The Isle of Arran Branch of Cats Protection …

… had its best year in 2015 and to top it all a VIP visitor!

Pictured below is Peter Hepburn, Chief Executive of the national charity of Cats Protection with three volunteers, Wyllie Hume, Alison Prince and Linda Hartley, Branch Co-ordinator, from the branch.

In 2015 the branch homed a record 31 cats and 42 being neutered! The branch was delighted when earlier in the year the Lamlash Cooperative Store held a fundraising event over Easter and secured much needed funds of over £600. As part of the UK’s national charity we rely on public donations to help us care for cats, find homes for them and assist with neutering which in Arran we have provided full cost.

Whilst the branch homes most of the cats on Arran some were homed on the mainland and we also helped to find a cat when we have none in care. In this case we liaise with other branches and usually bring them across to their new owners. We are pleased to say that only a handful of those homed went to the mainland and the rest were homed here.

The purpose of Peter’s visit was to see first-hand what it’s like to volunteer on Arran and to chat with volunteers about the work we do to help our island cats. It was uplifting for the branch and we learnt first-hand about some of the new and exciting plans for the future that will help in the education programme to help people better understand cats, new ideas on homing as well as the challenges in getting cats neutered. It was all too short a visit with Peter being whisked away to meet the return ferry. He later tweeted that Arran does vital cat work!

As Branch Coordinator I would like to acknowledge and thank everyone who helped us last year, whether it was spotting a stray, feeding a cat, working with us to find a home, enquiring about neutering, seeking advice about cat behaviour, and volunteering their time and efforts. The cats benefitted from your efforts – Thank you.