Sandown Illuminated Carnival

Look out for the 'Cat in the Hat'

We have decided to enter Sandown's Illuminated Carnival tomorrow. This will help to further promote the good work that we do here at the Isle of Wight, Cats Protection Adoption Centre. In previous years Sandown Illuminated Carnival has been cursed with bad weather but we are hoping to have a good night tomorrow so fingers crossed everyone!

Please come along to support us and the carnival. The procession moves off at 9pm from the bottom of the High Street.

Adopters we need you!

100 cats and kittens in need of homes

Currently were are inundated with cats and kittens in need of homes. We also have a full waiting list of cats to come into the centre to be re-homed. Every day we are having to turn away cats and kittens because there is just no room at the inn! 

If you are thinking of adopting a cat then please come and see us here at the Isle of Wight Adoption Centre. Cats Protection staff are on hand to give advice and information about the cats in our care. All of our cats are checked by our vet, vaccinated, neutered, micro-chipped and come with 4 weeks free Pet Plan insurance. If one of our cats is lucky enough to be chosen, our Receptionist will ask you to complete a short questionnaire. The information will be useful for carrying out the home visit, prior to adoption. 

Not every cat will suit your specific environment. We carry out a home visit to ensure that we find a cat which fits your circumstances. Home visits are also a chance for you to ask questions and discuss the 'ins and outs' of homing a Cats Protection cat.

To find out more about adopting from us then please visit our website. Please feel free to contact us our telephone number is 01983 562609. Our address is 122 Marlborough Road, Ryde, Isle of Wight, PO33 1AW.

Ex-CP cat gets down in the shower

Cats Protection staff member Alex Harrison, adopted a young ginger male from the National Cat Adoption Centre in Haywards Heath last week. Little did she know that 'Mojo' had a little secret: an unusual fondness for showers.

Take a look at this video taken earlier this week.

Ryde Main Carnival

The Cat in the Hat wins first prize

What a fantastic evening we had last Saturday when we entered Ryde's Main Carnival and we came away with first prize. Many thanks to everyone who came along and supported us on the night. A special thank you to everyone who took part and helped us win our category. Lots of staff members, friends and volunteers of the adoption centre took part. Thank you must also be said to Gina one of the staff at Cats Protection for making the fantastic life sized version of the Cat in the Hat.


We have been working hard this week in preparation for Ryde Illuminated Carnival and we have some more surprises up our sleeves to make this entry even better than the last. Ryde Carnivals are a great way to spread the good word about Cats Protection and also a lot of fun as well. Currently we have 100 cats and kittens desperately needing homes. If you would like to adopt a cat or know someone who might then please get in contact with us. For more information about adopting from us then please visit our website.

Don't forget to look out for us again the Illuminated Carnival is on Saturday 3rd September . The procession moves off at 8.30pm.

Cats in need of some fun!

Cat toys and scratching post donations welcome 

We are in desperate need of some more cat toys and scratching posts for the cats and kittens in our care. If you have any spare toys or scratching posts that your cat doesn't use we would be so grateful if you could donate them to us. Or if you know of anyone that does have some spare please let them know. It is a very busy time for us here at the adoption as it's kitten season and at this time of year these items are needed more than ever. 

Giving the cats fun activities to do will make them happier and they will find homes more quickly. It is also important that we give our kittens lots of socialisation and giving them cat toys and scratching post is all part of this learning process.  

We are open everyday from 11am-3pm. Our address is 122 Marlborough Road, Ryde, Isle of Wight, PO33 1AW. Our telephone number is 01983 562609, please do get in contact with us.  

Ryde Children's Carnival

Cat in the Hat

On Friday we entered Ryde's childrens carnival as 'Cat in the Hat'. Sadly we didn't win a prize but a great time was had by all involved. A big thank you to everyone who took part and to everyone who came out to watch the procession. The photo on the left shows Deputy Manager Jo and her son Frank dressed up as cats in hats!

On Saturday we also took part in Ryde's Main Carnival. We will be putting up photos of evening on our blog within the next few days.

Please look out for us at Ryde Illuminated Carnival on September 3rd. The procession moves off at 8.30pm. 

Urgent Appeal

Toby and Snowy - Two young, playful boys

Toby and Snowy have been here at the adoption centre for along time and we have no idea why! They are two gorgeous, playful, fun-loving boys in need of a home together. Toby and Snowy were paired together from separate litters after all of their other litter mates went to homes.

They were both lonely and needed a friend and now they are inseparable.These two boys would love a home with a garden to explore. All they want is too feel the grass between their toes.

