Hi everyone,
I would like to raise awareness of a fellow constituent with quite the peculiar ‘problem’. If anyone could possibly help, it would be greatly appreciated.
Ms. Regina Clatyon of Tonna is looking for anyone who has a property to let, that can also accommodate 16 cats. Ms Clayton has been caring for her feline friends for four years, so you can understand he wish to keep them together.
Forgive my writing, but I am in a desperate situation and emailing anyone who loves and cares for cats that I can.
Just over 4 years ago, with just two cats (which had been strays) and living in a lovely bungalow, five pregnant females gave birth to 21 kittens in my street within 3 days of each other. I had already dropped a note into all neighbours saying we had a cat problem and would they get their toms neutered but no. There were 7 unneutered toms, lots of fighting, and 21 kittens born. I took them all in, socialised them, some died, some I was able to find homes for. It took me a long time to be able to handle and get the original five neutered, in the meantime more pregnancies whilst they were still nursing the first litters. To cut a long story short, I was in Housing Association accommodation and ironically the neighbour with the dominant tom who fathered most of the kittens each pregnancy was the one that complained. I was given notice to quit or ‘get rid of the cats. That I was not prepared to do. They were now almost tame and were not a colony but a family. I was fortunate last April to find private rented accommodation that took myself and all cats in. Wasn’t ideal as the house was too large and the garden on three levels. Built an enclosure which was meant to be temporary until the cats knew their new home, but a cat that lived in the road got run over and I knew I couldn’t let my lot out, so kept that enclosure and had erected a tunnel leading from it and ramp down to next level into a very large enclosure with outdoor activity centres and Children’s Playhouse and a couple of kennels for cover if they did not want to come back into the house.
14 months have now passed and my present situation is that my landlord’s circumstances have changed and she wants to move back into the property herself. I have done a Facebook campaign as I did last year, registered unsuccessfully of course with all estate agents, had a newspaper article done on me but no success. In a couple of days’ time a local radio station will also be doing a live interview with me, but whether that will produce anything remains to be seen.
Time is running out and I am looking for anything: someone somewhere must have an empty property going to rack and ruin which I am willing to take on and improve in return for fair rent – hopefully on a smallholding or at least nowhere near busy roads – just one cat does have complete freedom. I am sure that there must be someone, possibly a cat lover, a sanctuary even that has an empty property which they hadn’t even thought of renting. I am willing to spend a little money getting it more habitable in return for fair rent and being able to re-assemble a large enclosure so the cats can once again be outdoors when they want but not roaming free and therefore no nuisance to any neighbours or livestock.
I know this is unusual but can my plight perhaps be displayed on your website and would any of your members or patrons know of anyone that could possibly help. No sanctuaries or animal welfare organisations in the past have been able to help and I do not now want them rehomed separately. They are a family, fairly tame, all neutered as I said, but not suitable for rehoming for various reasons.
I am in the Neath area of Wales, would like to relocate within a 30-mile radius, if only for ease of moving the cats and getting any property’s kitchen ready with their baskets and food bowls so when I moved them in there would be familiar smells. Any help, advice you can give would be greatly appreciated. I would reiterate, we come as a package. They have already been rescued and I am determined that we keep together.
Many thanks.
Regina Clayton
If you, or someone you know can assist Ms. Clayton, please contact my office on 01639 630152 or on christina.rees.mp@parliament.uk
Yours sincerely,
Christina Rees, MP for Neath
Shadow Justice Minister
Parliamentary Office Tel: 0207 219 5783
Constituency Office Tel: 01639 630152
Website: www.christinarees.org
Twitter: twitter/Rees4Neath