7th Heaven Animal
Rescue Trust

It’s not just children that suffer when a marriage breaks up. Pets, too, can experience stress and, in the case of Banjo, can be left homeless.

 Banjo was a beautiful, 6 month-old, beagle/spaniel cross. He came to us, after his owners separated and neither of them were able too look after him. He was fit and strong and loved to bounce about in such a manner we were convinced he was a relative of Tigger.

Being such a young and healthy dog, we found no problem at all in getting him a new owner. In fact we had a long list of people interested in this boisterous beastie. In the end, though, he was homed to a lovely family from Dublin. He has settled in well in his new home and is keeping them all fit by taking them for very long walks every day. By all accounts, he is now one very happy puppy.

 Truffles came to us without any family at all. She was found roaming in someone’s garden and refused to leave despite the bad winter weather. She was a young springer spaniel and was in good health although her coat was a little dirty. It appeared that she may have been wandering around for a few days.

Naturally, being a springer, she was hyperactive. In fact, she and Banjo would have been well suited. They could have tired each other out instead of tiring us out. It would have been a marriage made in doggy heaven. As it was, though, Truffles got homed very quickly after she came into us. Her new owner is now shamelessly parading her up and down the street. And, as the new dog on the block, she has been receiving a lot of attention from the neighbours. So she may not have had anyone, when she came into us, but she now has so many friends and family than she’ll never be on her own again.  

We heard of big Suzie from a member of the public when we were doing a store collection in Jollye’s Glengormley. Apparently she was an old farm cat, with one eye that lived in County Down. The people that had been feeding her where too old to look after her any more and they were going to get her put down. Luckily, a doctor that lived nearby heard about this and persuaded them not to have her killed. He offered to feed her until a home could be found. However, due to her age and having only one eye, nobody wanted her.

The lady in Jollye’s told us of her plight and said the doctor was getting desperate and wondered if we could help. At the time, we were full but luckily within a week a space became available and we took her in. And what a beautiful old, lady she was.

How anyone could have abandoned her or thought about putting her down was unbelievable. On eye, old, overweight, it didn’t matter, she was lovely. She was a real big softie, very gentle and loved a good stroke. She was so contented just to have a bit of security and affection she would just while away the days purring away whilst being pampered.

We thought we would have difficulty re-homing her but luckily someone saw her photo in one of the articles we had done for the local paper and phoned us up. She had obviously fallen in love with Suzie because she was desperate to come up and see her and was very worried we might re-home her to someone else first. And when she came, her eagerness to give her a good home only increased.

She had a few older cats of her own and hoped that Suzie would fit in. she needn’t have worried. She phoned us a few days later and told us she had made herself right at home and was getting on fine with her new feline friends. So big Suzie went from being a sad, lonely, elderly cat on the verge of being put down to a rejuvenated happy cat with lots of new friends and a very, loving home.

Honey was the most exotically marked tortoiseshell with striking lime-green eyes. She came to us, in April, from west Belfast and was heavily pregnant. Within a week she had given birth. Unfortunately, three of them were stillborn, leaving only two that survived. But what a little pair of beauties they were. One had the same wonderful colouring as her mother and the other was a grey and white male. Both were really fat and fluffy.

Honey was a wonderful mother to the two of them, keeping them clean and healthy. But her mothering instinct was about to get even better.

A few weeks after she had given birth, we got two tiny kittens in that were only a week or so old. We tried hand feeding them but it just wasn’t working as well as we’d hoped. Then one of our trustees had a brilliant idea. Why not put them in with Honey and see if she would accept them. As we had never attempted this before, we were very concerned as to what would happen. If she rejected them, we realised their chance of survival would be pretty slim.

We needn’t have worried. After a quick sniff, Honey put her paws around them and tucked them in for nice big feed. After that they never looked back. By the time the kittens were eating on their own, they were all the best of friends. Honey and all the kittens have since been successfully homed.

So a word of thanks to Honey, the miracle mother, who saved the life of two, little orphans.

One summer Assisi Animal Sanctuary asked us if we could take in two adult cats and 7 kittens, as they were totally full. As Assisi were not holding the  cats themselves, the details were all a bit vague. When they arrived, we were still none the wiser, particularly as no one was sure if the ginger and white adult was male or female because it was very timid and, if she was female, which were her kittens and which were those of her companion.

