‘Crazy Cat Lady’ launches rescue sanctuary at home

AN animal lover from Woodcote has opened a cat rescue sanctuary in her home.

Emily Jennings opened Little Paws sanctuary last weekend with the help of donations from villagers, including money, enclosures and food for the rescues.

The 34-year-old, who has been dubbed “the Crazy Cat Lady,” works in the evenings and weekends around her full-time job at a ventilation company in Wallingford.

Miss Jennings has set up an enclosure in her garden which can hold up to six cats at a time. It is insulated and heated to provide a “homely” environment.

In the week leading up to opening, she had rescued seven kittens. Her first were three white patterned stray kittens taken in from a local house. They were named, Piglet, Robin and Roo, known as the ‘Pooh bear gang’.

Her next rescue was a ginger stray and feral kitten called Barley, which appeared in Checkendon. It has since been spayed and taken to a new home.

Two kittens, temporarily called Kitty and Kat, were rescued from London, vet checked, chipped and vaccinated and taken to their new home in Reading on Thursday last week. She also took in Mabel, who was the only kitten to survive out of a litter.

Miss Jennings decided to start the cattery after her eight-year-old tortoiseshell cat, Luna, helped her cope through a difficult period in her life.

She said: “I’ve always been a huge animal lover and, probably from the age of about eight, I’ve been called the Crazy Cat Lady.

“It all started when I rescued Luna in 2017. She came to me the day before my mum got diagnosed with cancer. Unfortunately, my mum passed away within the year but I can’t begin to explain how Luna helped.

“I really suffered. If I didn’t have her, I don’t know if I would be here today. She would cuddle my head and she made me feel that everything was possible. I would love to rehome a cat that could do the same for someone else because I seriously believe that they are a lot more than what people may see.

“When I got Luna, the day before my mum was diagnosed, we went straight out and got toys and things for what she called her ‘grandbaby’, so she would have been smitten with this. She was a huge animal lover as well and would have fully supported it and have been so involved.”

Miss Jennings was able to get the centre up and running with the help of villagers.

She said: “I’ve had some fantastic donations. I was looking at enclosures and there was a local lady who was closing her cattery and she had two, which she kindly gifted to me.

“I’ll put all the donations towards the sanctuary and then anything else I will top up. The Cherry Orchard Vets that I take the cats to give me a discount because they know I’m doing it for a rescue.” When a cat or kitten is ready for adoption, Miss Jennings takes extra precautions to ensure the animal goes to the right place.

She said: “I’ve created lots of forms. I’ve got surrender forms, adoption forms and terms and conditions, which include things that they need to know. Such as, when they get to a certain weight, they should take them to get spayed if they aren’t already. I follow it up and ask for evidence from the vet.

“With adoptions, I do home checks by asking them to give me proof that their address is valid in the last three months and asking them so send pictures of their house and garden. Usually, they’ve already got a little cat set up ready for them.

“They then come round and see the kitty. If they’re keen, I always say to them ‘Go home and have a think and then let me know’. Usually, within an hour or so, they’ll come back and say, ‘Yes we would love to take them on’, and then we just arrange a time for them to come and collect.

“There is an adoption donation or fee of £50 per kitty, just to go towards the costs of all the vet checks. It also goes towards my savings account that I have for any future cats that come in.”

Miss Jennings said she hopes to be the go-to person for helpless cats who have been injured, lost or dumped.

She said: “If people find a cat who looks a bit lost or injured, or they can’t contact their owners, they can bring them to me. I want to be there to help. ” Miss Jennings said there is a big demand for rescue bases for cats. She said: “I believe Oxford Animal Sanctuary has increased by about 156 per cent in kittens this year and that’s just one rescue out of goodness knows how many. That’s another reason why I want to do it.”

Miss Jennings said she doesn’t find it difficult to let the cats go to a new home because she knows she is helping others, too.

She said: “It has not been too difficult, purely because of the excitement and the happiness that you see on people’s faces when they’re coming to collect their new kittens. They come with new fluffy blankets, beds and carriers, it’s really lovely to see.

“It solidifies that that was the right home and that it is a big deal to them and they care, which is what matters.

“It’s never nice saying goodbye to an animal in the circumstance but I do get updates, and I know they’re all going to really loving homes and I have space to take on more to do the same again.”

In the future, Miss Jennings hopes she can work with other local rescue shelters.

She said: “Eventually, I’m going to speak with Thames Valley Animal Welfare, Oxfordshire Animal Sanctuary and other local rescues and offer my enclosures to take in fosters so that some space can be released because we all have the same goal, so why not do it together.”

For more information and to contact Miss Jennings at Little Paws, email [email protected]