Downe cat rescue left feline good after work from our volunteers

Date:
24 Nov 2023

Five volunteers from our Metering team recently visited Romney House Cat Rescue to help their hardworking team with much needed support for abandoned and feral cats.

Our colleagues spent a day at the Downe-based rescue centre as part of our Community Action Programme, giving our people one day a year to get involved in volunteering activities to make a difference to their community.

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Five women in SGN t-shirts standing on grass, with one holding a white cat while a ginger cat stands next to them.

Romney House Cat Rescue is a sanctuary for unwanted cats and kittens to receive the love, care and attention they need before finding their new homes. As well as rescuing and rehoming, it is also a place for feral cats in the area to be fed and receive shelter from poor weather.

Following a quick tour of the cat houses and gardens, the team got stuck in cleaning, sweeping and reorganising the indoor spaces while learning about some of the cats that had recently arrived.

They were particularly struck by the story of a litter of kittens that had been left on the Romney House driveway with a note to say the owner sadly couldn’t keep them any longer. After being treated for ringworm, the kittens are now thriving.

Our volunteers were later given the opportunity to support the rescue team as they helped socialise the cats and kittens. While some couldn’t wait to play and receive lots of attention, others needed to spend time learning to be around people again without fear following their experiences of abuse and poor care.

We thoroughly enjoyed our day at Romney House Cat Rescue and the whole team left appreciating how hard Silvana, Sharon, Kiera and the teamwork with the constant influx of unwanted felines.

They receive no official government funding, relying heavily on donations and the help of volunteers to keep the centre going. Romney House hosts volunteer days for anyone interested, so if you would like to lend a hand, even just to give the cats some attention, then please get in touch with them.

Natalie Hitchman

Smart Metering Team Leader