celia hammond animal trust
Animal Rescue Charity
Celia Hammond Animal Trust is a unique non destruction charity providing essential low cost veterinary services for sick and injured pets as well as a rescue and homing service for unwanted, abandoned and stray cats in London and the South East.
Please help us build a dedicated rescue and rehoming centre, and secure the future of our Lewisham hub for decades to come
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A NEW RESCUE AND REHOMING CENTRE IN LEWISHAM
In October 2023, we were granted planning permission to redevelop the Friendly Street warehouse and former shop at the rear of our Lewisham site into a new rescue and rehoming centre.
Phases 1 and 2A of the project have been funded by legacy gifts. Phase 1 of the building works has already been completed and phase 2A works are to commence shortly. We are now fundraising to pay for phase 2B, the construction of the main two-storey building, and we really need your support in funding the next stage of this project.
Please donate whatever you can afford and help us continue caring for animals who need us most.
Celia Hammond Animal Trust
OFFICIAL PAGE Celia Hammond Animal Trust, UK. We rescue rehabilitate and re-home abandoned animals.
🌙 Around 230,000 cats are involved in road traffic accidents in the UK every year - that’s around 630 cats every day.
As the evenings get darker, could bringing your cat in earlier help keep them safe?
Research from the Royal Veterinary College also found that autumn is when cats are most likely to be involved in road traffic accidents.
Sadly, this is something we see far too often at CHAT. Through our rescue team and clinics, we regularly witness the devastating consequences of road traffic accidents involving cats.
Some are killed on the roads. Some suffer serious injuries and are left unable to get help. And some are never found at all. 💔 For the families who love them, that can mean hours, days, weeks or even months of worry and uncertainty.
That’s why we encourage owners to consider bringing cats indoors before dark and keeping them in overnight where possible.
We recognise that every cat, household and local area is different, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach to outdoor access at any time day or night. Our aim is simply to share guidance based on years of first-hand experience. From what we see, reducing outdoor access after dark may help reduce the road accident risks many cats face during the darker months.
If your cat is used to being outside in the evenings, small changes can help. An earlier meal, extra playtime or some indoor enrichment can make the transition easier. 🐾
Does your cat have a different routine during the darker months? Share your tips with us below. 👇And if you know someone whose cat spends half the night roaming the neighbourhood, give them a little nudge and share this with them.
The road traffic accident figures are from @catsmatteruk, whose important work we’re proud to support.
As we see the impact first-hand, helping keep more cats safe is very close to our hearts at CHAT.
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Do you know what the hardest group of cats to rehome are? The middle-aged cats. 💔
They’re no longer the tiny kittens everyone falls for, but they’re not old enough to be considered ‘seniors’ either, so they can get easily overlooked. Which is such a shame, because these cats have so much to offer. They have their own personalities, they know who they are and they still have so many happy years ahead of them.
We have quite a few middle-aged moggies in our care at the moment, so for #middleagedmoggies, we’re going to introduce you to some of them and share their stories.
First up is Matty! 🐾
We brought Matty into our care in Lewisham in mid-July and he arrived in quite a state. This friendly ex-stray had extensive bite wounds to his neck and head, so it’s safe to say he hadn’t had the easiest time of things.
Our vets have treated his wounds and he has now been neutered, microchipped, vaccinated, flea treated and wormed.
He’s been through a lot but he’s looking better and better every day. Honestly, just look at those eyes! And that little goatie! 😍 He’s got such a handsome little face and a real character about him.
Our vets estimate Matty to be around 6 years old and, after a couple of months waiting for his chance, he’s more than ready to swap rescue life for a proper home of his own ❤️
He’s a curious boy who loves being close to people. He’ll give you little headbutts for attention, wants to be wherever you are and is generally just a lovely, affectionate boy. He really would make a great companion 🥰
Matty is looking for a home with a garden where he can settle in, be comfortable and show off his lovely personality.
To become Matty’s furever home, please email:
📧 lewisham@celiahammond.org
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🐱 40 FACTS FOR 40 YEARS - PART 5 🐱
As CHAT continued to grow, so did Celia’s vision for making affordable veterinary care available to more animals and the people who cared for them. ❤️
The opening of our first clinic was a really important moment in the Trust’s story. What started with a focus on affordable neutering grew into something much bigger, with our clinics becoming such an important part of the work we do today.
Of course, we couldn’t talk about the clinics without mentioning where it all began… Lewisham, before CHAT later made its way to Canning Town. 🐾
🎬 In Part 5, we’re looking back at how our veterinary clinics grew and became such a huge part of CHAT.
There’s still plenty more of our story to come… ❤️
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This week, we were alerted to the sudden appearance of a young mum and her 8-week-old kittens in Puddle Jumpers Day Nursery’s garden in the E14 area.
When Matt, our newest rescue worker, asked if I wanted to come along and help, I jumped at the chance.