Thankfully, the other cat was very friendly and we could tell she was definitely female. She was the most unusual and exotic coloured cat, with dusky grey and sandy markings and stunning blue eyes. The confusion continued, however, as 5 kittens were all about 5 weeks old and 2 were quite clearly 3 weeks older. The older two were black and white and seemed related to each other but not to the other ones, three of which were sandy coloured, one grey and one a combination of both.

It all became slightly clearer as the ginger and white cat, now called Bramble, got friendlier and we discovered she was female. That and the fact she was pregnant made us realise that at least the five smaller kittens were all from the other cat that we had named Calypso.
They mystery still remained as to where the two older black and white kittens came from. Obviously interlopers who fancied a change of scenery and tagged along for the adventure. But they, along with the other litter soon found homes, leaving only Calypso and the heavily pregnant Bramble.

 Bramble wasn’t to be pregnant for very much longer, however, soon giving birth to 3 very cute ginger kittens. As Bramble and Calypso got along so well with each other we decided to hold on to Calypso so she could remain with Bramble whilst she weaned her kittens. It was just as well as Bramble was a bit of a wayward soul at times, rummaging after food and frequently climbing into a large plastic container that held her titbits. During these forays, Calypso obligingly went and fed her kittens for her, giving Bramble a break from weaning.

Eventually, Bramble’s kittens found new homes too but not before both Bramble and her ever faithful friend got a home together. No doubt, Bramble, the hungriest cat I have ever seen, is still on midnight manoeuvres trying to steal food from wherever she can get it, whilst poor Calypso does reconnaissance in case their owners find Bramble with her head stuck in the rubbish bin or her paws in the fridge.

Two tiny 2-3 week-old-kittens came into 7th Heaven that had been found dumped in a skip. Appalling, shocking but, unfortunately in  Northern Ireland, not at all surprising. The minute we saw them we knew it was touch and go whether they would survive.

They were two grey and white tabbies, one female, who we called Willow and one male, who we called Mallow. They were very small and thin but otherwise appeared healthy. However, caring for orphaned kittens of that age is always difficult and one can never be confident of their survival.
Initially, we hand-fed them with Cimicat formula which recreates, as best as possible, mother’s milk. They seemed to thrive on this and rapidly put on weight. Within a week or so, we had moved on to solid foods in the form of Hills A.D. and I.D., the former to bulk them up and the latter to prevent diarrhoea.

At this stage their appetite increased every day and their energy levels with it. On opening the door, they would dart out, lightening-quick, and be charging around the house. Only the sight of food brought them back, both of them climbing up our legs and backs to get at their prize before we even had a chance to put the food into their dish.  

Then we had a bit of a setback – Mallow and Willow contracted ringworm. Ringworm is a fungal infection that causes hair lose and crusty skin. It isn’t particularly serious but it is highly contagious. It is relatively easy to treat but it does take five weeks to clear up.

On the bright side, though, we had the little beasts for a few weeks longer than we thought. They really were a joy. Despite their bad start in life they were always running around and playing and would purr if you even looked at them. Our initial fears for their survival proved unfounded and both left us before Christmas, fit and healthy for their new homes.

This is a tale of adventure and derring-do, much like Indiana Jones only, instead of searching for a lost ark it involves a search for lost cats. The felines in question came to us one March.There were five in all, four black and 1 tabby, all part of one family although exactly what relationship they had with each other was all a bit vague.

Two of them were barely in the door when they were re-homed. Macey and Josie, two female black cats were both scooped off and taken off to their new homes within day. That left, Almond, the tabby and Raisin and Bob, two black males. And that is when the adventure began.

One evening, on returning from work, we went out to the large outbuilding in which the cats were currently residing. To our shock and puzzlement, they were nowhere to be seen. We checked under the sofa, and up on the high shelves but there was no sign of them. The cats had vanished, which was impossible as the door was locked and the windows were shut. It was then that we noticed that a wooden panel in the ceiling was slightly loose.

A feeling of dread came over us. Had they escaped? Were they injured? We quickly grabbed a ladder and a torch and climbed up. Sliding back the panel, we shone the light inside and, to our great relief, three pairs of frightened little eyes stared back at us. The relief was short-lived, however, as we were now faced with the predicament of how to extricate them.

It was decided that Heather, one of our trustees, would be given the task of retrieving the feisty felines. She was handed a tape recorder that explained to her, her mission, should she choose to accept it, which promptly self-destructed 5 seconds later. She then clambered up into the roof space, stepped over Tom Cruise, and proceeded on her mission.

