Help us raise £1,500

Georgie
Georgie

Among the many requests we receive daily to help rehome or assist with stray or abandoned cats, some stand out as being an emergency. 

We had one of these the other day when around 17.30 we received an email from a person who had seen two women open a cat carrier, quickly turf a cat out on the roadside and hurriedly leave the location. The cat hadn’t moved from the spot where she was left. We thought there would be little chance of her still being there, but two of our volunteers decided to go anyway.

We got there 2 hours after the email was received and it was starting to get dark. The cat was still frozen to the spot and easily picked up and popped into a pet carrier.  Blood was seen, so she was taken straight to a vet where she was found to have a great deal of blood in her urine. As a result of tests and an X ray we discovered that she had bladder stones which must have been very painful and have had to be surgically removed. 

We’ve called her Georgie and are setting up this fundraising appeal to cover her treatment which has already cost £1,500, as we have had a few cats recently needing a great deal of expensive veterinary care.

Amount raised so far

Note that we have received some donations already prior to this page being set up. These amounts will be totalled up in due course and added to the total below.

Update 3/11/23

Georgie has now had the stones removed from her bladder and will be on special urinary food for the rest of her life to try to keep them at bay. She is much more active now and recovering really well despite having an ear infection which necessitates drops twice a day. She is happy sleeping on a cosy human bed and cuddling up to her favourite toy banana! As soon as she is fit enough she will be having her vaccinations and will be on our website for rehoming.

Update 23/12/23

Georgie now
Georgie now

A massive THANK YOU to everybody who has donated for Georgie’s surgery.  We are so very grateful.

Unfortunately whilst we’ve got her bladder problem under control with surgery she now has a painful problem with her ear, which has so far been treated with antibiotics. At the latest examination 2 little holes were found in her ear canal near the ear drum which go through into her mouth, and it is likely that food can get through causing infection and pain. We are awaiting a treatment plan.

Georgie is so good natured and gentle that it is heart breaking to think that she still isn’t out of the woods. The fundraising appeal is open until Christmas day – additional funds received will be spent on her additional surgery. 

More updates on Georgie can be found on our Facebook page 

Volunteer Position Available

Are you experienced with keeping rabbits, guinea pigs or other small animals?

Hounslow Animal Welfare Society is looking for a ‘Small Animal Co-ordinator’. This voluntary (unpaid) role involves managing animals coming in to rescue, supporting foster homes and processing enquiries for rehoming. It would suit someone with some time off during the week, who has access to a car and who lives in South West or West London or Surrey.

Whilst HAWS is mainly a cat charity we rehome approximately forty small animals each year and the right person would be able to adapt this role according to what level of commitment they are able to offer.

If you are interested please click on button below:

Effective 26th February 2021

Our small team of volunteers is working overtime to tackle the adoption application backlog caused by an overwhelming number of people contacting us to adopt felines in recent months.

If you have already applied to us to adopt a cat or kitten then you will be contacted as soon as possible.

This temporary halt applies only to cats and kittens and not to rabbits and guinea pigs.

We thank you for your understanding 

This anonymous poem gives the cats’ point of view 

I may never be a lap cat,

 or one who comes when called.

I may resist the hand that tries to touch

 and some may think I’m flawed.

I may prefer my freedom

 to your warm and cozy house

I may reject a bowl of finest foods

 for the chance to catch a mouse.

But the box you put out for me,

 Feels safe and warm and dry.

And I raise my eyes to thank you

 when I see you walking by.

I eat the food you give me

 I listen to your voice

I may never be a lap cat

 but thank you for offering me the choice.

One day I’ll see the winter,

 one day I’ll feel the rain,

I may grow old not knowing

 there is freedom from this pain

I know you’ve tried to help me

 and although my days will end

I may never be a lap cat

 but I know you are my friend.

(Author unknown)


We continue to be called to sites where cats that have been living wild are too feral to ever live in a domestic environment. 

We help by neutering the colony to prevent it growing, with medical care for the sick and injured, sometimes with cat houses and ongoing food supplies where we can.

More information about feral cats

More information about taming feral cat

We have recently received a very welcome £2,724 from the Pets Foundation, the charitable arm of the Pets at Home group, as a result of their December fundraising. Some of you may have seen us helping with this in the Brentford shop in the run up to Christmas.

We are equally thrilled to be the Brentford store’s Community Partner again for 2024 and are going to be in the store fundraising on  Saturday 24th February and always like to see friends and adopters there. We benefit enormously from the vouchers that Pets at Home send us as a result of all the ‘Lifeline’ points that are collected on our behalf. To help us with these all you have to do is select HAWS as your chosen charity and use your Pets at Home loyalty card every time you shop there

Cashew Returns

One of our past fosterers for both cats and rabbits, who also adopted from us, has this tale to tell.

About 10 years ago one of her HAWS cats, a young ginger male whom she named Cashew, inexplicably went missing. After much searching he wasn’t found, but in the intervening years she has always taken a close look at any ginger cat in the vicinity, just hoping that one day one of them might be him.

Fast forward to 2023 and a stray ginger male cat turned up in her garden. He was timid but Vicki fed and looked out for him and on the off-chance bought herself a microchip scanner. Bingo! This cat did indeed have a chip – she checked with the microchip company and her own paperwork and sure enough this was her Cashew! He has aged 10 years of course which is why she couldn’t be 100% sure at first. He seems in reasonable condition though, so where he has been and who has been looking after him is a mystery, but he is now enjoying life on her sofa and is still a gorgeous boy and very much loved. 

