38 to Burton-on-Trent. I can report that they have both had a good sniff around and have happily had something to eat. Shy-Annie was quick to search out the highest cat climber and made herself comfortable up there, while Francis cuddled up in one of the new cat beds before deciding that he would like a bit of reassurance and came and jumped up on my knee.

We know that we still have a long way to go to get all of our furries settled down as with these two additions that takes us to seven cats at our house. We already have Arnie (FIV+) who we have fostered from SFHFC for over five years now. We also have four of our own, Tommy is a diabetic and Mikey who is hyperthyroid so it is a busy household.

I will keep you all posted on how things go.

As a few people keep asking I just wanted to clarify why we have moved. This has been due to circumstances which have changed that were out of the charities control. The house was not an asset of the charity and our licence agreement had come to an end. We are now looking into our options to relocate in the new year in order to be in a position to help more cats in the future.

[sfhfc]

We want to share some information that our charities bank details have changed.

If you would like to make a donation to St Francis Hospice for Cats, or if you have a Direct Debit set up with us, please note these details below.

St Francis Hospice for Cats

Acc number: 19883551

Sort Code: 16-28-33

Royal Bank of Scotland

PayPal will remain the same.

Every donation we get is gratefully received and goes directly to benefit the cats in our care. With rising vet costs etc all donations are important to us.

Huge thanks to everyone who supports our small independent charity, we could not do what we do without you, we and all our furry residents really do appreciate it 🙏🏻

[sfhfc]

Saturday night in with Strictly Come Dancing on and these two lovely ode chaps, Donald and Larry with us on the sofa. Don’t know what either of them were doing this time last year, but we are so pleased they are with us now, safe and sound, enjoying comfort and the love and attention that they deserve.

[sfhfc]

Unfortunately we have to share the sad news that earlier this month we lost Lancelot. Lancelot arrived into foster care back in December 2023 taken in from our friends at Betley Cat Rescue.

While he has been with us he enjoyed lots of fuss, cuddles and food, very different to the life he’s been used to as a stray. He has been a regular at our vets due to his severe case of gingivitis which was helped by having extractions of his remaining teeth.

In April we had a scare with him when we took him to the vets as he had lost a lot of weight in a short space of time, but thankfully he was able to turn the corner despite receiving the diagnosis of renal failure. Despite his lack of enthusiasm of eating a renal diet he managed to continue enjoying the home comforts that we were able to provide and always appeared as if by magic when the fridge door opened.

Unfortunately though with kidney failure he had he started to deteriorate, this was a rapid deterioration literally overnight and at our last vet visit we knew there was nothing more we could do for him to keep him comfortable and out of pain so with a sad heart we had to let him go.

At these times it is always very difficult, even though we have been through it too many times to mention, but it’s the last kind thing we can do for our cats to ensure they pass over peacefully and with love and caring right until their last breath.

Thank you to Paw Print Vets and Sunnyside Pet Cremation Services for your care and professionalism on Lancelot’s final journey.

RIP Lancelot, beautiful boy 🖤

[sfhfc]

I’m sorry we haven’t posted anything for ages, life just seems so hectic balancing work, family and of course the cats. Over the coming weeks I’ll aim to share an update about how a lot of our residents are doing.

I’ll start off with some of our fostered residents, we currently have four of them living with us.

To start us off here is our adorable Donald. We rescued him back in March after he’d been found wandering around on a busy road. He is elderly, deaf and blind so it is a wonder that he survived, at the time he was painfully thin and not in great condition.

Amazingly, nearly 8 months on and he is thankfully still doing well and enjoying life. He loves to sleep on the sofa and loves his fuss and cuddles. He really has found a special place in our hearts 🥰 😻.

[sfhfc]

Today has been a sad day as we say farewell to Abdul, from Blagreaves Vets as today is his last day at the surgery.

Abdul has been the charity’s stalwart vet for 17 years+. The work, help and advice that he has given to both our charity as well as ourselves and many of the charity volunteers over the years has been outstanding and over and above what you would expect. Numerous out of hours calls as well as Sunday home visits to the charity to do health checks on all the cats.

With our charity specialising in FIV cats, we needed somebody who understood this and could work alongside us in our rescue mission.

Along with Abdul we also have a big thank you to all of the staff at Blagreaves, especially to Michelle and Sabrina who go way back to the beginning with Abdul.

We wish Abdul all the very best in whatever he goes on to do in the future.

[sfhfc]

Here is Arnold, he came to SFHFC in August 2023 from a vets in Nottingham. He is one of twenty cats at our main FIV unit based in South Derbyshire, UK.

He came to us as he is FIV+. Since being with us he’s had a couple of vet visits and earlier this year he was diagnosed as diabetic. This requires him to have injections of insulin twice a day to control his condition and I’m pleased to say he seems to be doing well at the moment.

Arnold is a very friendly and affectionate cat who does enjoy some fuss. He has made firm friends with Darren and Ronnie and they can often be seen together.

[sfhfc]

Max really is such an adorable boy. Still hard to believe that some people wouldn’t give him a chance as he is FIV+, but as you can see he is a happy playful boy who we hope will be with us for many more years to come.

[sfhfc]

On a happier note, here is Max and he loves the new cat toy we have just got. Max is a real cutie and a lovely soft natured cat who loves to play.

[sfhfc]

It’s with a heavy heart we share the sad news of Benjamin’s passing. Poor Benjamin continued to deteriorate despite giving him every chance and him receiving the best care possible from Abdul and all of the practice staff at Medivet Littleover.

We will miss this lovable rogue who arrived with us just before lockdown from a lovely supporter of the charity. After he had made himself at home with us we didn’t have the heart to transfer him to our cat unit once restrictions were lifted. He made a friendship bond with Oscar who we sadly lost to heart failure a year ago today. Benjamin never really got over Oscar’s loss (it hit us all hard as he was only 4). We would like to think Oscar was waiting at the rainbow bridge when Benjamin arrived.

Rescue work can be so rewarding but also so difficult at times. We do all we can to give our cats the best life possible. At this difficult time it does help having great support from our vets and having support from Lynsey at Sunnyside pet crematorium. We would also like to thank Azra for supporting Benjamin throughout his time with us.