The task was made all the more difficult because space between the rafters was extremely small, only large enough to crawl through but not big enough to take a cat box. To make matters worse, the three cats had, by now, all decided to hide in different corners. Mission impossible it surely was.

It was an hour later that Heather emerged triumphant, after having manoeuvred herself through the rafters with each cat held precariously by the scruff of the neck and placed them into a cat box being held below the open panel by our other trustee. She was as black as a chimney sweep and as exhausted as someone who had just swam the channel in deep sea diving boots but at least the cats were now secure.

Shortly after, both Bob and Almond were re-homed leaving only Raisin. He was just so cute our trustees decided to keep him for themselves despite all the trouble he caused.
He has fitted in nicely, becoming a playmate of Clover (see Three-Legged Clover article). He is still getting up to mischief, managing to secret himself in any open drawer or cupboard only to spring out when you least expect it. He has a very endearing trait to make up for all his antics, though. He likes to lick your face and nibble your chin. So he’s a wee sweetheart really. Honest. 

We were called one night to get a cat that was roaming about someone’s garden. As we lived nearby, we went down straight away. On seeing her, we realised she was definitely ill.

 She was quite emaciated as if she hadn’t eaten for weeks. If this had have been the case, bad though it was, as not eating for any period of time can cause liver problems in cats, it would have been treatable. But the man that phoned us said that he had been feeding her whenever she appeared. When we got her home, and discovered she had swollen lymph nodes, we suspected the worst.

We took her to the vets, hoping it was some sort of viral infection but fearing it was cancer. The tests would take a few days. In the meantime, we brought her home and spent some time with her.

Despite her problems, she seemed glad for some company. She played with toy mice and balls and really loved rolling over to be stroked. She purred away contentedly, as if just having shelter, a regular supply of food and a bit of attention was all she craved.
When the news came back it wasn’t good. She didn’t have cancer but she did have leukaemia. But, at least, with leukaemia, she would have some life. The vet told us she could live for another 6 or 7 years.

Leona, of course, was oblivious to all the fuss. To her, she already had a new lease of life. She was safe and warm and being fed. What more could a cat ask for? Well, a new home for a start. But that wasn’t long in coming.

Despite the restrictions imposed on someone having a cat with leukaemia, e.g. the owner can’t let the infected cat out and cannot own any other cat, we quickly found the prefect home for her. A lady from North Belfast, whose cat had recently died, took to the plight of Leona immediately.
So we took her up to her new home, expecting her to be a bit nervous and a bit cautious. But not a bit of it. Leona instantly made herself at home, prowling around the living room before venturing into kitchen to explore what the food situation was. All the while, purring away. We may have been depressed, hearing about her diagnosis but Leona wasn’t. For the first time in her short life, she was blissfully happy.

One of the cutest little kittens we have had through our doors came to us in October. The daughter of a lady who had given us some semi-feral cats, brought this little, black kitten to our door. She found it, covered in oil in the forecourt of where she worked. She also thought it had  damaged its leg as it wasn’t walking properly.

We gave him a quick wash and brush up, and out of the oily mess, there arose the most beautiful bundle of fur. Now, when I say bundle of fur I am, perhaps, being a bit pliable with the truth. He was half a bundle of fur. His back, tail and head were replete with shiny, black fur. His legs and belly, however were somewhat lacking in the fur department. They were, in fact, completely bereft, of anything resembling the customary feline coat. His limbs and underside were, to all intents and purposes, completely bald. It was as if he had put his overcoat on but, absentmindedly forgot to don his underwear and trousers. Nevertheless, it did make him extremely cute. It also made tickling his belly much more enjoyable for all concerned.
As for his damaged leg, there was no problem. Liquorice, as he had now been called, obviously walked in a peculiar manner because he didn’t like the feeling of the oil on his coat. Once this was removed, his gait returned to normal.

In fact, the oil had served Liquorice well. His little sad story and odd looks had touched the heart of many of you and he was booked for re-homing very quickly. We have been in touch with his new owner and, despite his fur growing back, he has still retained his unique cuteness and personality. She absolutely adores him – and who wouldn’t?