They have been in care almost their whole life and they are both a year old now. Toby is also very special because he is polydactyl which means that he has extra toes. We think that this is awesome! Please, please, please come to the centre to and meet these two adorable lads.

They are desperate to find a home and they could be the ideal family cats for you. Please contact us on 01983 562609 if you are interested in adopting Toby and Snowy. We are open everyday from 11am-3pm so please ask to visit these two!

Stop breeding kittens on the Isle of Wight

We are currently being inundated with calls to take in cats and kittens. We are trying to help as many as we can, there are too many kittens and not enough homes.

Please come and adopt a cat and help us give unwanted cats and kittens a future.

Ryde Carnival

Cat in the Hat

It's carnival time again and this year we are entering into Ryde children's, main and illuminated carnivals as 'Cat in the Hat'. We have been making preparations all week in anticipation of the children's carnival on Friday 19th August. 

Every year we select a cat theme from literature or television. In previous years we have entered as The Pink Panther, Big Cat Diary and Tigger to name a few. This year will be our own interpretation of the Dr. Seuss classic. Construction has been completed on our 4ft tall cat, complete with hat!

Look out for us at Ryde's carnivals this year. 

Ryde Children's Carnival - Friday 19th August, 2.45pm.

Ryde Main Carnival - Saturday 20th August, 6.30pm.

Ryde Illuminated Carnival - Saturday 3rd September, 8.30pm.

The Precious Diaries

The final chapter

In the last installment we told you how well Precious seemed to be doing. Unfortunately over the last few days she started to take a turn for the worse, and eventually stopped eating completely. Fiona, our vet, saw Precious at the centre on Monday morning and decided that she should be taken to the surgery for further tests that afternoon. We dropped Precious off soon after, not knowing what the outcome would be. 

Later that afternoon we received a call to say that Precious was ready to collect, along with her long list of new medications. Whilst at the surgery, a further blood test was taken which revealed that Precious was anaemic, and possibly had Lymphoma. The various medications we were given for her were an appetite stimulant, an antibiotic, and two liquid suspensions to try and settle her stomach in the hope that she would start to eat again. She had her first appetite stimulant that evening.

When we arrived in the morning we were dismayed to find that she had not eaten anything over night, and it was clear that her illness had defeated her. The decision was made that it would be kinder that Precious was put to sleep. She went really peacefully, and we will all miss her.

An update on our resident cats

CJ - gone to kitty heaven 

Today was a very sad day for all the staff here at the adoption centre. Resident cat CJ was put to sleep by our vet Fiona this afternoon. CJ had been a resident at the centre for a few years and had become a much loved character and he will be sadly missed. CJ will be particularly missed by Deputy Manager Jo who had a soft spot for CJ as he would often sit on Jo's lap whilst she was doing paperwork. 

When CJ first arrived at the centre he was accompanied by another cat named Harriet. CJ and Harriet arrived at the centre after their elderly owner sadly passed away. Harriet had a thyroid condition but was luckily taken home by an ex Cats Protection member of staff. CJ had an old injury and damaged tendons in his back leg which gave him a limp. He soon became a resident which meant that he now lived at the adoption centre as nobody came forward to offer him a home.

Recently we had started to notice that CJ was struggling to move around on his back legs and he had developed a large bloated stomach which indicated that he had a tumour. We made the decision this morning that for his best interest it was CJ's time to go to kitty heaven. He went very peacefully and his body has been taken to pets at rest to be cremated. He is finally at peace and we will spread his ashes in our gardens. He is gone but his memory will live on in us all forever. Goodnight CJ we hope you are at peace now.

Polly - a sweet old lady

Polly another resident cat of ours has been under the weather at the moment as well. We had noticed that Polly has been rapidly loosing weight over the last few weeks. At her last weigh in she weighed a mere 1.7kg which is extremely light for an adult cat. She had also become very dehydrated and lethargic.

We took Polly down the veterinary surgery this morning so that they could perform some tests to find out if there was any underlying health issues. A blood test revealed that she has a kidney problem and a T4 (Thyroxine) thyroid test revealed that she also has a thyroid problem. Polly will now be on medication everyday in the hope that she will gain weight again and become stronger.

We will continue to update you on how Polly is doing, we are all hoping that she will start to improve. We could do with having more luck with our residents after the events of today.

Feeding, health checking and admitting cats

Staff training day

Today all of the Cat Care Assistants took part in a training day. Dawn Gibson the training officer for Cats Protection came to the centre to observe and train the staff. We were instructed on feeding the cats, cleaning out the cat pens and how to thoroughly health check and admit a cat.

