Fundraising - and FIVE more ways to help

Volunteers and supporters have been busy working away to help the cats and kittens of Woodland Nook this Christmas!

Last weekend shelter supporters had a stall in Alfreton and raised a wonderful £173.50 which was brilliant! However, to put this in perspective, that will feed the cats and heat the shelter for just under two weeks, so the fundraising efforts continue in earnest. It is a particularly good time of year for fundraising as people are feeling generous with the Christmas spirit. On the other hand, it’s not a great time for rehoming as Christmas is not a good time to introduce a pet into the family. Also, the shelter costs more to heat in winter!

Last night, supporters were out in force in Alfreton again, this time for the festive Lights Switch-on, offering pies and peas to hungry shoppers, courtesy of Marco’s fish and chip shop. What a wonderful way to support the shelter! We’ re still waiting for the final total...

Here are FIVE MORE WAYS you can help!

1. Join Easyfundraising

1. Sign up to Easyfundraising
This is a brilliant and FREE way of supporting Woodland Nook all year round. But it would be fantastic if you signed up NOW, while internet shopping is at the front of our minds in the run-up to Christmas! CLICK HERE for more details.

2. Come to our fund-raiser

2. Attend our next fund-raiser
This is on Sunday, 7th December, at Woodland Nook in the shelter itself. Come along and bring your wallets and purses as we’ll have lots of fun Christmassy gifts for you and your pets.

3. Buy a calendar...

3. Buy a Woodland Nook calendar
These are selling well and we only had a very limited supply printed, so don’t delay! The calendar features pictures of Woodland Nook cats and kittens, all taken by volunteers and chosen from dozens and dozens of entries. These high-quality A4 calendars are just £8, with all proceeds going to the shelter. CLICK HERE for more details, then contact Jane to order a copy, but hurry!

4. Wear your t-shirt with pride

4. Wear a Woodland Nook t-shirt
A great way to start the conversation about Woodland Nook and recruit more supporters! Wear your t-shirt with pride. CLICK HERE for more details, then contact Jane to order yours!

5. A Christmas present...

5. Buy a Christmas present for Woodland Nook
Have a friend or relative who already has everything they need? Tell them you’ve purchased a gift for Woodland Nook this Christmas instead. Or simply add us to your Christmas list and donate food, medicines or cat litter to ease our running costs. If everybody bought us a small gift of pouches, or a bag of cat litter, it will REALLY help us keep those winter bills under control! You can even order direct from Amazon and have your order sent straight to Woodland Nook, as these kind people did... and don’t forget to go through the Easy Fundraising website first, so that Woodland Nook gets a little extra donation, too!

So, lots of ideas there, hope you can help us this Christmas!

Easy and free way to raise funds for Woodland Nook

If you shop online there’s now an easy and free way for you to support Woodland Nook Cat Rescue. 

Through easyfundraising, every time you shop at selected online stores, a percentage of the amount spent will  be donated to Woodland Nook! Hundreds of popular retailers are participating including Amazon, M&S, Vodafone, eBay, Tesco, Viking and more than 3,000 others.

All you need to do is use the links provided on the easyfundraising site whenever you shop online. The retailer will then give Woodland Nook up to 15% of every purchase you make – it’s that simple! 

It doesn’t cost you a penny extra – and you can even save money as many retailers give exclusive discounts, special offers and even 'e-vouchers' exclusive to easyfundraising.

If you already shop online why not help raise extra funds for us by using this completely free service? Follow the instructions below to find out how.

Get started today!

   

1. Go to www.easyfundraising.org.uk/woodlandnookcatrescue and register for FREE!

2. Once you are registered, use the links on the easyfundraising site to go to your favourite online shops and shop in the usual way.

3. Every time you shop online, log on to www.easyfundraising.org.uk and use their links to visit your favourite shops.

Please encourage your friends and family to sign up too and raise even more money for Woodland Nook! 

