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Drive to rehome forgotten felines
Lily
Have a heart for a black cat this Halloween

GIVE black cats a chance is the message from Cats Protection in its third annual drive to encourage more people to adopt monochrome felines.

National Black Cat Day is being held on October 31 to encourage people to offer a home to an unwanted black or black-and-white moggy.

Around half of the 6,200 cats in Cats Protection’s care are black or black and white and, on average, each of these cats waits around a week longer to find a new home.

Jackie May, Cats Protection’s information and education manager, said: "It’s sad black and black-and-white moggies are homeless for longer so we wanted to give them a chance to shine and show that fur colour is only skin deep. At Cats Protection we are standing up for the ‘under-cat’ and asking people to consider taking a black or black-and-white cat into their home.

“Once favoured by storytellers in tales of magic and witchcraft, black cats have developed an undeserved bad reputation that is still bubbling away."

This National Black Cat Day, Cats Protection is inviting people to share their black and black-and-white cat stories, photos and videos on its Facebook page.
 
Over 250 of the photos that have already been submitted have been used to create a new poster which will be used by the charity to promote adopting a black or black-and-white cat.

For more information visit www.facebook.com/catsprotection

Image shows Lilly, who is at Cats Protection’s Dereham Adoption Centre in East Anglia. She is 11 years old and came to the centre as her owner was emigrating.

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Annual submission deadline small pet animal exemptions

News Story 1
 Companies marketing medicines for small pets exempt from authorisation must submit their annual return to the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) by 30 November 2026.

Submitting this annual return ensures continued compliance with regulatory requirements for products marketed without a full Marketing Authorisation. The exemption specifically applies to products intended for animals, cage birds, terrarium animals, small rodents, ferrets and rabbits.

For further details and submission guidelines, visit the gov.uk website.  

Click here for more...
News Shorts
BVA urges 'continued vigilance' over bluetongue

The British Veterinary Association (BVA) has urged vigilance following a concerning rise in Bluetongue (BTV) cases in sheep and cattle.

In a recent statement, the BVA noted that members are reporting more severe clinical signs and higher mortality rates than in previous years.

'We know that farm vets are working hard to support farmers and animals affected by this outbreak, during what is an extremely difficult time for all involved,' they stated. 'Continued vigilance to identify disease early is vital and vaccination remains the best way of protecting animals from this disease.'