Although most of the staff are very experienced it is always beneficial to have a refresh on these important aspects of the job. Some cats require different dietary needs due to health problems and depending on the age of the cat they also need to be fed the correct food. The separate sections of the adoption centre require different cleaning routines. High risk areas like maternity and isolation units have to be 'barrier' cleaned. This means that protective clothing like gloves, aprons, shoe covers and arm sleeves need to be changed between each pen when we are cleaning.

Health checking a cat when it first arrives at the adoption centre is extremely important. During health checks any health issues like possible cat flu or ringworm can be detected straight away and the cat can be isolated to prevent the problem from spreading to other cats. When we health check the cats we have to look inside the cats mouth, inside the cats ears, we check the cats eyes, nose, body, tail, claws, joints, skin and coat condition. We also check the sex of the cat, weigh the cat, scan for a microchip and perform a wood lamp test for ringworm. Many different things can be observed from these health checks and if we for example find the the cat has fleas, ticks, lice or ear mites we can administer the correct treatment for the problem.

Bath time for Alice

Today we had to give Alice one of our a beautiful kittens a bath. Surprisingly Alice rather enjoyed being towelled down at the end to dry her off. We took a video of this earlier and thought we would share it with everyone on here. She put her legs up in the air and started purring. If only all cats were this well behaved at bath time, it would make our lives a lot easier.

Tia - young, playful and beautiful

Please pick me, why have I been here so long? 

How can you resist Gorgeous Tia's stunning yellow eyes? Tia has been here at the adoption centre for six months. Tia and all the staff here at the centre have no idea why no one has shown an interest in her. She is a young, beautiful and playful girl. She is also very friendly and loves attention she would make an excellent family cat. 

Tia is beginning to wonder whether she will ever get a home, she sees lots of kittens and other cats go to homes every week. As its kitten season at the moment often the adult cats get overlooked. Sometimes people are superstitious of black cats, Tia thinks this is nonsense and she is a lucky black cat! 

Cat Care Assistant Emily spent twenty four hours locked up in Tia's pen to raise money for the adoption centre. During the night Tia snuggled up to Emily, Tia would love to cuddle up to someone every night.  

Please can you help? If you are interested in coming to visit Tia please contact the adoption centre on 01983 562609. We are open everyday from 11am-3pm. Our address is 122 Marlborough Road, Ryde, Isle of Wight, PO33 1AW. 

The Precious Diaries - Part 2

The Precious Diaries - Part 2

Precious has been in our care for a week now, and she is doing well. For the first few days she was kept in her accident cage to try and let her rest up, but she was eager to try and get out to have a walk about, before getting bored and going back to bed! Although she has still been weeing herself a bit, we have been very pleased to see that she has actually been using her litter tray as well! And we were even happier when she finally managed to do a poo, as we had been told that she had not had one for the five days before she came to us. She still doesn't seem to have too much of an appetite, so we have been trying to encourage her with different types of food.

The staff have been spending lots of time with her since she arrived, and we have been letting her out for little walks every day. After a couple of days she was moving about a lot more, and was able to walk a lot faster with less wobbling too. We decided to give her the extra large accident cage so she had a bit more space to exercise her legs, and now she stands up and "miaows" to greet you when you enter the room. The air underneath her skin has also started to go down a bit, so we are hoping that soon it will all have gone and she will be back to her normal shape and size. Although she is improving there is still a long way to go until she makes a full recovery, and she will never go back to how she was before. When she is well enough, she will also have her tail amputated as it now gets dragged behind her where she can no longer feel it.

The Precious Diaries - Part 1

The Precious Diaries - Part 1

On Thursday last week we received a phone call from the RSPCA, to say that their vets had admitted a cat after it had been in an accident on the road. The cat was scanned and the microchip revealed that it was an ex Cats Protection cat, who had been homed from us two years ago. Mel and Emily went straight over to collect her, and on arrival were told that she had been run over, leaving her unable to control her bladder and unable to use her back legs properly.
We were also told that she had a possible tear in her trachea, leaving a large amount of air trapped underneath her skin.

We transferred her into one of our baskets to take her back to the Centre, where Fiona our vet, was still here after a neutering session. Where she was so swollen it was difficult for us to recognise her straight away, but after checking the microchip details we found out who she was. Her name is Precious,a fourteen year old Black and white female who was homed to Cowes two years ago with her best friend Oscar. We were told that Precious had been straying for the past six months without Oscar.

As soon as we arrived back Fiona was waiting to meet us. Straight away she noticed that Precious had a broken jaw and a possible break to her pelvis or spine. Mel took her over to the surgery immediately for some X-rays and a proper examination.

