The wee guys arrived on friday and are possibly two of the coolest things i have ever seen on four legs.
They have wrecked the house and it has been discovered they have no fear of heights or each other!
I cant believe how quickly they have adjusted to a new home and each other, they are using the litter trays and eating like its their last meal.
They were "good to go" out of the box. The CPL had them litter trained and they got their first set of injections and they will help my folks with future injections and bits and pieces. I cant speak highly enough of the job the CPL has done.
If you are saying £100 per kitten, that is generous and will be gratefully received.
If you mean £100 for the two, it's not enough. Most charities nowadays ask for a minimum of £75 per kitten to cover costs.
As well as routine stuff like food, litter, vaccinations, defleaing, and worming there will be other vet consult fees to pay for some kittens/cats.
So £150 would be the right sort of amount for the pair.
(The suggested donation when I got my first kitten 14 years ago was £25 - costs have greatly increased since then.)
I got mine from Battersea dogs home when she was only 5 months old. She was neutered, wormed, had all the appropriate vaccinations and she was deflead with stronghold. They also gave a weeks supply of catfood. I went to a local vet for advice and I am glad I donated £200.00. I rather do that then buy a kitten from a pet shop.
When I tell people how much they think I am mad. But I considered all the costs and how much it costs them to rehome stray cats and dogs I did not consider it a hardship at all. Saying that I dont know anyone who has never donated anything regardless of their financial circumstances.
I got mine from Battersea dogs home when she was only 5 months old. She was neutered, wormed, had all the appropriate vaccinations and she was deflead with stronghold. They also gave a weeks supply of catfood. I went to a local vet for advice and I am glad I donated £200.00. I rather do that then buy a kitten from a pet shop.
When I tell people how much they think I am mad. But I considered all the costs and how much it costs them to rehome stray cats and dogs I did not consider it a hardship at all. Saying that I dont know anyone who has never donated anything regardless of their financial circumstances.
My folks donated a decent sum based on the advice of this thread and TBH it was well worth it. The CPL do a great job.
Im sure if they couldnt afford it they could have given less and it wouldnt be a problem but i think they deserve all the support they can get.
I have never met a kitten that wasn't litter trained - even my orphaned 4 week old kitten knew how to use a litter tray. Their mums, or subsitute mums, teach them very early - cats are cool that way.:cool:
I got mine from Battersea dogs home when she was only 5 months old. She was neutered, wormed, had all the appropriate vaccinations and she was deflead with stronghold. They also gave a weeks supply of catfood. I went to a local vet for advice and I am glad I donated £200.00. I rather do that then buy a kitten from a pet shop.
When I tell people how much they think I am mad. But I considered all the costs and how much it costs them to rehome stray cats and dogs I did not consider it a hardship at all. Saying that I dont know anyone who has never donated anything regardless of their financial circumstances.
Yes if you can't afford a decent donation, you can't afford to keep a cat - simple as! I don't think you're mad at all and I am sure your donation went to help other animals in need.
I work for Cats Protection (It hasn't been Cats Protection league for about 15 years, at least).
Yes.. every little bit counts so so so desperately.
Normally, I personally recommend about £95 for each cat, but we do live in an affluent area. But at the end of the day, it's whatever you can afford. We'll take a fiver if we think the cat is going to a good home. (not enough people are adopting cats, we are overflowing)
Please remember how much it costs CP per cat though.. if they've been in foster care for a few weeks, they will have chomped their way through a lot of food & litter, not to mentioned as people have said, microchip/vaccine/neuter/worm.
That is in exclusion to transport costs of collecting the cat, the time of making a home visit to check your suitability, all the required paperwork (we fill out too much), phone-calls etc.
We probably make a net loss on each cat (not that anything made would be considered 'profit' anyway - it would all just go back into the pot)
We furiously work behind the scenes for no pay (I had to transport a cat 50 miles before ) so dig deep and enjoy your new feline friend!
To give you a rough idea of some operating costs, we will pay for any medical work a cat coming into our care needs (VERY rarely putting a cat down).. so we could be faced with random bills for say, £500 worst-case scenario.
