Canning Town Branch are working with Ford's car manufacturing plant in Dagenham to neuter stray and feral cats that are living on the 800 acre site.
Stray cats have been breeding and there are now several colonies of feral cats living at different points on the site.
Some younger kittens have been brought in for rehoming, please see Canning Town Branch rehoming page for more information about these.
The cats are well fed and cared for by staff working at the plant, but the cats have bred rapidly and there are now a large number of cats, by neutering we will prevent the birth of more kittens and be able to stabilise the population.
Increasing concern about cats being attacked by dogs.
Attacks by dogs on cats is a growing problem in London. Irresponsible and inexperienced owners allow their dogs to roam the streets off the lead and when their dogs chase cats they are unable to control them. Many of the dogs do not just chase cats but are catching them causing serious injuries or death. In some cases dogs are jumping front garden gates and attacking cats in their own gardens.
October 2009: A lady ran into our clinic to tell us that a cat had just been attacked by a dog in the side street and then as he escaped had been run over. We raced to the scene but couldn't find him, we continued an extensive search of the area over the rest of that day and night and distributed over 100 posters in our search for him.
Five days later he was discovered in a garden, he was virtually collapsed suffering with multiple infected bite wounds to his legs and bruising. After initial urgent veterinary treatment Kermit was cared for at our Canning Town veterinary clinic where he required a long course of antibiotic treatment and daily wound cleaning and dressing. We named him "Kermit"
Kermit was very frightened but soon became relaxed and very friendly,
he had clearly once been a pet but no owner came forward to claim him and at the beginning of November Kermit was rehomed.
We are taking extra care when rehoming our rescued cats to try and limit the amount of access cats have on to the streeet, public walk ways and communal areas.
We advise that cat owners do not let their pets out on to the street and instead try to encourage them to stay in back gardens.
November 09: Cats dumped in the woods...
These cats and kittens were discovered in this cage in woods near Ilford by a dog walker.
They were off the footpath in deep undergrowth and were only discovered by her dog who was barking frantically at the cage. The frantic dog walker had no transport and called a friend who came with a car, between them they managed to get the cage out of the woods and drive to a local P.D.S.A (another charity veterinary clinic).
The P.D.S.A are unable to take in animals for rehoming so they called us.
This photo shows the cats just arrived at our clinic. After being neutered, vaccinated and microchipped they all found new homes within a week.
Twenty three cats and kittens
We received a call asking us to take in three cats and a litter of kittens because their owner was returning home the following day to the Ukraine as his employment in the U.K had ended.
We attended and found that he had 23 kittens and six adult cats! On arrival in the U.K he had acquired two kittens one of each sex which he had not neutered, they soon produced a litter of kittens and then this year the parents and four of the female 'kittens' had given birth!
None of the cats were vaccinated either and the kittens were suffering with terrible cat flu.
We brought them all into our care where it was a round the clock marathon task nursing the sick kittens back to health. The kittens had severe conjunctivitis and were very congested, after gently bathing their eyes and noses several times a day we would then apply antibiotic eye ointment. They all required courses of antibiotics and the sickest kittens also needed hand feeding and/or syringe feeding because they couldn't smell their food and were not eating enough.
Sadly two kittens were too weak and did not survive, the others have all made a full recovery and most have now found new homes.
Did you know that if a female cat was to mate every time she came into season, and all her kittens were to survive and breed, then there could be up to 21,000 extra cats in just 7 years.
Cats can live 18- 20 years and dogs almost as long, so it's not surprising that there is a shortage of good homes when so many people let their pets have litters without a thought as to what will become of the kittens or puppies in the long term! Neutering as many cats and dogs as possible is the only humane solution to the pet over population problem.
Another Tiny Statistic
This tiny 6 week old kitten was brought in to our clinic recently in a cardboard box, together with the mother cat. They had been found in a garden shed, the other two kittens in the litter had been given away. The kitten was suffering with flea anaemia, was starving and severely underweight.
You can see the appalling flea infestation in the pictures. Both the mother cat and kitten were immediately treated by our vet and we are all keeping our fingers crossed that with intensive nursing and feeds every two hours, mum and son will make a full recovery.
A few days later .....
Look how handsome I am now!
Once restored to health these two found a loving new home together.