The X-ray revealed a break in the base of her spine, which has left her tail dead, as well as the slight break in her jaw. She also has Emphysema due to the tear in her Trachea and is unable to control her bladder herself. We were told to keep her comfy, express her bladder for her a few times a day and keep a very close eye on her. Unfortunately at this stage it is just a case of wait and see.

We will continue to post updates on how Precious is doing, so keep an eye out for the next part of the diary.

Kitten socialisation

Kitten socialisation

We currently have over 50 kittens here at the adoption centre and it is very important that we socialise them before they go to new homes. Kittens learn most of their life skills between the age of two to ten weeks. If a kitten misses this crucial period of socialisation it will not be accustomed to being handled and could become aggressive or nervous. Socialising the kittens here at the adoption centre is fundamentally important because kittens can go to homes quicker.

Exposing the kittens to new experiences is vital. We make sure that the kittens have toys to play with and lots of different surfaces and substrates to explore. Hearing different sounds, such as a hoover, a radio and even fireworks all helps the kittens to become used to different sounds that they might experience in a home environment. The photo on the right shows one of the kittens exploring a litter tray that we have filled with cat litter, wood shavings, soil and pebbles. It is also important that the kittens get used to different people and other animals.

The staff here at the adoption centre socialise the kittens every day (if we get a chance). Its not only very important but a lot of fun as well. This photo shows Cat Care Assistant Stacey socialising kittens yesterday.

If you are interested in adopting a cat or kitten from us then please come along to the centre. We are open daily from 11am-3pm. Our address is 122 Marlborough Road, Ryde, Isle of Wight, PO33 1AW. Our telphone number is 01983 562609.

Cat of the month - Holly

Could Holly be the purr-fect cat for you?

Hello there, my name is Holly. When I first arrived at the centre, my mouth was in a horrific state. The vet said that I might not make a full recovery. However, after a lot of dental work, and lots of TLC I am well on my road to recovery. I am ideally looking for a home with an older family, and someone who can give me all the attention I crave. I love to be picked up and cuddled and love my food! I thought that I had a wonderful home to go to once but I was let down at the last minute and I feel rejected. I know that all the staff here at the centre do their best to take care of me but what I really want is a home to call my own. Could I be the purr-fect cat for you?

Holly originally came from East Cowes so she can't be re-homed there but can be re-homed anywhere else on the Isle of Wight. Please come along to the adoption centre to meet this beautiful girl.

We are open daily from 11am-3pm. Our address is 122 Marlborough Road, Ryde, Isle of Wight, PO33 1AW. Or please call us on 01983 562609 we will be very happy to hear from you.

Raising awareness and hand-rearing kittens

Bembridge Village Hall
Yesterday we visited Bembridge Village Hall to raise awareness about Cats Protection. We took a few of the cats along with us. But sadly Boisey, Dora, Khani, Binx and Tia did not find a home on the day. However we have better news this morning Khani has a lovely home to go to! We also raised £383, fantastic job everyone. Thank you to everyone who supported us and helped out on the day.

Hand-rearing kittens

This time of year is extremely busy here at the adoption centre as its kitten season. We currently have over 50 kittens here in our care.

A very special mum cat called Pippa has fostered six orphaned kittens. The staff here have been helping Pippa out by giving the kittens regular milk feeds. This photo shows Cat Care Assistant Holly Cluitt feeding the kittens this morning.

If you think you could offer one of our many cats and kittens a home please get in contact with us. To find out more about adopting from us please click here.

The adoption centre is open daily from 11am-3pm. Our address is 122 Marlborough Road, Ryde, Isle of Wight, PO33 1AW.

Cats Protection - Isle of Wight new blog

Welcome to the Cats Protection Isle of Wight blog
We will use this space as a diary of our day to day activities. We will include interesting stories, the latest news and upcoming events with an aim to provide an insight into our work here at the adoption centre.

Cat Chat
Tomorrow our staff members and volunteers we be at Bembridge Village Hall for a 'Cat Chat'. Tea and cake will be available whilst our knowledgeable team will provide advice on all things cat related. Several of our cats which are looking for homes will be there for you to meet. We hope that you can make it.

Bembridge Village Hall, 9am-12pm, Tuesday 2nd August.
Free entry

Cat Crisis

We are currently being inundated with calls to take in cats and kittens. We are trying to help as many as we can but there are too many kittens and not enough homes. We have 96 cats and kittens currently looking for homes and we are unable to take any new arrivals. 
We desperately need your help to find homes for them.

The adoption centre is open 11am-3pm daily.