Sometimes we have older cats, semi-ferals or cats with FIV/Diabetes etc. in our care that nobody wants to adopt and we have to basically keep in foster care indefinitely (some simply never get adopted and end up having to be moved to the National Cat Centre, or simply die of old age in foster care).
(Ergo why I recommend people don't usually get kittens if they can help it - give the older cats a chance). Any cat older than 7 or so tends to get ignored, and any cat with an ongoing medical issue is considered a 'write off' in the eyes of most of the public.
Back to the original point being such cats we pay for their entire lives.. obviously we don't begrudge them, but they cost us an ongoing and steady amount of cash weekly.
Again, it's all the small things - most of my work within CP is publicity based. I had to spend £16 on stamps the other week!
On balance, we just spent £400 on 25 weeks of newspaper adverts too.
Sadly when there is no fixed income except the break-even costs of donations for cats, it's all so precarious
I would give 25- 50 pounds for each cat. But then I live in an area high on the multiple deprivation index.
See, unless someone has nothing else - that leaves us nowhere near even breaking even.
People who are just tight get on my nerves, they have no idea of how hard we work and how costly it is for each cat. If we run out of money (happened at the beginning of this year), we shut down for a bit (closed for a month after Xmas) and cats suffer.
See, unless someone has nothing else - that leaves us nowhere near even breaking even.
People who are just tight get on my nerves, they have no idea of how hard we work and how costly it is for each cat. If we run out of money (happened at the beginning of this year), we shut down for a bit (closed for a month after Xmas) and cats suffer.
In my area most people can't even afford contents insurance, so they definitely not going to be able to afford a pet.
My Impossible Princess I got for nothing but it cost me 30 pounds a month for food and pet insurance. Then it was 50 pounds for the injections and then another 50 pounds for the neutering and blood work.
Then another 25 pounds vets consulation fees for a bad eye and a bad paw. So 50 quid there.
I think that it would be cheaper to get a kitten for free and then do all the extra stuff yourself at a rate you can afford. I couldn't afford to pay CP in advance like that.
I work for Cats Protection (It hasn't been Cats Protection league for about 15 years, at least).
Yes.. every little bit counts so so so desperately.
Normally, I personally recommend about £95 for each cat, but we do live in an affluent area. But at the end of the day, it's whatever you can afford. We'll take a fiver if we think the cat is going to a good home. (not enough people are adopting cats, we are overflowing)
Please remember how much it costs CP per cat though.. if they've been in foster care for a few weeks, they will have chomped their way through a lot of food & litter, not to mentioned as people have said, microchip/vaccine/neuter/worm.
That is in exclusion to transport costs of collecting the cat, the time of making a home visit to check your suitability, all the required paperwork (we fill out too much), phone-calls etc.
We probably make a net loss on each cat (not that anything made would be considered 'profit' anyway - it would all just go back into the pot)
We furiously work behind the scenes for no pay (I had to transport a cat 50 miles before ) so dig deep and enjoy your new feline friend!
To give you a rough idea of some operating costs, we will pay for any medical work a cat coming into our care needs (VERY rarely putting a cat down).. so we could be faced with random bills for say, £500 worst-case scenario.
Sometimes we have older cats, semi-ferals or cats with FIV/Diabetes etc. in our care that nobody wants to adopt and we have to basically keep in foster care indefinitely (some simply never get adopted and end up having to be moved to the National Cat Centre, or simply die of old age in foster care).
(Ergo why I recommend people don't usually get kittens if they can help it - give the older cats a chance). Any cat older than 7 or so tends to get ignored, and any cat with an ongoing medical issue is considered a 'write off' in the eyes of most of the public.
Back to the original point being such cats we pay for their entire lives.. obviously we don't begrudge them, but they cost us an ongoing and steady amount of cash weekly.
Again, it's all the small things - most of my work within CP is publicity based. I had to spend £16 on stamps the other week!
On balance, we just spent £400 on 25 weeks of newspaper adverts too.
Sadly when there is no fixed income except the break-even costs of donations for cats, it's all so precarious
Great Post and sorry for me calling it the CPL.
