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Cast aside...
We will start with Frank, he's a handsome boy about 8 years old. He's been a house pet for a number of years (believed) but around november last year he was seen wandering gardens and getting into fights with other neighbourhood cats. A couple reached out to friends and neighbours to try and track down where he'd come from only to find out that he was believed to belong to another neighbour, everyone said so. When they approached the owner though they denied even owning a cat. Sadly this is something we cannot prove or do much about. What we can do is ensure Frank gets a loving home somewhere else.
He is neutered and quite friendly, but like we stated, has a history with other cats so will not be suited to a home with other cats. We have no knowledge of his history with dogs.
He is currently in foster but we would prefer to get him into a home to free up the foster space for another cat in need.
Fill in a form here if you can offer him a home!
A lady in her twillight years...
Next up we have a beautiful old lady who has had terrible past month; you see her owner passed away and a home she has known for the 20 years of her life is gone. She needs to find a home where she can be pampered and loved for the rest of her days.
You did read that right, she is 20 years young! She is in good health and a beautiful cat. Unfortunately we have no history on her suitability with other cats or dogs. We would like to find a quiet and stress free home where she can settle.
If you would like to know more about her or can offer her a home please fill in an application form here https://www.crosskennanlane.co.uk/cat-re-homing-application
Given her circumstances we would like to find a good home soon to help her transition better and to ensure she can continue in the lifestyle that she is accustomed to.
A straggly Stray...
Then we have the lovely Noel, a stray who has definately been a war or two. He was caught at a neighbouring farm of the sanctuary's after staff and volunteers spent a whole weekend trying to track him down. He first appeared at the sanctuary on a cold evening, meowing in hunger. His nerves took him out of sight but thankfully the neighbouring farmer heard about our search and on spotting a cat in his yard quickly caught him up with the promise of food.
Noel, as he was named as it was only a few weeks shy of Christmas, was badly beaten up; with bite marks, cuts and various sores. He was riddled with worms and skeletal. He was however extremely happy to see us. He chowed down on his dinner and soon he was heading out to a foster home to continue his recoupuration. He's blossomed into a beautiful cat, with a wicked personailty, ready to play and always ready for dinner!
Noel is now on the lookout for a special home of his very own. Somewhere he can play, eat and just be spoilt!
Fill in an application form here if you can offer this boy a home of his own. https://www.crosskennanlane.co.uk/cat-re-homing-application
We have several cats who are looking for special homes; they are not cuddly kittens; some will need a lot of time to bring them around; some have health issues. All deserve a chance.
Nancy - she was lifted as part of the Fairhill rescue, the mother of five of the kittens rescued she is little more than a kitten herself. She is very nervous of people and affectionately known as 'Hissy'. We would love to find her a place where she can have the time to learn to trust people and a chance. She caught on quickly about litter trays and knows where her bed is to be crated in the evenings and will hop in herself for dinner.
Her brother Jasper was the only adult from this rescue to be rehomed so far and at the begining it was unsure if it would work out; but he's become a cat who loves his luxury; to the point that on his first trip outdoors he took one sniff and then ran back indoors to his bed by the tv. He sleeps on his new owner's bed with them, cuddles on the sofa and is living his best life. Seeing that and knowing what the time his owners gave to him; we can't help but hope there is somewhere out there for Nancy too.
Terrance and George are another two from the Fairhill rescue. George is the elder at 2 years while Terrance is just under a year. Both are nervous boys; having never known kindness from people it can be difficult for them to trust. Like Nancy and Jasper they need time; and the need a home where they will be given that time and attention.
Joy and Joe - This mother and son duo are chalk and cheese in many ways. Joy was part of the fairhill rescue, mother to several of the kittens brought in at the time; while Joe was born at the sanctuary when Joy gave birth to more kittens. All those kittens have been rehomed bar Joe because Joy and Joe are a pair. They curl up together, groom each other, and Joe helps Joy be a little braver everyday. Joe just wants to play but Joy needs time (like the others). We would love to find them a home where they can be together. Joy is not even two yet, she has never been given a chance before. Could you give her that chance?
As always check out our adoption page for all the cats and other animals currently looking for a home! https://www.crosskennanlane.co.uk/adopt
Finally there are those at the sanctuary who need a little extra help; not neccessarily through rehoming;
Cats like Thomas who was lifted by another charity last year after straying for years. We originally hoped to help get him a home but when we met him we had concerns about his age and health. Sure enough the vet agreed, estimating him to be close to twenty and giving him a few weeks at most. We wanted to give him the best few weeks and while he was happy we would give him a chance. He settled into the manager's home and spent his days by the fire with up to 8 meals somedays. He put on weight and with daily grooming his coat began to shine, he would rush over to get groomed and would grumble if his fire wasn't lit when he came downstairs. Honestly it was a waiting game for us; constantly looking and watching and waiting for when his quality of life dipped.
When a month came and went we took him back to the vet for a check up and even they were surprised. He's still with us and still demanding dinner at all hours and that the fire is always roaring hot. He enjoys his pampering and we adore him. He does have some extra needs that come with being eighteen odd years old and living a lifetime on the streets and one of them is his partiality to foods and sensitivity. He likes the smaller meal sizes but lots of them; but struggles with dry food with his teeth and some of the brands have caused stomach upsets. He loves the Purina Mon Petit and gets some of these with Royal Canin's Instinctive Aging sachets which he quite enjoys too!