For more information on the easyfundraising service please visit their 'Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)' page by clicking here. 

Loki ... all the way from Crete

All the way from Crete comes little Loki, who needs a very special home and a very special new family to share. Loki is about six months old and is partially sighted; he only has one eye, which has limited vision. But he copes very well and is very loving. He would love a new home, preferably with another young cat who will look out for him.

Loki is not well at the moment but Jane is nursing him back to health with a special diet. Watch this space for more news of this special little kitty.

Could YOU volunteer at Woodland Nook?

We are currently looking to recruit more volunteers to help at Woodland Nook. It's dirty work, and the pay is rubbish (ie, non-existent!) but it's a very rewarding job, as you'll get to meet some wonderful kitty characters and help them heal before going onto what will hopefully turn out to be their happy ever after. 

A typical shift involves feeding the cats, emptying litter trays, cleaning up any little accidents, reporting any issues in the diary, cleaning the shelter, emptying/filling the dishwasher/washing machine and, when all that’s done, you can stroke the cats and kittens as much as you like! 

Why not make volunteering your New Year's resolution? We are currently looking for help on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and can always use extra hands around holiday times. 

Take a look at what one of our volunteers has to say about her work... just click here. 

Ruby and Azazel

Continuing an ongoing black and white theme, Azazel and Ruby are the latest additions to Woodland Nook. They are brother and sister, aged five years. Poor Azazel has been stressed lately and pulling out his fur, but with a loving home, he should relax and soon be in tip-top condition again. The pair are very close friends and need to be rehomed together.

What’s another year?

A year is a long time when you’re a cat. And, sadly, it’s nearly a year since Kitty’s world was turned upside-down.

Kitty was a Woodland Nook cat back in 2009, when she was adopted by a lovely couple. They adored Kitty and looked after her well and, when one of her owners died, the other continued to care for her and give her all the love she could ever need.

But there was more sad news and Kitty’s owner died... on Christmas Day of all days.

Kitty was brought back to the safety of Woodland Nook, where she has been cared for ever since. She has food, shelter and some fuss, but she’s not the most approachable of cats. We believe this is because she is not comfortable having so many other cats around her and that she would calm down in a less busy environment. All she really wants is to live in a quiet home, with no other cats, just as she did until Christmas 2013.

What I find saddest of all is that we all hope our pets would be cared for if anything happened to us. And I can’t help feeling that the lovely couple who adored Kitty would be devastated to know she she’s still at Woodland Nook waiting for another family to love her.

Could you give Kitty a happier Christmas in 2014?

Tinka needs a home

Lovely Tinka is still looking for his forever home. He thought he’d found it a few weeks ago but it didn’t work out. Not that Tinka is a problem cat, far from it. He’s beautiful, friendly, has a very loud purr and extremely soft fur. He’s playful... in fact he’s a little boisterous at the moment but a trip to the vet this week should calm him down! He’s at that difficult age... 

But Tinka would make a wonderful family pet as he’s such a loving cat. Could you provide him the forever home he deserves?

A new home for Porsche

Little Porsche got her Christmas wish! She went to her new home at the weekend, joining Angel, the beautiful pure white cat who left Woodland Nook several months ago.

When Porsche arrived at Woodland Nook she was tiny and frightened. But she blossomed into a beautiful young lady who will hopefully prove a lovely companion to Angel.

Edited to add: Sadly, Porsche has been returned to Woodland Nook and is now available for rehoming again.

Support Woodland Nook with calendars and t-shirts

Our calendars have arrived and we are rather pleased with them! We only had a few printed, so don’t delay, order yours today! Either email Jane, or use the Paypal link at the top of the page. They are £8 each, plus £1.50 postage where necessary. And they’re going like hot cakes!

We also have some fab T-shirts so you can show your support for Woodland Nook to the world! Available in Medium and Large in a variety of designs at £14.99 each. Get in touch with Jane for more details!

Wouldn ’t these both make fabulous Christmas gifts for a cat-loving friend?