Tbh i think my folks gave about £300 for the two wee guys.
Im pretty sure no amount covers the work that went into creating the monsters that are running about right now!!!
Im a firm believer in human charities coming before animal ones and i make no apology for that but i will say that the Cat Protection people will get a wee regular donation from me from now on cos they do fantastic work.
Tbh i think my folks gave about £300 for the two wee guys.
Im pretty sure no amount covers the work that went into creating the monsters that are running about right now!!!
Im a firm believer in human charities coming before animal ones and i make no apology for that but i will say that the Cat Protection people will get a wee regular donation from me from now on cos they do fantastic work.
Im sure Mandoo and Von D would agree!!
Please remember to make your donation to your local branch.
If they money goes to head office, it goes to.. literally, head office and it doesn't filter down to local branches directly.
Head office help us out, but we don't get any fixed grants from them or anything.
If someone can't afford £75 for a kitten, how will they afford vet treatment when their cat gets ill or injured. Even the basics like vaccinations and effective flea treatments are expensive. That is why I believe adoption donations should be compulsory rather than voluntary, so that the owner realises what they are getting into in terms of expense!
Anyway back to the OP's kits - I well remember the "haven't watched the tv since they arrived" scenario. Kittens are such timewasters:D
I would always try to give locally but i didnt realise there was a difference.
Head office function independently.. they run the national publicity and 'corporate imagine' as well as doing all national admin/finance etc., and centralise everything. They also run a few national adoption centres (sometimes we send cats there if we haven't found a home for them within, say, a year as it's more comfy for them and longer-term).
Head office also give us specific grants (ie. £1,000 for IT equipment), they pay for our Yellow Pages advert, provide us with publicity materials, cat pen materials, financially help out poor branches, provide unlimited support etc.
But each local branch ultimately finances itself for the most part. Ie. if you see a Cats Protection collection at your local supermarket, the money is going to your local branch and is fundraising for them, not head office.
If someone can't afford £75 for a kitten, how will they afford vet treatment when their cat gets ill or injured. Even the basics like vaccinations and effective flea treatments are expensive. That is why I believe adoption donations should be compulsory rather than voluntary, so that the owner realises what they are getting into in terms of expense!
Anyway back to the OP's kits - I well remember the "haven't watched the tv since they arrived" scenario. Kittens are such timewasters:D
I think thats a little harsh, i have taken out insurace for the wee guys for my folks and to be honest i think as we speak they are worth more than i am!
People want to give homes to animals and i dont think that should ever be discouraged.
On reflection even as i type i see what you mean though. Even as healthy kittens they are munching their way through more food than i would have expected. I was alittle alarmed by how much they ate but they are runing it off so i guess its ok.
But each local branch ultimately finances itself for the most part. Ie. if you see a Cats Protection collection at your local supermarket, the money is going to your local branch and is fundraising for them, not head office.
They will get my cash then.
I genuinely would never have known the work they put in until now.
I think thats a little harsh, i have taken out insurace for the wee guys for my folks and to be honest i think as we speak they are worth more than i am!
People want to give homes to animals and i dont think that should ever be discouraged.
On reflection even as i type i see what you mean though. Even as healthy kittens they are munching their way through more food than i would have expected. I was alittle alarmed by how much they ate but they are runing it off so i guess its ok.
When i got mine i was pretty shocked as well, they just eat and eat and eat and eat!.
but thankfully it kind of slows down a bit as they get older.
If someone can't afford £75 for a kitten, how will they afford vet treatment when their cat gets ill or injured. Even the basics like vaccinations and effective flea treatments are expensive. That is why I believe adoption donations should be compulsory rather than voluntary, so that the owner realises what they are getting into in terms of expense!
Anyway back to the OP's kits - I well remember the "haven't watched the tv since they arrived" scenario. Kittens are such timewasters:D
The answer is, they don't tend to as vets are rip off places and charge too much.
I was talking to someone the other day who told me their cat had fleas and the fleas had got into the house and they couldn't afford the Indorex or the treatment from the vets.
