RSPCA Friends of West Hatch Newsletter Summer 2018 | issue 14 | Page 9

Enriching lives
in the cattery
Here at West Hatch we like to use our
imagination to make interesting enrichment
for the animals by recycling everyday items.
In August our cat isolation unit was filled
with two mums and the ten kittens they
had between them. They had arrived at the
centre in poor condition after being found
in a hedge and unfortunately we quickly
established they were suffering from a rare
type of ringworm. All of them had to start
a lengthy course of treatment and spent
many months with us.
Life can be quite boring in the cattery,
especially for young cats, so during their
time with us we attempted to give them
something new to explore everyday. We
made cardboard towers out of boxes and
activity feeders from toilets rolls and empty
chocolate boxes. We gave them trays of
dried leaves, egg boxes, paper bags and hung
herbs up in their pen. They found everything
and anything exciting because it was all new
to them.
Thankfully after being successfully treated
they have all gone off to new homes but
we still continue to come up with ideas to
enrich the lives of animals in our care.
So next time you go to throw something
away please take a moment to think about
whether it can made into something new
and exciting for your own pet.
was seen alive and well on Heligoland on
10th September 2017. Heligoland is a small
German archipelago in the North Sea. In the
six years between release and this sighting it
will have travelled thousands of miles in and
around the North Sea and likely down along
the West African coast returning to its natal
site to breed in the last year or two. These
positive ring returns make all the effort
worthwhile, knowing that this bird is living a
normal gannet existence due to the care of
the team at the wildlife centre.
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