Adopting a furry soul. Are you looking for perfection? Or purr-fection?

Bob: only one eye but lots of love to give

Adopting a cat is not all chocolate box kittens, fluffiness and purrs. It takes time to develop a relationship with your new family member.

Settling in

Your cat will understandably be disturbed by the move. However lovely your home may be, it will be unfamiliar territory and your cat will take time to adjust. It may take days – or even weeks – for your cat to emerge from behind the sofa.

Feisty Loulou - loves trees (they make good scratching posts, too)

Your furniture

If you’re very houseproud, think long and hard before adopting a cat. Your furniture and carpets may get scratched, so provide a scratching post from day one as a more appropriate alternative. You can’t guarantee that your cat will use it, though!

Provide a cat bed but don’t be offended if it’s rejected. Your white settee may be a lot more comfortable – it might be time to invest in a washable throw. Curtains are sure to suffer as sitting on the windowsill watching the world go by is a favourite occupation of many cats, and fur and dirt will be transferred to the curtains as they squeeze through the gaps. 

Bobby: an elderly gent who wants a second chance

Unwanted presents

Your cat is a trained killer and may or may not bring you ‘presents’, such as dead (or live!) rodents, birds, frogs, etc. You cannot stop this, but you can fit a safety collar with a bell to give the wildlife a chance. If your cat is bringing them inside, consider restricting access – eg, just allow cat flap access to the porch, where he or she can be frisked and searched before allowing into the main house. Which brings us on to…

Little ‘accidents’

Your cat will almost definitely wee, poo or vomit in an unfortunate place at some during its lifetime. We’ve heard of pets urinating in sock drawers, handbags, tissue boxes, Lego… and if anything unfortunate happens on a rug, it’s almost certain to happen on the tassels, so that it’s even harder to clean up!

Cats don’t do this deliberately. Take a look at things from their point of view. They will invariably choose the most appropriate place to go to the toilet in the absence of a suitable tray. If a tray is provided but it’s not big enough, clean enough, private enough or doesn’t have enough litter in it, your cat may reject it. If they’re unwell, with diarrhoea for instance, they won’t have time to look for a toilet, so provide lots of newspaper until the vet’s treatment kicks in.

Vomiting is a different matter; when you gotta puke, you gotta puke, and no cat is going to stop to think about the clean-up process!

Kitty: occasionally lashes out, but she’s a little stressed in the shelter

Biting and scratching

Even the most docile of cats is still, in its heart and mind, a wild animal. All cats have their limits and will scratch, bite and hiss when frightened or threatened. Some will lash out simply when they’ve had enough of being stroked. Treat them with respect and they will invariable return that respect to you. Give it time to settle in and become less frightened.

Tinka: being treated for diarrhoea but will adore you

A happy family

Those are some of the disadvantages of owning a cat.

But any cat lover will tell you that these little niggles are more than outweighed by the pleasures of sitting with a warm cat on your knee, listening to contented purring. 

That even a dismembered mouse becomes insignificant when its killer chirrups with delight and looks to you for approval. That you’ll burst with pride when your previously shy cat blinks slowly at you for the first time (blink back, it’s only polite). That a perfectly sensible conversation can be held between human and cat, both understanding the other’s every utterance. That your cat is part of your family, and deserves to be treated as such. Families aren’t perfect, but they stand by each other. So stand by your cat. (*cue music*).

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Now it’s over to you. Is your cat less than perfect but totally purr-fect? Maybe he wees in your slippers but you love his rewarding ankle rubs? Perhaps he’s no looker, but is beautiful to you... tell us why your cat’s imperfections don’t matter to you and submit, with a pic, to helen@allthingsstampy.co.uk for possible inclusion on our blog! 

Lovely Loulou - STILL needs a home

Poor Loulou. Always overlooked, just because she can be a little bit feisty. But maybe you want a boring cat that doesn’t do much? You’re not going to get that with Loulou. 