Another could not afford to keep his orange kitten who ended up at CP as it went blind in one eye.
If vet fees were cheaper or free like the NHS more animals would get treated.
The answer is, they don't tend to as vets are rip off places and charge too much.
I was talking to someone the other day who told me their cat had fleas and the fleas had got into the house and they couldn't afford the Indorex or the treatment from the vets.
Another could not afford to keep his orange kitten who ended up at CP as it went blind in one eye.
If vet fees were cheaper or free like the NHS more animals would get treated.
Insurance isnt expensive. A couple of quid a month sorts it?
I think thats a little harsh, i have taken out insurace for the wee guys for my folks and to be honest i think as we speak they are worth more than i am!
People want to give homes to animals and i dont think that should ever be discouraged.
On reflection even as i type i see what you mean though. Even as healthy kittens they are munching their way through more food than i would have expected. I was alittle alarmed by how much they ate but they are runing it off so i guess its ok.
The comment wasn't directed at you, as I have no idea how much you donated.;) But there are people who do not think ahead, can't afford insurance and can't afford the vet bills either. That is why I think a large donation would make them stop and think if they can afford to own a cat. Plus obviously the charities just cannot continue if they don't receive adequate donations.
Comments
Great story but now it's time for pictures!!!!!
They dont sit still long enough!!!
I got mine from Battersea dogs home when she was only 5 months old. She was neutered, wormed, had all the appropriate vaccinations and she was deflead with stronghold. They also gave a weeks supply of catfood. I went to a local vet for advice and I am glad I donated £200.00. I rather do that then buy a kitten from a pet shop.
When I tell people how much they think I am mad. But I considered all the costs and how much it costs them to rehome stray cats and dogs I did not consider it a hardship at all. Saying that I dont know anyone who has never donated anything regardless of their financial circumstances.
My folks donated a decent sum based on the advice of this thread and TBH it was well worth it. The CPL do a great job.
Im sure if they couldnt afford it they could have given less and it wouldnt be a problem but i think they deserve all the support they can get.
I have never met a kitten that wasn't litter trained - even my orphaned 4 week old kitten knew how to use a litter tray. Their mums, or subsitute mums, teach them very early - cats are cool that way.:cool:
Yes if you can't afford a decent donation, you can't afford to keep a cat - simple as! I don't think you're mad at all and I am sure your donation went to help other animals in need.
I dont think they've switched the TV on since they arrived!!
Sorry you want to use THAT as an excuse and disaapoint their legion of fans!!:p
They are one step away from being handed the keys for the front door and being told to not make a noise when they come in!!!
The little one just came in and said "hoi, food. Now"
It came across as "miiaow" but i knew what he meant.
Apple must have an i-kitten coming out soon???
Yes.. every little bit counts so so so desperately.
Normally, I personally recommend about £95 for each cat, but we do live in an affluent area. But at the end of the day, it's whatever you can afford. We'll take a fiver if we think the cat is going to a good home. (not enough people are adopting cats, we are overflowing)
Please remember how much it costs CP per cat though.. if they've been in foster care for a few weeks, they will have chomped their way through a lot of food & litter, not to mentioned as people have said, microchip/vaccine/neuter/worm.
That is in exclusion to transport costs of collecting the cat, the time of making a home visit to check your suitability, all the required paperwork (we fill out too much), phone-calls etc.
We probably make a net loss on each cat (not that anything made would be considered 'profit' anyway - it would all just go back into the pot)
We furiously work behind the scenes for no pay (I had to transport a cat 50 miles before
To give you a rough idea of some operating costs, we will pay for any medical work a cat coming into our care needs (VERY rarely putting a cat down).. so we could be faced with random bills for say, £500 worst-case scenario.
Sometimes we have older cats, semi-ferals or cats with FIV/Diabetes etc. in our care that nobody wants to adopt and we have to basically keep in foster care indefinitely (some simply never get adopted and end up having to be moved to the National Cat Centre, or simply die of old age in foster care).
