Former cat adopters sought by local animal shelter for 'Blue Skies' appeal

A busy animal shelter near Shepton Mallet is launching a special appeal to raise funds for a new project.

Happy Landings is a shelter based at Pylle, which cares for over 100 domestic animals and 200 farm animals on its 5 acre site; its latest project, called ‘Blue Skies’, is to build a safe and secure garden space for the numerous felines which currently reside in the centre. The cat community, which can be as many as 30 cats staying in the shelter at one time, do not have regular access to the outside world; they are restricted to staying in their ‘pens’ with allocated exercise periods in the communal areas throughout the day. This means many cats are completely unused to the outside world and it can be a challenging time for their new owners when they are eventually rehomed.

One of the Centre Managers, Lyn Southway, explains, “Creating a garden space will certainly enhance the quality of the lives of our cats, particularly the long-termers, who, for whatever reason, have been difficult to re-home and can be with us for many months, sometimes longer. It will give them, as well as the other rescue cats, daily access to fresh air, with space to explore and climb or just lounge in the sun, while ensuring they are safe and happy.”

Work started on the garden over the Easter weekend, with a space of 11 metres by 6 metres identified for development. A special chain fencing is currently being put up to keep the cats in and other animals out, and other works planned include building a structure to provide shelter from the strong sun and rain, as well as a major replanting project to eliminate any harmful or poisonous plants and create an area in which the cats can play safely.

Lyn added, “We are really lucky that one of our volunteers is donating a lot of his time and labour, however we still need to finance the cost of the materials. The amount we need to raise is in the region of �2,000. If everyone who has ever homed a cat from Happy Landings could give just �5, we would easily reach our goal and be able to deliver the best possible outdoor space for our cats. If there is anyone in business who is interested in supporting the project at a higher level, we would be absolutely delighted to hear from them.”

Happy Landings is appealing directly to current and former adopters to get in touch if they would like to make the small contribution of �5 – this can be done via the website www.happy-landings.org.uk or by sending a cheque.

For further information, please call 01749 860350.