'Left on their own most of the cats we take in would be dead': Bridlington cat rescue dedicated to helping cats and kittens that others give up on
Three Bridlington women who run a busy cat rescue have spoken about their experiences helping cats and kittens in the area, no matter how sick.
Purr-fect Pals is a non-profit cat rescue and rehoming centre based in Bridlington which is run by Andrea Cockerill, Theresa Stokes and Julie McManu.
The rescue is not a charity, which means that most of their funds are raised by selling goods and clothes that are kindly donated to the rescue. All of the money raised goes directly into supporting the animals in their care.
The rescue aims to help cats and kittens that are most in need, who would normally be deemed as too sick by other organisations- they believe that every kitten and cat deserves to have a proper chance at survival.
This small close knit team started the rescue in 2019 and in that time they have managed to rehome 488 cats, with 71 rehomed in the last year alone
Ms Cockerill, chief fundraiser, said: “We get all sorts of different calls, asking if we are a rescue, and we just can’t say no! We want to help as much as we can, whenever we can. Primarily though, we focus on cats and kittens.”
“We used to feed the ferals up at Carnaby- we still do now! We trapped and neutered 51 up there over the past 7 years, and we have had no kittens up there for the past 5 years.
“We never intended to have a rescue like we have today, we just decided to raise money when we found cats that needed help and it has gotten bigger and bigger ever since.”
Ms McManu, fosterer, said: “I have been fostering cats for more than 20 years now. The best part of fostering is getting them fit and healthy and seeing them go off to loving homes.
“Most people that adopt put videos and photos on Facebook to update us on how they are doing. It is lovely to see all the cats in new loving homes and to know that you helped to save them- left on their own most of the cats we take in would be dead.”
“It is just so rewarding- I think that is why we all do it!”
Ms Stokes, fosterer, said: “We take the ones who are most in need, the really poorly ones that other people would put to sleep or give up on.”
Ms McManu said: “These two are a suckers for the really sad stories - there was a poor cat that we saw a photo of that was having fits, and even though we were really low on money, Andrea and Theresa said ‘we HAVE to help it, we will have to pay it ourselves if necessary.’”
Ms Stokes said: “Sadly, there is only me and Julie who foster and we both have our own cats as well. This means we cannot take on as many as we want.
“We don’t often take adult cats in, just because it is so hard to get them rehomed and we don’t have the space to keep them. We sometimes take in pregnant cats and hope for the best, but we can only have one or two at a time because of the space issue.
“However, we ask for photos of the older cats that need rehoming and we share them on our Facebook page. This has helped many cats in the area find a loving home.”
The rescue often struggles for funds because some of the kittens they help are very sick. From kittens having fits to kittens with leukaemia, no matter how sick Purr-fect Pals try everything they can to get sick kittens back to health. However, this comes at a high cost.
Ms Stokes said “Before we started, me and Andrea were buying kitten food every week to build a stock up for when the kittens came in. A nursing mum will eat 6 packets of food a day, which adds up so quickly.
“We have a trolley in Morrisons and in Vets 4 Pets for people to donate cat food, which is extremely helpful, however, cat food sadly can’t pay vet bills.”
Ms Cockerill said: “We are looking for things that I can sell for the charity, but I have to store them all myself so we can’t take in anything big like furniture. Clothing, bric-a-brac, shoes, those kinds of things are all much appreciated.
“We charge £70 pound as an adoption fee, and for that we test for feline aids leukaemia, they all get their first course of vaccinations, microchip, flea, worming and spaying. A lot of the ill kittens need special food or special treatment, and we pay for all of that to get them to a point where they are ready for adoption, so we are always losing money.”
To help Purr-fect pals, visit https://purr-fect-pals.co.uk/, donate food at the trolley in morrisons, or email [email protected] to find out more.