(Ergo why I recommend people don't usually get kittens if they can help it - give the older cats a chance). Any cat older than 7 or so tends to get ignored, and any cat with an ongoing medical issue is considered a 'write off' in the eyes of most of the public.
Back to the original point being such cats we pay for their entire lives.. obviously we don't begrudge them, but they cost us an ongoing and steady amount of cash weekly.
Again, it's all the small things - most of my work within CP is publicity based. I had to spend £16 on stamps the other week!
On balance, we just spent £400 on 25 weeks of newspaper adverts too.
Sadly when there is no fixed income except the break-even costs of donations for cats, it's all so precarious
See, unless someone has nothing else - that leaves us nowhere near even breaking even.
People who are just tight get on my nerves, they have no idea of how hard we work and how costly it is for each cat. If we run out of money (happened at the beginning of this year), we shut down for a bit (closed for a month after Xmas) and cats suffer.
In my area most people can't even afford contents insurance, so they definitely not going to be able to afford a pet.
My Impossible Princess I got for nothing but it cost me 30 pounds a month for food and pet insurance. Then it was 50 pounds for the injections and then another 50 pounds for the neutering and blood work.
Then another 25 pounds vets consulation fees for a bad eye and a bad paw. So 50 quid there.
I think that it would be cheaper to get a kitten for free and then do all the extra stuff yourself at a rate you can afford. I couldn't afford to pay CP in advance like that.
Great Post and sorry for me calling it the CPL.
Tbh i think my folks gave about £300 for the two wee guys.
Im pretty sure no amount covers the work that went into creating the monsters that are running about right now!!!
Im a firm believer in human charities coming before animal ones and i make no apology for that but i will say that the Cat Protection people will get a wee regular donation from me from now on cos they do fantastic work.
Im sure Mandoo and Von D would agree!!
Please remember to make your donation to your local branch.
If they money goes to head office, it goes to.. literally, head office and it doesn't filter down to local branches directly.
Head office help us out, but we don't get any fixed grants from them or anything.
Anyway back to the OP's kits - I well remember the "haven't watched the tv since they arrived" scenario. Kittens are such timewasters:D
Thanks.
I would always try to give locally but i didnt realise there was a difference.
Head office function independently.. they run the national publicity and 'corporate imagine' as well as doing all national admin/finance etc., and centralise everything. They also run a few national adoption centres (sometimes we send cats there if we haven't found a home for them within, say, a year as it's more comfy for them and longer-term).
Head office also give us specific grants (ie. £1,000 for IT equipment), they pay for our Yellow Pages advert, provide us with publicity materials, cat pen materials, financially help out poor branches, provide unlimited support etc.
But each local branch ultimately finances itself for the most part. Ie. if you see a Cats Protection collection at your local supermarket, the money is going to your local branch and is fundraising for them, not head office.
I think thats a little harsh, i have taken out insurace for the wee guys for my folks and to be honest i think as we speak they are worth more than i am!
People want to give homes to animals and i dont think that should ever be discouraged.
On reflection even as i type i see what you mean though. Even as healthy kittens they are munching their way through more food than i would have expected. I was alittle alarmed by how much they ate but they are runing it off so i guess its ok.
They will get my cash then.
I genuinely would never have known the work they put in until now.
When i got mine i was pretty shocked as well, they just eat and eat and eat and eat!.
but thankfully it kind of slows down a bit as they get older.
The answer is, they don't tend to as vets are rip off places and charge too much.
I was talking to someone the other day who told me their cat had fleas and the fleas had got into the house and they couldn't afford the Indorex or the treatment from the vets.
Another could not afford to keep his orange kitten who ended up at CP as it went blind in one eye.
If vet fees were cheaper or free like the NHS more animals would get treated.
Insurance isnt expensive. A couple of quid a month sorts it?
The comment wasn't directed at you, as I have no idea how much you donated.;) But there are people who do not think ahead, can't afford insurance and can't afford the vet bills either. That is why I think a large donation would make them stop and think if they can afford to own a cat. Plus obviously the charities just cannot continue if they don't receive adequate donations.
If they would sit still for 5 mins they wouldnt need to keep refueling!!