Without scanning for a microchip Vicki could not have been sure that this was her cat, so it’s worth a reminder to everybody that in England from 10th June this year all cats must be microchipped once they reach the age of 20 weeks.

We are always very sorry that we can’t help everybody who contacts us wanting to surrender their cats,
but there was one day in 2023 when we rescued 13 cats in one day and all before 10.30 am!

Very early that morning (about 06.30 am) one of us trapped 3 feral cats at a site near Heathrow where there is a large colony of feral cats. She dropped these off at a vet practice for neutering. The same volunteer then went to collect an unwanted mother cat and her 3 kittens. She took those to a different vet practice where another volunteer was waiting with a mother cat and her 5 kittens who had also just been picked up! 

The 3 feral cats were returned to where they came from a couple of days later – after neutering, microchipping, vaccination and a health check. The other 10 cats and kittens have now found their forever homes.

However just a few days ago we took in 2 mother cats and their combined 9 kittens.  After a health check at one of our vets they are now in 2 separate foster homes (as no single foster home had room for all 11!) and doing really well. Here is a photo of some of them cuddled up together.

“Winnie came to me as a foster baby at 3 weeks old with her two brothers,
Binx and Salem, having been left at a vets with their mother who was sadly not producing milk.

They were all 130g-170g which is half the weight they should have been at their age, with a nasty flea and worm burden that was treated quickly. They were all being bottle fed every 3 hours through the day and night and initially seemed to be doing well. Sadly after two weeks of fighting, Salem and Binx went rapidly downhill, off their food and both passed away within 24 hours of each other with very few clues as to why. Winnie was always stronger than her brothers but we initially worried that their illnesses could be contagious or congenital so the careful watch began. I stayed up with Winnie through the night, checking on her every two hours – even though she was 5 weeks old by then and only needed feeding every 5 hours and could begin weaning! Watching Winnie eat became my favourite thing to do and eat she did! While still only half of her expected weight, she was gaining the grams every single day and fighting hard.

Now a singleton, she spent a lot of time being held and cuddled and would always seek me out whenever I was near. As she grew, she became more and more affectionate and started to spend most of her time perched on my shoulder! Both myself and my partner were absolutely besotted with her – in fact, one evening when he got home from work, he greeted her with a “hey gorgeous!” and a kiss on her nose before even looking at me – and she was on my shoulder at the time! It was around this time I started thinking I might just foster fail with her as the thought of letting her go got harder and harder every day. Thankfully, we don’t have to!

Now, our little winner is 11 weeks old and has been successfully integrated with our small family – Myself, Ben and our two other foster fails, Rocket and Groot. Merry Christmas to us!”

Pixie

Too wild for rehoming?

People often ask where we take in cats from and the answer is in various ways – animals dumped at vet practices we work with, stray cats reported to us that urgently need help, members of the public asking for help in rehoming their cat for one reason or another etc. And then there are the feral cats which are sadly, in the majority of cases, simply too wild to be able to home as domestic pets.

Pippin
Pippin

We have been dealing with one such site since June this year where so far 27 cats have been trapped and most of them returned after being neutered and receiving any medical treatment they need, plus a vaccination to set them on their way. We took in 4 of the kittens from this site to socialise and rehome. 2 have been adopted but we still have Pixie and Pippin for adoption on our website. They are shyer than many kittens, so would do best in a home without children, but they have come a long way since they came in and would adore to find their forever home.

Something we would like to spread the word about is that if you see a stray cat or kittens then we need to get these kittens into a domestic environment by around the age of 7 weeks. Kittens older than that are often simply too fierce to be able to rehome. So, if you see a mum and tiny kittens living in a shed or in the undergrowth, do not disturb them, but call a rescue charity immediately and don’t leave it until they are bigger.   

October 27th

National Black Cat Day 2023 is a special observance dedicated to celebrating and promoting the adoption of black cats. This day aims to dispel myths and superstitions surrounding black cats and highlight the beauty and uniqueness of these feline companions. It’s an opportunity for cat lovers and animal shelters to raise awareness about black cat adoption, advocate for their welfare, and find loving homes for black cats in need.

National Black Cat Day is a Cats Protection initiative that was started in 2011. It seems that despite their sleek, chic coats, black cats still find it harder to get adopted. People often prefer ‘prettier’ coloured cats, or those without so much associated superstition. 

Read more on Awareness Days website

Adopt a black cat from HAWS

Compulsory Microchipping for Cats

New legislation comes into force in England on June 10th 2024, requiring all cat owners to have their pets microchipped. Owners who don’t comply will be given 21 days to have their cat microchipped, otherwise they could face a fine of up to £500.

All HAWS cats and kittens are microchipped before they are rehomed, but this new legislation should help reunite thousands of lost or stray pets every year, and avoid them ending up in rescue centres.

Owners with cats that are already microchipped should ensure their details are up to date.

Read more about microchipping on catchat.org

Read more about the legislation on the Government’s website

Defra article

Another happy ending

Casper in his new home
Casper

Casper has really settled in well. He gets on well with the other cats and whilst not playing with them yet, he does sit and sleep in the same place as them. He also eats with them and there is no animosity.

He is a gentle soul who just likes a cuddle. He can often be found in one of the kids’ rooms cuddled up to them.

He goes outside every day and comes back each time I call him.

We’re really pleased to have him

Tracy