If you can help with his vet bills, feed bills etc, he'd be very grateful! He says he doesnt mind the flavour but prefers gravy over jelly!
Then we have Molly, another senior girl lifted from the streets. Found in someone’s garden, completely emaciated. She was so lethargic on arrival that we thought she was going to pass on. We couldn't encourage her to stand to eat or drink and in the end we had to physically lift her. She was in pain; something that was hard to miss; whenever she would scratch herself and literally scream out. We got her straight to the vets where blood were taken and she was assessed; thankfully the bloods came back clear but diagnosed with a bad ear infection and with her little weight and her bodies overall state she was in a terrible condition.
Back at the sanctuary she was treated with anti inflammatory ear drops and daily cleaning which we will keep at until they settle completely. We've seen bad ear infections in the past; as recently as Seymour who was rescued last year and rehomed just before Christmas; where the infection appears to be chronic and regular cleaning is the only way to stave it off.
She has improved so much since arriving, simple things like actually standing up herself to eat and then eventually moving around her room on her own steam. She has a long road of recovery ahead considering the state she arrived but every day is a better day for her we are so thankful to say. So much different from the cat who we thought wouldn't survive the night.
She has been getting some lovely Royal Canin Instinctive 7+ (green) food (reccomended by Thomas of course!) and she eats it well.
Can you help us buy more food and help cover this beautiful girls vet bills?
Finally, news of today; although we have no photos at the moment. We recieved a call from a lady who was concerned about the stray she had been caring for; it was barely moving and she raised concerns that she thought it might die. Due to the urgency of this we got into the jeep and headed out to catch it.
The cat was curled up in the kennel the lady had out for it and didn't even move when we picked it up and transported it to back of the jeep (inside the kennel). When we lifted it to transfer it to a carrier it was obvious it was in pain.
We got them straight to the vets this afternoon; and left there for tests and checks. Thankfully they have no passed on and we went this evening to pick them up. Unfortunately they are suffering with arthritis and are home with some meds to take and will need to be monitored to assess how bad it is. At the moment we have no idea what age of a cat this is but he is at least a lot less sore this evening. We will try and update as soon as we know more about them.
If you can help with his vet bills we would be very grateful, our January bill came in this afternoon from one of our vets and it is £715.52... We haven't recieved the other bills yet and although they are never as high we had several cats in with some of this past month.
We hope for the future; while we help them trust again.
CAT NEEDS ATM ARE!
Whiskas Kitten 2-12months Jelly/Gravy Sachets
Felix Doubly Delicious Kitten 2-12 months Jelly/Gravy Sachets
Purina Mon Petit Sachets
Royal Canin Instinctive 7+ Sachets
Royal Canin Aging 11+ Sachets
Towels
Tuna in sunflower oil
For an idea of our food quanities per month - most of our cats are fed a mixed diet of dry and wet food; some are solely on one or the other depending on health needs; some are on an increased meat diet; including fresh chicken and tuna. We are currently going through a minimum of 3500 pouches of wet food in a month! That is over 100 a day! Like we said not every cat is on wet food; some get tinned food, some dry, most a mix.
We were asked one day why we didn't just feed the cheapest dry food; because it would save money.
Well we could, we definately could. But for many of our cats; especially those who live permanently at the sanctuary; dry food isn't an option.
Even two year old Priscilla cannot eat dry food due to her teeth; it's not always an age thing. Further we have many with digestion problems; they are permanent residents for a reason and often that reason is they have underlying health problems.
For some of these the cheap foods work fine, others not a chance. Sarah in the cabin is physically sick if she gets a bite of the wrong food; her intake has to be monitored closely. She has had several teeth removed (she's not an old cat either!), and struggles with most dry foods.
Another reason why we don't just buy what's cheapest is because we do want the cats to be happy and healthy and although there are some brilliant cheap food brands out there; some are not. We make a point to buy what works for the cats and when we can save money that is brilliant! It doesn't always work out; recently we had to stop buying some food when several of the cats had reactions.
Finally, would you want to live the rest of your life with cheap dry food? It's fine for a while but even then you'd need to treat yourself. Just because these cats are rescues and are living in a sanctuary does not make them less; in fact for those who have the priviledge to meet them or work with them we can say that they are in so many ways more! These cats have too often been the ones overlooked or disgarded, the ones neglected or abused, the ones who cost too much or weren't pretty enough. The ones who got to old or scratched the sofa out of boredom. These are the cats who have come through that and are still willing to work with us! These cats could teach many things to people!
Rescue cats are quite honestly awesome! :) and no, we are not currently held hostage by pain of claw to write that!
Help us to help them!
Please, CLICK here to Make a Donation (PAYPAL)!
Or You can send a donation via a bank transfer to
Sort Code: 950202
Account Number: 31184288
Account Name: CROSSKENNAN ANIMAL
If you want to get stuff delivered to us you can get it posted directly to Crosskennan Lane Animal Sanctuary, 26 Crosskennan Lane, Ballynoe, Antrim, BT41 2QY
Or send us an email to crosskennan@hotmail.co.uk to arrange a drop off of donations!
Did you know you can send grocery deliveries to us too? Just let us know in advance, and you can do a ASDA, Tesco's, Sainsbury's Online delivery and get it dropped off at the sanctuary. We can make use of so much from your local supermarket, from fresh fruit and veg, to frozen peas and sweetcorn, fresh chicken, ham, liver, washing up powder/tablets, dish soap, bleach, disinfectant, toilet rolls, dog food, cat food, birdseed... The list could go on forever!