Poppy came to us from Farmhill vets in Carrickfergus. She had been found in Tesco car park with a badly damaged tail. Unfortunately it was in such a bad state that she had to get most of it  amputated. Thankfully, despite whatever happened to her, she had no other injuries.
She was a young, cute, tabby female. Unsurprisingly, she was a little nervous at first but quickly came around. It wasn’t long before she started to relax and enjoy scoffing her food and getting stroked. She was a quiet little cat but appeared contented.

At the same time, we rescued Pepsi a beautiful grey cat from Larne. A man had lost his cat and went to the local vet to ask if anyone had found it. Unfortunately they hadn’t seen it but they told him about Pepsi, who had been abandoned with them. Feeling sorry, for him, he decided to take him home. Unfortunately, he already had another cat and she did not take to Pepsi at all which wasn’t really surprising considering he kept chasing her all over the house. It was at this point that he called us.

Pepsi, was the complete opposite of Poppy. He was very vocal and energetic and was forever getting up to mischief.

 Enter Janine, one of our volunteers, who had previously taken 3 kittens from us. Janine is a sucker for anything grey and feline. So, although, she had decided to take Poppy, her little stump of tail had touched her heart, she could not resist Pepsi either. Never one to do things by half, she whisked them both back home, to mingle with the rest of her extensive cat family.

Initially Poppy was little bit nervous and had a few minor health problems but she soon overcame these and fitted in well. Pepsi, on the other hand, just took over the whole house, being as boisterous as ever. A few months later, however, he did develop Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease and the formation of crystals were detected in his urine (see article on cats and crystals.

Luckily, Janine, having a cat already with the illness, was able to spot the symptoms and get Pepsi to a vet. Thankfully, a change of diet was all that was required to put things right and he’s now on the mend and back to being his usual mad self.

In February we got a call, from Earlswood Vets in Belfast. Four 10-day-old pups had been left in and they asked us if we could take them in. They were so cute, we couldn’t refuse. They were supposed to be lurcher crosses but looked more like sheep dog and Labrador crosses.

Because they were so young, they had to be bottle-fed. Everything went all right for a few weeks but then one of them, little Asterix, got very ill. We rushed him to the vet who put a drip into him as he was cold and dehydrated and tried to warm him up. He gave him back to us to take him home but sadly, he died shortly afterwards. The vet had warned us to expect it, as he didn’t think his stomach had formed properly. It was extremely sad as he was a beautiful little character. Thankfully, though, his three brothers survived, Aero –a chocolate brown Labrador look alike, Apollo – a small brown and white pup resembling a Springer Spaniel and Zeus – big, fluffy and very much like a sheep dog. All three were successfully homed after getting their first vaccinations.

More pups came our way in May, this time there were ten of the little beasties. They had been dumped in a cardboard box at the Donegal border. Assisi animal sanctuary phoned us to see if we could accept even a few of them as they were inundated. We were having the same problem, being full of mothers and kittens, but we managed to take some in ourselves and get fosterers for the others.

Seven of them looked like terrier/Labrador crosses, two were beige coloured and had a hint of German Shepherd about them and one had the distinctive tan paws of a Rottweiller or Doberman. Amazingly, nine were females with only one male.

We never realised how easy it was to look after cats and kittens in comparison to pups. They may have been cute but they were loud and cute and so bouncy and full of energy they nearly knocked us over every feeding time. But that’s for their new owners to cope with now as they have all been re-homed, the last two of which were homed together so none of them were left on their own. So a very noisy, exhausting, but fun-filled month came to a successful end.

In Memoriam: In memory of little Asterix, whose short time with us gave us so much pleasure. May his playful spirit live on in his three brothers. 

Two of the most adorable kittens you are ever likely to see, came to us at the end of October. They were only three weeks old and had been abandoned at Farmhill vets in Carrickfergus. As this is one of our regular vets, they called us to see if we could care for them. We immediately agreed and went down to collect them. 

 The instant we saw them we found them irresistible. They were heart-breakingly beautiful. One was a bright orange tabby, the other was a gorgeous grey. The orange one we called Sunshine, the other, because it was such a fluffy bundle of grey, we called Cloud. For ones so small they could really make a noise when they were hungry, which basically was all the time.

