A Spring Rollercoaster

8th April 2026

Since our last blog, we’ve been on an emotional rollercoaster with some real ups and
downs here at Heatons Cats.

A Flurry of Re-homing
We bid a fond farewell to Tango’s two litters, totalling 12 kittens who were all
successfully rehomed and have settled in beautifully with their new families which we
all love to see.
Incredible Mum Tango was also sent off to her forever family home. Having been spayed
while she was with us, her mothering duties are now complete and she herself can
enjoy being the centre of attention with all the fuss and love that she very much
deserves.

Our little fighter!
In the last update we told you about Josie’s new litter of 5, Pringle, Pretzel, Skip, Peanut
and Twiglet who had been born just days after Mum arrived. All kittens were doing well
but little Twiglet seemed to be struggling to put weight on. During a vet check it was
discovered that he had a condition called Funnel Chest, where his rib cage was curving
inwards rather than out, a life-threatening condition which required surgery.
Vets 4 Pets worked to reshape his little ribs and expand his chest cavity so his heart and
lungs have the room they need. The surgery went well, and Twiglet was sent home with
one of our fosterers, bandaged up and a bit wobbly. Although he’s still extremely
vulnerable, under the care of his Foster Mum Zoe he’s now putting on weight after being
bottled fed and weaned and is learning how to groom himself and play, with lots of
cuddles, naps and purring too of course!
There’s no doubt he’s a fighter and he has all of us rooting for him but the cost of the
treatment so far, and what’s yet to follow, are significant which is why we’ve started a
fundraiser for Twiglet. With many tests, x-rays and further surgery to come, the aim is a
full recovery so he can go on to lead a normal healthy life.
If you’d like to help, we’d be forever grateful, as would he, you can donate via our Social
Media pages, or find our bank and Paypal details right here on the website.

Wonderful news!
Our March Jumble and Bake Sale at St Paul’s in Heaton Moor was a success, and one of
our busiest yet with so many new faces coming to support us which was brilliant to see!

We made over £500 from the Jumble and Bake Sale combined and it was great to see
everyone and catch up too.
Our next event is Sunday 17th May 2-4pm at St Pauls Church Hall, Heaton Moor so make
sure to come and join us if you can. Incredible bargains to be had in the Jumble Sale as
well as a huge selection of delicious home-made cakes.

With sadness…
In April, one of our adult residents, a lovely gentle black cat called Minnie became
suddenly ill and deteriorated rapidly. The team at Vets 4 Pets responded quickly with
various tests, scans and meds but disappointingly, she just didn’t respond. It was
suspected that she may have Lymphoma and very sadly, she was put to sleep.
We rarely lose cats and do anything and everything we can to save them but
unfortunately, as hard as it is to come to terms with, it is sometimes unavoidable.
Minnie was accompanied and cuddled in a soft blanket by two of our team as she
drifted off to sleep. A sad day.

A Storm Dave Rescue
The newest arrival here is Storm, rescued by two of our team during Storm Dave over the
Easter weekend. Storm’s situation was critical given the weather and the fact that she
was found in someone’s garden giving birth to kittens which meant they were all
extremely vulnerable. Tabby babies Raiden, Sora, Indra and Anan are all now safely
snuggled up together in the Mother & Baby unit alongside their lovely Mum, Storm.

Local Generosity
Huge thanks to Richer Sounds who very kindly donated a TV Screen and wall bracket for
our refurbished charity shop. The screen will display essential information about the
charity, what we do, our upcoming events, how people can help and support us and
obviously, updates about our cats and the adoption process. This will be a huge help in
raising awareness for the charity and we were over the moon when Josh at Richer
Sounds Head Office helped us to get this request approved. The local team at the
Stockport branch, several of who are cat owners themselves, were super pleased to be
supporting our charity!
We were also very touched to discover that Phoenix Running Manchester very kindly
donated £100 to us. The money was raised at their Bumblebee Run in Woodbank Park,
Stockport on Good Friday.
If you or someone you know would like to fundraise for us by completing a charity run,
triathlon, three peaks challenge or whatever you fancy doing, it all helps make a huge
difference and we’d be forever grateful.

Current Residents
As well as the kittens and Mums, we also have a number of incredibly lovely adult cats
who are looking for their forever homes. Our adult cats can also sometimes involve
challenges but they are always much loved by our team and provide us with lots of
funny and adorable stories. You can see the cats we have available for adoption at any
time here on the website. Currently these include Toby, Mabel and Heinz, who’s window
antics you can keep up to date with over on our social media pages.
Also with us still is lovely Carrie who unfortunately has a frustratingly persistent case of
Ringworm that so far, has unfortunately not completely cleared. She has been isolated
from all other cats here while her third round of treatment, which is now more extensive,
continues under the care of Vets 4 Pets.

Thanks for reading, we told you it’s been an emotional rollercoaster! It’s all part and
parcel, some challenges along the way but lots of wins too, which is what keeps us
going!

The Heatons Cats Team x