RSPCA Friends of West Hatch Newsletter Autumn-Winter 2018 | issue 15 | Page 2

Welcome!
Dear friends, these next three pages
are put here to give you a sense of
what our group achieves. As you may
know, the Friends of West Hatch was
set up to support the work of the
centre. The group is run by a small
but dedicated committee that brings
a range of different skills together
to benefit animals. Our meetings are
usually held on a Monday evening
and involve updates about the centre,
discussions about animal welfare, and
decisions on the best ways for the group to
help the animals at the centre. If you would
like to take a more active role in helping
animals, why not join the Friends – or ask
about joining the committee. Enthusiastic
volunteers are always needed!
True friends
to the animals
2018 has been a busy year for the Friends of
West Hatch who have supported the Centre
with a number of purchases to help the
animals in our care.
In recent months the Friends paid for five
new Guinea pig runs to replace the rather
dilapidated ones that we had been using
for years. These offer healthy Guinea pigs
the chance to spend time outside on grass
in the day, getting both a natural diet and
plenty of room to roam around in.
Our vets Sophie and David have found
their surgical work greatly enhanced by
the purchase of a Doppler blood pressure
kit. This equipment allows them to more
easily monitor rabbit, ferret and other
small animal anaesthetics and ensure our
animals – especially those older or unstable
ones – stay safe during operations and other
procedures.
Friends have also supported cats and rabbits
through the purchase of dividers for their
respective pens. These allow us to control
the privacy levels of different animals and
help manage stress levels of very nervous
animals in a much more effective way. As we
have a high intake of nervous animals in the
centre it makes a huge difference that we
can offer them a greater sense of safety and
security as they settle into the routines of
the Centre.
Another great addition to the cattery has
been the purchase of ‘feline forts’. These give
cats and kittens a choice of places to hide
and to snooze, all of which are easily kept
clean – so ideal for the general population
of the cattery as well as isolation.
For many years now we have had a small
fenced area of grass outside our main
kitchen and kennel block which was
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