A Feral Experience
The neutering service we offer for pet cats and dogs is helping to reduce the numbers of unwanted pet kittens and puppies being born, but unfortunately, it does not take many irresponsible people to continually create new feral cat colonies on the streets by abandoning their unneutered pet cats. Literally, every street is home to feral and stray cats in the most deprived areas of East London. At night, when driving to sites where we are rescuing cats, we continually see cats crisscrossing the roads. Many are ragged looking tomcats dodging cars or ransacking rubbish bags. Often we arrive to rescue one mother and kittens, only to find many more cats which have not been reported to us but are in urgent need of help
For instance, recently, whilst attending to collect a stray cat having difficulty giving birth on a doorstep, we were beckoned across to help with a mother and five feral 7-week old kittens in a back garden and a tame heavily pregnant cat living in another front garden. At the other end of the street, at the rear of a small food shop, more cats were popping in and out from under a gate.
Battle Scarred
We returned that night, parked the van, and watched. In the early hours of the morning three scrawny tabby cats came and snatched at the food we put out to tempt them. One had a badly injured eye. A tatty black and white male joined them. He was thin, battle scarred and had an abscess on his cheek. Then a tabby kitten, with a grossly infected eye, ran out to try to get some food. It wasn’t brave enough to push between the adults and ran back under the gate. Another feline shape could be seen creeping along in our direction under the cars. Out came an emaciated black cat, fur turning brown, due to his poor condition. He only had one ear. A fourth tabby cat appeared, obviously a female. She was very thin and had patches of fur missing. Another kitten, black and white, appeared from under the gate. This time, both kittens got some food to eat and then darted back.
We left a leaflet for the shopkeeper, and returned the next day to speak to him. He didn't want the cats, and didn't feed them they just scavenged rubbish at the back of his shop. Full as we were, we decided these cats could not be left in this situation. The point of telling you this story is to show that one evenings work, supposedly to collect one cat having kittens on a doorstep, resulted in the Trust taking in 15 cats and kittens.
Appalling Problem
In this area, stray cats and kittens are everywhere and, rather like the large urban fox population, very few of them are fed, so their numbers are similarly controlled by disease, starvation and road accidents. However, cats breed even more rapidly than foxes, so the situation is desperate in many areas. The only way to solve this appalling problem is to control the domestic cat population through neutering, and to neuter and return ferals where there is a food source or a feeder. Where there is no identifiable access to food and the cats appear starving, we remove, neuter and rehome them, having restored them to good health. These are CHAT's objectives.
By humanely reducing the cat and dog population through intensive neutering, we feel that the status of these animals will improve, and they will be seen to be worthy of respect and consideration.
Abandoned Dogs
It is not only cats that find themselves on the streets. Dogs, particularly Staffie types are also abandoned by heartless owners.
The perceived demand for Staffie puppies has led to some people trying to breed them to make money. The reality as anyone living in London knows is that there are Staffie type dogs everywhere, irresponsible owners who associate the breed with a macho image do not keep their dogs for long often replacing them for a new pup or the next in fashion colour. Animal Charities such as Battersea Dogs home are full of Staffie type dogs.
Bonnie (above) was found scavenging from a bin , she was emaciated and was so weak that her legs were buckling under her. She had clearly recently raised a litter of puppies, her owner may have been able to sell her puppies but not an adult dog in poor condition.
Canning Town Branch have nursed Bonnie back to health (as can be seen in this photo of her - right) and she is seeking a new home.
Poppet (above) was found dumped in a box along with some rubbish. An adorable elderly dog, we wonder what had happened that this could have been her fate. Poppet had a mouth full of rotten teeth which our vets soon sorted out and then she was rehomed.
Our Canning Town Branch facilities are not really suited for caring for dogs that need new homes for any length of time.
If you could help with fostering a dog whilst a permanent new home is sought please do get in touch.
A very elderly cat was rescued having been found cold, emaciated and very weak..
Cupid an elderly cat was found near death in a garden. Her fur was completely matted and she was very thin.
Cupid had obviously once been someone's pet but was now in a very neglected state.
After receiving veterinary treatment Cupid has now found a new home for the remainder of her life.
Tatty was stray when his eye was injured and prolapsed.
Tatty was a shy young cat who was living stray, he suffered an injury to his eye that left his eye prolapsed.
As a nervous stray no one could catch him to take him anywhere for help. We were called and were able to trap Tatty and bring him to our clinic for treatment. His eye could not be saved so it was removed. Tatty was also neutered, microchipped and vaccinated.
After a few weeks Tatty gradually relaxed and became much more friendly and has now found a new home.
Bagpuss a stray who suffered terribly because his eyelids were rolling inwards.
Bagpuss was a stray and came to us suffering with a condition called 'entropion', this is where the eyelids are rolling in, this means that the cats fur is constantly rubbing the surface of the eyes. This is very painful and can damage the eye's surface as well as causing permanent watery eyes and eye infections.
Our vets have operated to correct his eyelids and Bagpuss is now much more comfortable. In the photo the fur around his eyes is still growing back after being shaved for his operation - soon he will be truly handsome again!