Cloud, in particular, was a greedy little beastie. Every time it was Sunshine’s turn to be fed, she would claw her way up and try to nudge her sister away from the bottle. Sunshine, though, was having none of it and stood her ground, clinging on to the bottle like a cat possessed.
Not surprisingly, everyone who saw them, wanted to take them. But they already had their names down for a home. When the lady who wanted Mars, one of our other rescue cats, came up to collect her, her friend came with her and fell in love with Cloud and Sunny. She had no hesitation in putting her name for them. Although, at first she only wanted one, she couldn’t choose between them because both were equally cute. The only solution, of course, was to take both.
It was coming up to Christmas when they were eventually ready to move to their new home.

Although it was sad to see them go, we knew they would have a great life with this new family. In fact, by coincidence, we saw them at the vets again when they were brought up for their second vaccination and we were there with another rescue cat. They had grown quite a bit but still maintained that cute factor that made everyone that saw them fall in love with them.
It was great to see them again and it certainly brightened up our day. No doubt they will bring a little ray of sunshine to their new family as well.

In the summer, the PDSA animal hospital in Belfast contacted us regarding a dog that had been abandoned with them, asking if we could take it in. After seeing her, we couldn’t say no.
 She was a 6 month old black and white Jack Russell. Thankfully, she had not yet been the victim of the abhorrent practice of tail docking. Because of this, she was lucky enough to be sporting a wonderful specimen – long, fluffy and arching. It was because of her magnificent tail she was named sweep, because every time she wagged it swept majestically through the air.

She was very affectionate and fun-loving and we soon found her a home. Unfortunately, due her demanding so much attention and being quite possessive of her new owner, she didn’t get on with the other Jack Russell of the household. Emotionally distraught, the owner reluctantly had to give her up.

Luckily, we had a few people on our waiting list who wanted a small dog and she was re-homed almost immediately. The new owner took her directly from the first owner’s home, so she didn’t have to go through any additional stress coming back to us first.

So little Sweep had swept some else of their feet. This time, though, she has settled in and is doing well and, because there are no other animals in the household, she really is top dog.

This tale starts with a phone call from a gentleman who lived just outside Carrickfergus. A stray tortoiseshell cat had followed him home but he couldn’t bring it in because of his dog. Could we possibly come and get it? Of course, we could. But in life, nothing is ever that simple.

Catching the cat was the easy part. It followed us up the lane, staying by our heels as if it was a dog and without any problem whatsoever let us put it in the cat box. It was only after we took it to the vets that we encountered the problems. The cat had given birth very recently. We hadn’t been able to tell this at the time because we had lifted it from a country lane in near total darkness. Obviously, we now had to take her back and try to locate her kittens.

When we got back, we let the cat out of the box and she trotted up the dirt track to an old barn. We searched around for twenty minutes or so with a torch but could find no evidence that kittens had ever been there. When we came out, there was the cat, heading off up another path. This time we tracked her to a derelict house.

We managed to crawl through a small opening and, with slight trepidation, made our way through the house. To say it was eerie was an understatement. With nobody living anywhere nearby and the torchlight spawning looming shadows in every room, we felt somewhat uneasy.

The cat eventually went to an old cupboard in the bedroom and began meowing incessantly as if trying to tell us that, that is where her kittens were. Unfortunately, if they were ever there, they had gone by now. We spent another 30 minutes exploring the ruins of the house but sadly, there was no sign of her litter.

On the way out, we noticed another building around the back and went to investigate. On sliding open the door, we were amazed and somewhat startled, to find a flock of geese emerge and charge to wards us. We quickly closed the door and headed back towards the path, the cat still in tow. We were to learn later that a farmer occasionally housed his geese in the abandoned outbuilding.

Our adventure wasn’t quite over, however. After putting the cat back in the box, we were heading down the path when there was a disturbance in the bushes. Two large shapes lurched out and on to the grass verge and bounded towards us. At first we thought we were going to get mauled by two wild dogs but when we shone the torch on them we could see they were two enormous badgers. It was little comfort as an angry badger could probably do as much damage to you as any dog. Thankfully, they bolted past us and disappeared into the darkness.

And so the adventure came to an end. It was sad that neither we, nor the little cat, could find the kittens but it least we had the mother. And it was a happy ending for her. ‘Trinity’ as she was named, very quickly found a home with not a badger or a goose in sight.

Iggy, so called because of her proclivity for hiding in her igloo all the time, came to us from Whitehead. Initially, she was very temperamental. One moment she would let you stroke her, the next she would paw at you to leave her in peace. She also seemed quite fussy when eating.