I’m Georgia, CHAT’s new Social Media Officer 👋 , and I’ve recently been spending time with our rescue teams to see first-hand what goes on behind the scenes. This rescue was a real eye-opener, showing just how much patience, searching and determination can go into getting a little life to safety.
When we arrived, it wasn’t long before mum appeared, perhaps sensing that we were there to help. She immediately walked into the carrier with a little shadow in tow. 🐈⬛
Matt said it was his easiest rescue so far! Little did we know, the rescue was far from over.
The nursery staff were adamant there had definitely been two kittens that morning, maybe even three. We searched the playground from top to bottom, then the pub garden bordering the nursery, checking every little crevice where a tiny kitten could have disappeared into the park behind, potentially towards a busy road.
We spent around two hours searching, trying everything we could to find the little one and bring him back to his mum. There had also been sightings along the canal that morning, so we searched there too.
All of a sudden, I heard a tiny little squeak coming from inside the locked bike shed in the school car park next door.
The poor little thing was so frightened. Once we eventually caught him, he was shaking and cowering in the corner of the carrier. I desperately wanted him to understand that he was safe now, that he was no longer alone and that he would soon be reunited with his mum and siblings.
As the rescue unfolded, another tiny face appeared in the nursery garden.
Where he had been while we were searching, we’ll never know. But he must have been so alone and very hungry. Mum was no doubt hungry too, with three babies to care for.
Once reunited, the kittens were cuddled up on a blanket, with mum fast asleep beside them, head in the litter tray! I remember thinking how exhausted she must have been and that, now her babies were safe, she could finally relax. ☺️
Because of the name of the nursery we rescued them from, we decided to name them River (Mum), Puddles, Splash and Harbour. 🌊
They’re now at our Canning Town clinic, where mum has already been neutered and they will receive all the care they need. Whenever we’ve been to check on them, they’re all snuggled up together in the warm, with a fresh bowl of food and water, safe and sound.
After all the searching and worrying, seeing River settled with all three of her babies safely back by her side really brought home to me why we do what we do. ❤️
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🐾 Happy Adoption Thursday 🐾
“We adopted Martin and Radio last June after years and years without a cat due to allergies. So we got rid of the allergic man and got a pair of kittens. Radio was too timid to come out of the carrier for 2/3 days and only came out to eat. Now he is the friendliest of the two. They enjoy fighting with the local big cats, stealing from the bread bin and actual bins and attempting to catch anything that moves but only actually catching worms. We all couldn’t be happier.” - Kerry
Martin and Radio sound like they have grown into quite the characters, and it’s wonderful to hear how happy they are (and how much mischief they’re getting up to!).
We’re especially pleased to hear that Radio has come out of his shell and is now the friendliest of the two. It sounds like they’re both living a very full and entertaining life. 🐱
➡️Have you adopted from Celia Hammond Animal Trust? We’d love to hear from you! Send your photos via DM using the words “HAPPY ADOPTION” to share your update. 🐾 💙
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🧶 MIA’S YARN SWAP FUNDRAISER! 🧶
Calling all fellow crafters and cat lovers! 💕 Come along to this fantastic event organised by our wonderful volunteer Mia from Barge Knitters, alongside @destasher_uk, who are helping to organise, promote and run the event - all to raise vital funds for our new rescue and rehoming centre at Lewisham!
📅 Saturday 19th September 2026, 1pm
📍 The Catford House, Catford Broadway, London, SE6 4SP
🎟️ Tickets are just £6, with 100% of the entry fee going towards our building project!
Mia volunteers with us as one of our cat socialisation volunteers, spending time with some of the shyer and more nervous cats in our care. She’s seen first-hand how much a calm, supportive environment and a little patience can mean to a rescue cat, one of the reasons she’s so passionate about helping us create better facilities for them. 🐱
Our new centre will give us 23 additional walk-in cattery pens, improved ventilation and an expanded space for our low-cost veterinary services.
So come along, swap your spare yarn, discover some new stash treasures and meet fellow crafters and cat lovers! 🧶
🎟️ Ticket link: www.outsavvy.com/event/38541/autumn-yarn-destashrestash-
A huge thank you to Mia and @destasher_uk for putting this together and finding such a lovely way to support the cats in our care. ❤️
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🍂 Four little kittens hidden in a pile of garden debris 🍂
Last month, two of our rescuers attended a call in the IG11 area after a kind woman heard the faintest little cries coming from her late father’s garden.
The house was getting ready to be let, so all of your usual renovating tasks were being ticked off: clearing the house, decorating and repairing and tackling the garden. As they worked through the weeds and tangled growth, a large pile of garden debris was made with the intention to clear away later.