Bagpuss has now found a new home. Many of the strays we rescue have been surviving on the streets with health problems and old untreated injuries.
Mum's and their kittens
Stray unneutered female cats give birth to their young where ever they can and our rescue workers are kept very busy responding to calls to rescue litters of kittens that have been discovered living in often quite dangerous situations.
The mother cats have often managed to hide their kittens until at 6-8 weeks old the kittens become more adventurous and begin following mum in search of food. At 6-8 weeks old because they have not been handled and socialised by people the kittens are nervous of human contact and are generally known as feral. Our rescue workers are trained and know how to humanely and safely catch feral kittens.
It is also very important to rescue or in the case of older kittens that would be very diffficult to tame up to at least neuter and return them as left in an unneutered state they too will be capabable of breeding at six months old and a feral cat colony will rapidly grow.
Unwanted pets...
We take in unwanted pet cats for a variety of reasons...
Snowflake's first owner was an elderly man who had him for one year but he was cruel and regularly used to kick Snowflake down the stairs.
He was then 'rescued' by a family who lived on the seventh floor of a block of flats. Snowflake was still unneutered and they did not realise how frustrated an unneutered male cat could become being kept confined indoors especially as he was previously used to being able to go outdoors. They had Snowflake for two years, he was initially wanted and well fed but was becoming increasingly frustrated being confined indoors, this led to him behaving aggressively towards the families children, eventually they shut him out to live on their balcony. Snowflake was now climbing from balcony to balcony on the seventh floor and was being fed at several other flats.
We were called and took Snowflake in after being neutered he soon settled down and now that he has been rehomed has become a friendly and happy cat.
Coco a 10 week old kitten fell from a high rise flat
We were contacted by an elderly lady who could hear a kitten screaming pitifully somewhere beyond her flat balcony.
One of our rescue team attended and found Coco unable to walk. She was rushed to be seen by our vets where it was clear that she had fallen from a height (the block of flats was six stories high). Coco had suffered a broken front leg, a badly bruised pelvis and bruised and scuffed jaw - she must have landed front feet first.
We made enquiries throughout the block of flats but couldn't find her owner despite the fact that she had clearly fallen from one of the flats we asked at!
Coco made a full recovery and has been rehomed.
Unwanted newborn kittens cruelly abandoned to die...
This brave ex stray mum has reared her own litter of kittens and then attempted to rear an abandoned new born litter.
Her own litter of 5 kittens were weaned and two pairs had been rehomed and she was waiting for a home with her son.
Then a box of five newborn kittens were discovered dumped in an alleyway in Canning town, they must have been there for a couple of days as the box was soaked in urine and filthy with faeces, the kittens were cold and weak - they urgently needed a mother.
We introduced them to this mum and she took them on, her son however kept pushing them out of the bed and we had to remove him and pair him with another kitten (-they have now found a lovely new home).
Sadly despite this mum's best efforts the tiny kittens were dying one by one, we think they were just too long without their mothers milk. This tiny black/white kitten has despite the odds managed to pull through, he is now 8 weeks old although he is still quite small he is such a fighter and his new mum adores him.
We cannot comprehend how people can be so cruel to leave tiny helpless kittens to die a slow death, cold, hungry and thirsty, and their own mother must have been frantic to trying to find them. If they did not want them they should have brought the mother cat and her kittens to us. We have no idea where the mother cat so is it is not even possible to neuter her to prevent her having further litters.
Elderly dog heartlessly abandoned at end of his life.
Canning Town Branch had a call early in the morning from the owner of a garage on the A13 to say that on his way into work he had found a collapsed Rottweiller tied to his railings.
He was cold as ice, was in a terrible state and had probably been there all night.
The poor dog had a tumour on his foot, another ulcerated tumour in his rectum and his back legs were paralysed.
He was so thin and dehydrated all we were able to do was give him kisses and cuddles and comfort him before relieving him from his pain and suffering.
Sometimes we just despair at how cruel and heartless some members of the human race can be - they only had to drive another 400 yards to get to our clinic.
Sam's terrible ordeal
Sam is a tame kitten who was deliberately thrown down a rubbish chute at a tower block into a communal waste skip.
The skip was emptied by a compactor lorry which then drove to a local waste transfer site where the contents were tipped out onto the ground.
A digger was then used to shovel the waste across the ground where to the drivers horror a tabby kitten staggered out of the rubbish.
He was brought straight to our Canning Town veterinary clinic where it was clear that he had suffered a blow to the head his fur absolutely stank of rubbish and we thought that he may have spent as long as a couple of days in the communal skip.
Our vets were very worried about him and thought that he may be left blind, fortunately after three days he could see again and the bruising and swelling was subsiding.