After a visit to the vets, however, all became clear. She wasn’t bad tempered at all. The poor girl just had a really bad mouth infection. A short course of antibiotics later and she was a completely different cat. Now, when our trustee went into feed her, she would jump up, start rubbing her nose into his face and start licking his neck. She really became a little sweetie.

It proves, once again, that new owners need to give their cat time to settle in. It may be that the cat is not ill-tempered, just ill or it may be it’s very timid and needs time and space to feel more confident. You simply cannot judge an animal after having it for only a day or two. Patience in an owner is essential.

Iggy, who came from one seaside town, is now living in another. She has since been re-homed in Bangor where she will hopefully continue to be as affectionate as ever.

Early in the year, Earlswood vets asked us could we take in two cats that had been brought in for treatment but had no owners. One was Sawyer, a very handsome ginger male who had an abscess removed from his neck. The other was Holly, a beautiful, long-haired grey female who had an ulcer removed from her eye.

 Originally Sawyer was to be given back to the USPCA, who had brought it in, in the first place. However, as they were going to put him down, Earlswood said they would hold on to him and try to get him a home. Hence their call to us.

Both were still a bit the worse for wear after the surgery. Sawyer had a massive sore on his neck which, we were informed, would eventually fall of in a week or so. Holly, meanwhile, had a watery discharge coming from her eye, which needed to be regularly cleaned.

Sawyer, initially found a home quite easily as he was very friendly and a bit of a performer when people came to view him. However, a week after he was homed we got a call to take him back. Apparently, he wasn’t integrating with the other cats in the household. He had obviously came from a one-cat household, and was stressed out in his new environment, thinking that he had to be more aggressive to get his food and had vying with the other to establish his territory. Although this can be a problem sometimes, it usually resolves itself in a few weeks as the original resident cat accustoms itself to the situation and learns to accept new cat and the new one realises he doesn’t have to be in competition with the other cats in the house.

 A Few weeks later, though, and Sawyer did get a permanent home. This time there were no other cats and he was the centre of attention. He still retained some bad habits for a while, like nipping the new owners, but they persevered and he eventually became the affectionate, confident cat he had been at the beginning.

Holly, meanwhile, had her own problems getting re-homed. With us, she was the most friendly, mature, refined lady but put her in a house with another cat and she was transformed into a Tasmanian devil. She had obviously been used to the quiet life, being stroked and pampered, with no competition from other felines.

She also had a problem with small children. She was originally homed to a couple with a 5 year-old. Within a matter of days, she had been returned to us because it didn’t get on with their young son. Holly was subsequently re-homed to someone with another cat and having to share attention obviously wasn’t her thing. Back she came again.

Another home was found for her, this time with no children or cats. Everything was all right for a month or two and then the new owner was forced to move into rented accommodation. Unfortunately, the landlord didn’t approve of pets and the owner, reluctantly, had to return her.
We we’re getting rather upset by this point as we hated the thought of poor little Holly being passed form one home to another. Two of our trustees brought her back in to stay in their spare bedroom until another home could be found. Despite all the constant moving from one place to another, she was her usual affectionate self and acted as if she had never been away. Thankfully, though, we didn’t have to wait much longer to get her, what we hope, will now be a permanent home.

A couple phoned us to say their father’s cat had died a few months ago and he was now ready for a little house cat as he felt lonely without feline companionship. He seemed ideal and when they saw Holly they immediately knew she was the right one. Holly, has now, hopefully, found that perfect home.

Mr Tibbs arrived with us in early January. He was one of the biggest cats we had ever seen and reminded us of a, once distinguished aristo-cat that had fallen on hard times.

He looked like Bagpuss – big, fat and furry and a bit worn at the edges but he still retained the manners of a good upbringing. He was always friendly and purred at the appropriate times, which basically was all day long. The only time his etiquette abandoned him was when he was put in a cat carrier. Then the placid, mild-mannered old man began to scream like a banshee. His wailing was a strange hybrid of a little girl crying and the shrieks of someone possessed by particularly vindictive demons.

Once released form the box though, he immediately resorted to his former self and rolled about demanding his belly rubbed. His most enjoyable experience seemed to be getting brushed, which was just as well because a section of his fur was badly matted.
When brush touched fur, he purred like a Geiger counter that had just found a large stash of plutonium, rubbing himself up and down the tines in ecstasy as if he had just overdosed on catnip.

Although he was an older cat, we had no problem re-homing him because of his wonderful personality. Within a week or so, he had moved in with a couple from East Belfast where he will, no doubt, continue pursuing his brushing fetish for some to come.

