Cat-loving Gosport volunteers look back on successful year and celebrate 20 per cent increase in cats rehomed

Like all branches and centres across Cats Protection’s network, the volunteer-run Gosport Town Branch had to pause rehoming and cat welfare work when coronavirus restrictions came into place in March.

When they recommenced homing cats in July they used a new, Covid-safe model named Hands Free Homing which has helped the branch see a 20 per cent increase in cats homed between July and December compared with the same period in 2019.

Kate Stapleford, branch coordinator, said: ‘This has been a real rollercoaster of a year for all of us in the branch, both personally and in our volunteering roles.

‘But we’re ending on a high, celebrating helping more cats and kittens since July than we did in the same period the year before. It’s a lovely outcome which really shows that something great truly can come out of adversity.’

With Hands-Free Homing, potential owners can arrange a virtual meet-up to check suitability after seeing a cat on the website.

Once the adoption fee has been paid, the cat is delivered in a socially-distanced way to its new home by a Cats Protection volunteer, followed by a series of follow-up calls in the first weeks.

Other highlights of the year have included successful Trap-Neuter-Return projects.

Six feral cats were humanely trapped at a rural business park in Southwick, between September and October, and all cats were neutered in arrangement with local vets on standby.

The majority of cats were returned to their outdoor colony after their procedures and health-checks, but two went on to live as chief mousers at a farm where they have had their own cat-flap built into a stable door to give them freedom and shelter.

The branch also had cause for huge celebrations when kind readers of The News helped them raise almost £2,000 after they set a target to try and raise £500 to help them through lockdown.

SEE ALSO: Gosport Cats Protection returns to taking in needy cats and rehoming through contactless approach

They were helped once more when readers answered their plea for kitten food and delivered a mountain of donations to help the branch navigate kitten season in lockdown.

Cats helped by the branch over the past year have included kittens Oreo, Tilly, Georgie and Sooty who were a surprise litter that their owners couldn’t keep.

Ronnie arrived in care as a shy, reluctant cat and left for his new home a confident, playful soul with a new love of interactive toys.

Izzy and her five tiny kittens thrived after being found in a field off Newgate Lane and nursed back to health, and Fluffy and Boo were reunited with their owners thanks to their microchips.

Kate added: ‘I’d like to thank all the brilliant volunteers who make Gosport Branch what it is. There’s a little group of about 12 of us that form the core of the branch but there are another 30 or so who are vital to everything we do.

‘From our fosterers and our trap-neuter-return volunteers who are hands-on with the cats, to our fundraising and retail volunteers who help us raise the funds we need to care for the cats of Gosport, everyone has pulled together this year in really remarkable ways.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

You can subscribe here for unlimited access to Portsmouth news online - as well as fewer adverts, access to our digital edition and mobile app.

Our trial offer starts at just £2 a month for the first two months.