Sam's recovery took several weeks as he was initially uncoordinated and slow to respond. We gave him a new friend Lottie, a black and white female kitten who was an unwanted pet, she really helped him with his recovery.
We were overwhelmed by the concern that so many people expressed for Sam and were so grateful for all the messages of support for him and enquiries about his progress as well as offers of a new home.
Five weeks after being rescued Sam and Lottie found a lovely new home with a doctor and his partner who live in a spacious flat where Sam and Lottie will be indoor only cats so that if Sam didn't make a full recovery he would be in a safe environment.
Two weeks later we were really pleased to hear how well Sam was getting on:
"Hi again,
Just a quick message to let you know how Sam and Lottie are doing. They are both doing very well. Sam is eating well and growing at a fantastic rate. He is very happy to sit on our laps and purr. He is sometimes a little timid, but otherwise completely normal. Lottie is full of energy and curiosity.
Thank you all again,
Joe, Rosie, Sam and Lottie"
Govenor the tree cat
This poor cat lived as a stray for several years in a garden with 17 other stray cats and their kittens. He was unneutered and was the top cat until a large, younger, fitter tabby male cat came along and attacked him and tried to drive him away.
When we attended to help the cats after receiving reports of cats fighting we found Govenor sitting in a tree which we were told is where he had retreated to for safety.
We have now neutered the tabby male and all the other cats and as they are all semi-feral they have been returned to live in the gardens that they call home and where they are continuing to be fed regularly.
Govenor is very friendly and must have once been someone's pet, after being neutered we found him a new home of his own.
From one cat to a colony of nineteen......
We received a call to rescue a cat with a broken leg at a freight yard. On arrival we discovered there were 19 other semi-feral cats living there and they were all unneutered.
We have now neutered and returned the colony and are treating the cat with the broken leg. The cats are well fed and welcomed at the site.
One older female cat was friendly and we were told that she was the first cat to turn up at the yard and is the original mother of the colony.
She must have once must have been someone's pet who was abandoned or got lost - if only they had neutered her!
She is middleaged and required treatment for Horners Syndrone which was causing her eye to droop. She has made a full recovery, and has been neutered and has now found a new home.
How You Can Help Canning Town C.H.A.T.
Not being able to find enough people to work the often long, unsocial hours the rescue work entails, is currently the main hindrance to achieving our aims in East London to help thousands of stray cats.
WE NEED dedicated people to help us with the rescue work. Trapping feral cats for neutering and/or rehoming using our own specialised equipment and methods, is very time consuming, but so rewarding, knowing you are greatly improving, and, often saving their lives. Do you live anywhere near our clinics? Would you be prepared to help?
WE NEED to be able to find more homes for our feral cats which cannot be returned to their original sites. Do you have a farm, smallholding or stable? Would you be willing to take in a family of neutered ferals?
If you can help as a volunteer, or by joining our employed team of rescue workers, do contact us. If you are dedicated to animal welfare, and want to make a real difference helping animals in the face of this challenge, do not hesitate to contact us.
Help is always greatly needed in a variety of other ways such as transport, the collection/delivery of items, home visits and of course, most importantly, fundraising. If you are interested and feel you may have something to offer, even if it is not something mentioned here, do please contact us as we would love to hear from you.
We can rescue them only you can save them.
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PUSS- PUSS
March 2010: This poor cat was rescued several weeks ago after she suffered horrific injuries which were presumably the result of a dog attack.
She was a nervous stray that had been neutered previously and returned to a woman who continued to feed and care for her in her garden and she occasionally ventured indoors.
One afternoon to her horror she found Puss Puss, who had been missing for a few days in her garden with her front legs terribly injured, the terrified cat struggled as best she could into the house and the woman called us to come and help.
On arrival at our Canning Town Veterinary clinic both of Puss Puss's injuries were so awful - effectively one front foot had been torn off and all that remained of the other was one toe and a pad. It seemed as though nothing could be done except to put her to sleep but one of our vets examined her first and decided that she could operate to save Puss Puss's life and give her a decent quality of life.
The foot with one toe had enough pad to form a short but usable front right leg. The remains of her left leg has been amputated to form a short stump.
Puss Puss required intensive care but has recovered well and adjusted to living with her disability.
Three months after being rescued Puss Puss found a new indoor only home.
August 12th: Cat shut outside by owner has to give birth in the gutter.
August 12th, Canning Town Branch: "Called out this morning to a house, where a man recently had an operation and the doctor advised him to not have any animals in the house. He therefore promptly put his heavily pregnant cat outside permanently. Two days ago, she gave birth to 5 kittens in the drain at the front of the house. One of the kittens was found without its head this morning."
