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Cat volunteers host celebratory sleepover
Yorkshire Cat rescue volunteers
The volunteers spent most of the night cuddling the cats and sharing kitten stories.

New pens good enough for humans to sleep in

Volunteers at Yorkshire Cat Rescue gathered last week to celebrate the refurbishment of its rehoming centre - but not in the way you might expect!

Instead of popping champagne and slicing cake, 12 volunteers donned their pyjamas, slippers and dressing gowns and bedded down in the centre for a sound nights sleep.

Thanks to grants from Support Adoption For Pets, The Jean Sainsbury Animal Welfare Trust and The Jeanne Marchig Animal Welfare Trust, Yorkshire Cat Rescue has been able to replace seven old wooden pens with ten warmer, brighter and more hygienic ones.

Centre manager, Sam Davies, explains:  "The grants and donations which have paid for this re-build will dramatically improve the conditions for the cats living here; they are cleaner, warmer and offer a less intimidating space for the cats which helps enormously in making sure they show their friendliest side to potential adopters.

"We have been able to make better use of the old space and the three additional pens will allow us to rescue 150 more cats each year. These modern pens are so good that we thought we'd prove the point by camping out in them ourselves."

The project forms part of a larger venture to refurbish the centre's facilities, some of which date back to the early '90s when the centre first opened.

The kitten house has had a makeover, with nine new units that are both warmer and easy to keep clean. The accommodation also offers its residents a much less stressful space to rest whilst they await their new home.

"The new pens are amazing and perfectly acceptable even for humans to sleep in," says assistant centre manager, Jo Chafer. "The night turned out to be a great fun; we spent most of it cuddling the cats and sharing kitten stories although most of us did finally manage a bit of shut-eye.

"I guess we wanted to show that even though life at the rescue centre isn't ideal, we do our very best to make the cats here feel at home until they find a new, loving one."

Yorkshire Cat Rescue can now accommodate as many as 70 kittens and cats at the centre, with capacity for a further 200 in off-site foster homes.

Image (C) Yorkshire Cat Rescue

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Antibiotic Amnesty survey opens

News Story 1
 The Responsible Use of Medicines Alliance - Companion Animal and Equine (RUMA - CA&E) has launched a survey which seeks to measure the success of this year's Antibiotic Amnesty campaign.

Its results will help the group to calculate how many unused or out-of-date antibiotics were returned as part of the campaign throughout November. Practices are also asked how they engaged with clients to raise awareness of the issue.

Participating practices can enter a prize draw to win up to 100 in vouchers for taking part. Further prizes from BSAVA and Webinar Vet will be available for practices with the best input.

The survey takes a few minutes to complete and will be running throughout December. It can be accessed via this link

Click here for more...
News Shorts
Bluetongue cases lead to restricted zone extension

Following the detection of new cases of bluetongue virus serotype 3 (BTV-3), the restricted zone has been extended to include additional parts of Hampshire, Wiltshire, Oxfordshire and North Yorkshire, as well as Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole and part of Dorset.

The zone now covers 28 counties and unitary authorities in England. As of 16 December, 185 cases of BTV-3 have been confirmed in England and Wales during the current vector period.

Bluetongue is a notifiable disease. Suspected cases must be reported on 03000 200 301 in England or 03003 038 268 in Wales. In Scotland, suspected cases should be reported to the local field services office. Suspected cases in Northern Ireland should be reported to the DAERA Helpline on 0300 200 7840 or by contacting the local DAERA Direct Veterinary Office.

A map of the area where movement restrictions apply can be found here.