Loulou came all the way from Crete to Woodland Nook to find her forever home and yet she’s still waiting. It’s incomprehensible because she’s...

Beautiful - she has gorgeous, unique markings and the softest of soft fur.

Intelligent - she knows her name and comes running when you call her.

Friendly - she loves to be stroked and fussed. 

In quiet moments, she loves to sit on your knee. 

Feisty - even though she loves fuss, she will let you know when it’s time to stop. 

But she’s not aggressive with it; remember she is still very young so has a lot to learn. 

Playful - she adores playing with sticks and twigs! 

She loves climbing trees and especially enjoys shredding leaves!

Unique - despite being a cat, she likes nothing better than to play with water. 

She loves it when you fill the fountain.

Quirky - And if she gets under your feet when you’re trying to clean, just give her a dripping tap! 

A little bit weird - even the watering can is fascinating to Loulou. 

Adventurous - take a look at Loulou scaling the mesh on the Wendy house door!

Sad - Loulou really wants a home, and a human, she can call her own. All those kittens get on her nerves and, even though she doesn’t exactly crave a quiet life, she does enjoy a bit of peace and quiet now and again. 

On a personal note, if we had a vacancy, we would have Loulou. We once had a cat very much like her. A rescue cat like Loulou, her name was Phoebe and she was friendly, but with a feisty nature. But she was as gentle as anything with our baby daughter (now a Woodland Nook volunteer!) and was an important part of our family for 11 years. I hope that one day soon, somebody will give Loulou the chance that we gave Phoebe and allow her to become part of their lives. 

Relaxing at the shelter

Just chilling out at Woodland Nook are volunteer Hannah and Felix, the King of Everything (but especially rock ’n’ roll).

A new family of fluffies...

We have a new family of fluffies at Woodland Nook. A gorgeous, sleek black mother cat and her three (very) fluffy babies. Yet to be named but watch this space...

Please nominate us for the Animal Charity Awards 2015!

We at Woodland Nook are rather proud of the work we do to help cats and kittens in need – and we hope you are too!

Now is your chance to show your appreciation for Jane and all the shelter volunteers by nominating Woodland Nook Cat Shelter for a special award. 

Petplan and the Association of Dogs and Cats Homes (ADCH) have joined forces for the third year of these Animal Charity Awards. The awards celebrate outstanding animal charities and not-for-profit organisations across the UK who go that extra mile to help rescue and rehome animals in need.

These awards provide an opportunity for people to recognise the dedication and commitment of charity staff and volunteers, and give pet owners a chance to say thank you.

What should I say in my nomination?

Each pet owner will have their own individual reasons for why they think a specific cause deserves an award. Try to provide detailed examples of what Woodland Nook did to go above and beyond your expectations. 

How are these awards judged?

The nominations are judged by an impartial and independent panel of key industry representatives. These judges have first-hand experience of working in the animal welfare sector and are able to use their expertise to judge who the truly outstanding teams and individuals are from the nominations we receive. (Petplan is not part of the judging panel.)

When are the winners announced? 

Three finalists will be selected in each category and invited to attend a prestigious awards ceremony in April 2015, where the winners will be announced. 

You can find out more, and make your nomination, by clicking HERE. 

Winning a high-profile award such as this would provide much-needed publicity for Woodland Nook, and hopefully result in more donations. It costs nothing to send your nomination in, so please do what you can! If you prefer to send your nomination in on paper, there are some forms available at the shelter.

Some tips 

• You only have 500 words for your nomination, so write it in a programme such as Word to ensure you don’t exceed the word count. When you’re happy with it, copy and paste it into the nomination form. 
• Talk about your personal experience with Woodland Nook. Have you been impressed with a particular cat’s care or story? Or has visiting/working at the shelter had a positive impact on your life?
• Don’t rush your nomination. You have until 13th February 2015! But don’t put it to the back of your mind an forget about it either please!