SPCA Masterton centre manager Rebecca Johnstone with a kitten who is up for adoption. PHOTO/KAREN COLTMAN
KAREN COLTMAN
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Elektra went to her “forever home” in Carterton last week after being a feline resident at the Masterton SPCA for 362 days.
Centre manager Rebecca Johnstone said donations to the centre made Elektra’s survival and care possible and was why today’s annual street appeal, was vital.
This is the charity’s biggest fundraising event, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Johnstone said Elektra was ‘anti-social’ so not easy to rehome.
She had found a cat companion at the centre and the team thought it was best she was rehomed with that cat, but it proved difficult.
But when Elektra got sick and was isolated, her co-dependent bond with the other cat broke and she had a better chance of being rehomed by herself.
Her new owners Mick and Lesley Tysoe said Elektra hid behind the washing machine for the first few days, then advanced to the couch.
For the first time on Thursday she started to appear in the living area in the daytime when Lesley was on the phone.
“She is just over a year old and has been at the SPCA most of her life, so it is going to be a slow and careful process to get her to relax and socialise,” Lesley said.
“We are sure she will though and can’t wait until the day she just hangs around with us and in the garden.
“She’s a special little lady and it will take a while for her to trust us. We are like new parents at home with a newborn.”
The Wairarapa appeal started yesterday.
“We are pleased to have collectors in Masterton, Carterton, Greytown, and Featherston,” she said. “What we gain goes back to Masterton to help us run the building and services.”
The team is going to Martinborough Fair today taking merchandise from the Chapel St Op-shop in Masterton to sell. The shop boosts the funds for the centre throughout the year.
“We can afford a vet now to come to the centre twice a week,” she said. “This annual collection is vital for us to keep going and get our reputation back as part of the community. The more we can keep going, the better the services become.”
Four hundred and thirty-four animals from the Masterton Centre were rehomed in 2019. It works closely with the Wellington centre and animals are regularly transferred to and from there.
There are kittens coming up for adoption shortly, two adult cats available, and some dogs ready for homes.
The centre has a few hens, four rabbits, a couple of goats, half a dozen dogs, and two cats it is caring for.
Johnstone said the centre is holding a de-sexing programme in April.
She said this programme had really helped keep the numbers down at the centre because there were fewer unwanted kittens being born in Wairarapa.
SPCA helps protect 40,000 animals every year.
It cost $43 million to run SPCA in 2018-19 and is the only New Zealand charity entrusted to uphold animal welfare law and has the power to prosecute those who offend against animals.