One of the longest running sagas in 7th Heaven’s short history was that of the ‘Wild Bunch’. These were a number of cats and kittens that were rampaging around farm land in Larne. The land had become a dumping ground for unwanted cats, which had then turned semi-feral, eventually giving birth to equally wild offspring.

The owner approached us because the situation was getting out of control. However, he was also concerned because some dubious characters had come on to his land to try to capture the cats in cages. One can only assume what their fate would have been but they could well have become bait for ‘blooding dogs’ in the preparation for the sick and abhorrent practice of dog fighting. Dog fighting has become very newsworthy of late but has been going on, virtually unchecked, for many years in Northern Ireland.

The first two kittens that came to us had thankfully not yet learned the ways of the wild and were very friendly. They were ten weeks old, both black and white; one male and one female. The female, Piccolo, was short hair and her brother, Picasso, was long- haired. They were, and still are, two of our favourite little cats.

Piccolo had a touch of cat flu when she arrived but it quickly cleared up. Picasso then contacted it a week later and became very ill. It took almost a month before his symptoms finally cleared. Despite his ailments, though, Picasso still kept Piccolo company and still purred away whenever he was stroked.

By this time, they had become inseparable and we decided they would have to be homed together. Thankfully, shortly after this, we got someone who was only too happy to take both of them. Apparently Piccolo and Picasso are now the talk of their new neighbourhood with everyone wanting to come and play with them. No surprise really, considering how wonderful they were.
The next group of cats brought into us from the farm were not so friendly, however. There were two young adult females, a tortie called Marmalade and a grey cat called Misty, both of which were very nervous of people. Accompanying them were four 3-month-old kittens. Halo, was a grey male and also very nervous. Jaffa was a beautiful tortoiseshell and Delhi was a grey and white male. Both of these were, like the others, semi-feral. Finally there was Cashmere, a grey semi-longhaired female, who wasn’t quite as timid as the rest.

We knew it would take a lot of time and effort to socialise these cats and so it proved. Not surprisingly, Cashmere was the first to become slightly more friendly and we managed to home her within a few weeks. The others, however, proved more troublesome and it became apparent that the two older cats, who we presume were the mothers, were going to remain semi-feral and were becoming far too protective of their offspring.  

At this stage we decided it was time to get them homed. Obviously they couldn’t go into a domestic environment but would have to be outdoor cats. Luckily enough we knew a very nice farmer in Dromore who had taken ferals from us before and he recommended his friend. Luckily, he was only too happy to take them on and we delivered them down that weekend. That left the three kittens.

Almost immediately there was an improvement. Halo, who had been hiding behind his mother up until now, got brave and allowed us to stroke him. In fact, he started to enjoy it even licking our hands. He had come around so much we got him homed shortly after.

It took a while longer for Jaffa and Delhi to be homed, even though they had now become more used to humans. Jaffa, was definitely the more sociable. Delhi, was still very cautious even up to the time he left us. Nonetheless, after a lot of time and effort, the wild bunch were all eventually re-homed. It was a lot of work but it was well worth it in the end.       

In Spring, a little tabby cat came to us. He had been in a car accident and, unfortunately, had to have his leg amputated. The vet had contacted us to see if we could find a home for him.

Clover, as we called him, had just recovered from the operation and hadn’t got used to the fact that he no longer had all four legs. He was such a sorry sight, at first. He was completely incapable of balancing and would fall over backwards or go around in circles every time he tried to get up. It was obvious he was finding it very difficult and frustrating. Clearly, there was no way we would even attempt to home him until he had got accustomed to his predicament.

Two of our trustees kept him in their spare bedroom, trying to encourage him to stand up and move around as much as possible. After a week or so he began to get used to his situation and he stopped being depressed.

At this stage he should have been ready for being re-homed but our trustees had taken a particular liking for the wee beastie as had Raisin (see Cats in a Hot Tin Roof article), another male rescue cat who lived in the household and who seemed to like the idea of another male cat about the place. So instead they decided to keep him. It turned out to be a very good decision.
Almost immediately Clover and Raisin became the best of mates, play-fighting and chasing each other all over the house.

Amazingly, clover is now the quickest cat in the house and is just like a blur of fur when he scoots in and out and darts up and down the stairs. From being a very depressed cat he is now a very happy if somewhat boisterous cat.