Over the previous few weeks, she had also noticed a scruffy-looking female cat coming and going from the garden. Then, while she was in the garden, she heard it - tiny, muffled meows coming from inside the pile! 🍂
Hidden amongst the branches, weeds and garden cuttings were four very small kittens. One boy and three girls. They were tucked away together, silent apart from their little cries. But where was the mum? Thankfully, the lady stopped what she was doing and called us straight away.
Our rescuers Matt and Amanda carefully gathered the kittens and brought them into the warmth and safety of their carrier. They were safe for the moment, but they couldn't leave the mum there alone as she would be looking for her babies.
A clever little rescue trick we use is to play kitten sounds loud enough for mum to hear if she was close by. So as one rescuer played sounds of one-month-old kittens crying from YouTube, the other kept watch from an upstairs bedroom window looking out across the gardens.
And sure enough, it wasn’t long before they spotted her. 🥹
The mum was making her way back through the neighbouring gardens, following the sound of what she thought were her babies calling for their mum. Once she arrived, she was easy to trap. She is such a friendly girl and there was something very moving about the way she came back for her babies. Maybe she had once known the comfort of a family home? Or maybe she simply knew that she and her babies were finally about to be warm, safe and cared for? Either way, the mum and her babies were reunited.
We checked her for a microchip, hoping there might be an owner looking for her, but sadly she wasn’t chipped (even though it is now a legal requirement in England for pet cats to be microchipped). Without one, it is incredibly difficult to trace where a cat belongs or reunite them with anyone who may be missing them. It’s exactly why microchipping your cat, and making sure the registered details are kept up to date, is so important.
Mum is now called Cinders and her kittens, Blaze, Ash, Ember and Smokey - Matt said the names were pretty fitting, considering this little family were found during one of this summer’s heatwaves! ☀️ 🔥
They have now all been wormed and flea treated and are now getting the care they need before they’re ready for their next chapter. They will soon all be vaccinated, neutered and microchipped.
There is already one lovely part of this story to share: the woman who made the call, and who gave this little family their chance, has been home checked and approved to adopt two of the kittens when they are ready. We think that is such a beautiful ending!
You may be wondering about Cinders’ eyes. Our vets have confirmed that she is blind in one eye due to a congenital condition. This does not stop her being the lovely, affectionate girl she is, but it does mean she will need a safe, loving indoor-only home when the time comes.
For now, Cinders and her babies are together, warm, fed and safe. Because one woman listened to those tiny meows, their story has a very different ending. ❤️
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🐱 40 FACTS FOR 40 YEARS - PART 4 🐱
As the Trust grew, Celia knew that some cats would need more than just a temporary place to stay. They needed somewhere safe, where they could take their time and simply be cats. ❤️
That’s where Greenacres came in. 🌳
Over the years, Greenacres has become a very special part of CHAT. A place where cats who were feral or semi-feral, abandoned or simply not suited to a normal home could finally feel safe.
For some, it’s a stepping stone to their forever home. For others, Greenacres becomes their forever home with us. 🐾
So many cats have passed through those gates over the years, each with their own story and each leaving a little pawprint behind.
🎬 In Part 4, we’re looking back at the story of Greenacres and the very special place it holds in the history of Celia Hammond Animal Trust.
And there’s still so much more of our story to share…
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🦴 Renn may be tiny, but he already has a HUGE personality 🦴
This two-month-old little chap was brought into our Lewisham clinic by a kind member of the public after being found in a garden with a serious leg injury. He arrived in a cardboard box, which isn’t a safe way to transport a cat and certainly isn’t something we would recommend, but it was what his finder had to hand at the time. They just wanted to get this little boy somewhere safe as quickly as possible. ❤️
Despite everything he had been through, Renn certainly wasn’t going to let a little thing like a broken leg stop him investigating his new surroundings! He was busy playing peek-a-boo, popping his little head up and having a good look at everyone around him. 😂
As Renn is such a friendly little boy, we wanted to make sure we did everything we could to establish whether he had an owner. We found that he wasn’t microchipped and even though we tried hard to find out where he had come from, we’ve had no luck so far. More than a month later, no one has come forward to claim him.
His x-rays revealed a severe fracture in his leg and we were initially worried that we might not be able to save it.
Thankfully, our orthopaedic vet was able to help and fit Renn with a cast. Renn wasn’t particularly impressed at first. Being the cheeky, energetic kitten he is, he had much more important things on his mind, like exploring and playing!
The good news is that Renn has been making great progress. Just one day after surgery, he was already standing on his injured leg and as of last night, his cast has now been removed! 🥳
There’s still a little way to go. In a couple of weeks, once our vets are happy that his leg has healed sufficiently, he’ll have the plate removed. Then it’s time for the next important kitten milestone - getting neutered! 🐱
Once Renn has been given the all-clear by our veterinary team, he’ll be ready to find his forever home.
We’re so pleased with how far this tiny kitten has come and we can’t wait to see what the next chapter holds for him. 🐾
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