It’s a Thursday afternoon, and Tania and I have journeyed to rural Carmarthenshire to visit the home of Bev, a dedicated volunteer with Cat Rescue West Wales, who is our charity of the year through 2024-2025.

As we relax with a much-needed cup of tea, Bev shares the story of this small but highly effective charity. Cat Rescue West Wales is run by Jane Belson and a team of volunteers/foster carers and serves the Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion areas and is completely run by volunteers. Their main mission is to Trap, Neuter, and Release feral and stray cats, although sometimes, that’s not always possible.

The foster carers take in some cats or kittens, nurse them back to health, and then offer them for adoption to their forever homes. Unfortunately, some of the cats they are called out to are in awful conditions and some are so severe that the only humane option is euthanasia, which Bev emphasizes is always a last resort.

The statistics Bev shares are stark. They rescue an average of 670 cats a year. That’s just from this one charity; there are several others in these counties also working to rescue cats, so this number is only a small fraction of the cat population in West Wales.

We are a country of cat lovers, the charity, Cat Protection reported that there were over 620,000 owned cats in Wales in 2023, which is a higher percentage than any of the other nations in the UK. The majority of these cats (190,000) were taken in as strays/feral, or taken on from friends/family/neighbours.

A female cat can produce numerous kittens over her lifetime, and they will also reproduce. It’s a staggering figure, reported here that in seven years, one female cat and her offspring can produce an incredible 370,000 kittens!

There is an ongoing neutering program that helps cat owners neuter and microchip their cats for only £5, Bev encourages everyone to speak to their vets about this. If you own a farm or smallholding with feral cat colonies in either Ceredigion or Carmarthenshire, this is where Cat Rescue West Wales can help you, feel free to contact them for help. Microchipping will become a legal requirement for all cats in England as of the 10th of June 2024. This is not yet compulsory in Wales, but this is currently under review.

Bev shows us around her home, where rescue cats occupy nearly every corner. Foster carers are provided with food and vet bill coverage (which the charity reports runs at around £6,000 a month!) but often subsidize these expenses themselves. Bev is no exception; she has a mobile catio in her conservatory for cats that need special, round-the-clock care.

Upstairs, her spare bedroom has been transformed into a nursery for a beautiful cat and her five kittens. Found abandoned, the mother and babies are doing well. The mother will be neutered once ready, and the kittens will be up for adoption when they are old enough.

In her garden, there is another catio currently housing two feral boys who will stay until they can be rehomed.

As we chat about their volunteer-run charity shop in Whitland, Bev’s rescue pig, Aveline joins us, showing that her love for animals extends beyond just cats!

It’s been a privilege to learn more about this wonderful charity, which we’ve chosen to support as our charity of the year.

As two avid cat lovers, we’re pleased to contribute in any way we can to help these incredible women with their huge hearts and compassion.

If you’d like to help, please consider donating to their Amazon Wish List, visiting their shop in Whitland, or checking their website to learn how you can support them or become a volunteer.

All about Cat Rescue West Wales…….

We are a volunteer run Cat Rescue (Registered charity 1178615 in 2018) who take in and rehome abandoned cats and also feral kittens which are socialised before rehoming. We operate “trap neuter release” where we assist in trapping and neutering programmes of feral colonies and farm cats. Where feral cats cannot stay where they are, they are rehomed on suitable smallholdings, stables or farms. We are a small charity operating in Ceridigion and Carmarthenshire. Contact Here.