What’s new KittyCat? A rehoming update

Hazel Wells, 7, with Qubit the Singular. He was found as a lone stray kitten in Featherston a few weeks ago and had been chased up a tree by a dog. PHOTO/SUPPLIED

KittyCat Rehoming Wairarapa is going into its third year helping cats in Wairarapa.

Originally the group was started in January 2017, after the closure of the Wairarapa SPCA in 2015, to rehome stray and abandoned cats, rehome cats for owners in difficult circumstances and tame feral kittens.

Last year, in partnership with the Wairarapa Midweek, the group rehomed 35 cats and kittens and 33 in 2017.

Now that the SPCA in Masterton is open again and are looking after stray, abandoned and surrendered cats, KittyCat Rehoming Wairarapa is now concentrating on taming feral kittens and finding homes for them as this is not covered by the SPCA.

By taking in feral kittens and desexing the parents, KRW helps control the feral cat population and keep cats away from our wildlife.

This decreases the feral cat population in a humane manner and not only improves the welfare of the cats, but of the environment as a whole.

Feral kittens are fostered by a network of foster carers until they can be adopted.

Whether a kitten can be tamed is dependent on their age and temperament.

The optimum age to tame a feral kitten is 8 weeks and under.

Older kittens can be successfully tamed depending on their individual temperament but once they reach 16 weeks of age it becomes very difficult.

It can take months of care before a kitten is ready to adopt.

Their adoption fee is $140 which helps cover the costs of desexing, vaccinating and treating for parasites.

They also offer reduced rates to adopters for microchipping.

Lee Priday from KRW said the group does extensive fundraising to cover the shortfall between the adoption fee and their costs such as vet treatments, food and litter.

“Despite more fundraising events in 2018 than ever, funds have been significantly reduced compared to previous years.

“Kitten season is now in full swing and extra funds are needed to be able to continue to operate.”

Lee said donations of kitten food (wet and dry), and litter (clay, recycled paper, or clumping varieties), were welcome.

Donations can be dropped off to Vetcare, 20 Chapel St, Masterton or Vetcare, 148 Main St, Greytown.

Donations can also be made either to the KittyCat Rehoming Kiwibank account number 38-9019-0699166-00 or to their account at their vet, Vetcare 06-0689-0191117-00 Reference Kitty46.

KittyCat Rehoming Wairarapa is a registered Charitable Trust No.CC54963.