We will be out and about again this summer, fund raising and meeting people at local events such as The Teddy Bears Picnic in Garth Park and Bicester Carnival. We will also be at Banbury Beer Fest, (very popular with the gentlemen on the team) and Banbury Canal Day, hoping that we do at least as well there as we did last year.
As a branch, we have a lot of support from various people and this is a great opportunity to say a very big thank you to the local Bicester vets and also the vets in Banbury and Brackley who are always there for our animals and who contribute by having our food collection bins and collecting boxes at the surgeries Also to the Pets At Home stores across our area who collect food for us and to the various pubs, clubs and shops who have our collecting tins on their premises. Finally, a big thank you to Jaki and Alan Final of Green Court Kennels and Cattery (www.greencourtdogandcat.co.uk) for the use of cat pens when those of our fosterers are fully utilised.
As a group we are doubly blessed. We have a strong support base in our members and a very strong team of hands on volunteers, without whom we could not run our branch. Because of this level of support we are now able to start expanding our area, which means we can help even more lost or unwanted cats. Unfortunately, everything we do costs money. Every cat we bring in has a basic vet check which involves vaccination, flea/worm treatment and a general health check. This costs approximately £50 per cat and very often, especially in the case of a stray, there are more serious problems which need addressing. If you then take into account the cost of food, heat, litter etc. all the things that contribute to keeping a cat, you realise just how much money we need to raise, just to keep going.