This month’s award winner is a hero who heads out to save stray cats.
COMMUNITY CAT
HERO AWARD
This award acknowledges those cat lovers who have gone above and beyond in their communities to make the lives of their local cats better. After we posted an appeal on social media for our online followers to nominate their community cat heroes, we received more than 1,000 nominations from all across the UK, ranging from dedicated cat rescues to individual cat lovers who just try to make a difference in their communities. This month’s Community Cat Hero Award goes to Katie Hayes who runs PawPurrs Halfway House in Manchester.
As a cat sitter, Katie was well known for her love of cats and she was first contacted for help by a local man whose mum had died and her cats had been left to fend for themselves.
When she went round to find the cats, they were in an awful state and one was found to have advanced cancer and was put to sleep. Another, happily, was rehomed by a loving couple and had his happy ending.
LOCKED DOWN
Move to March 2020, the country had been put into lockdown as the covid-19 pandemic took hold of the world, and we were told to stay at home except for essential trips — and luckily, this included cat rescues as Katie had a letter from her solicitor to say her work could continue.
“I was going all around Manchester rescuing cats on my own and I nearly got arrested twice,” she laughed. “I once found a colony of 29 cats and they were all poorly. I had to open accounts with new vets’ to make sure I could get them all treated.”
Making it official, PawPurrs Halfway House was born with the aim of rescuing stray cats and socialising and rehabilitating them before they are appropriately rehomed. Thanks to Katie’s ever-helpful vet teams, all cats are neutered, vaccinated, and given flea and worm treatments before moving to their new homes. No cat is left behind with PawPurrs Halfway House, even those with FIV. “I would never put an FIV cat to sleep just because they have a weakened immune system,” Katie said.
After registering as an official charity in December 2021, Katie gathered even more support for PawPurrs Halfway House, not just from a network of foster carers who help her take care of her cats and kittens, but also her dog Reuben! “He absolutely loves cats, especially kittens and he gives them kisses all the time!”
NOMINATION:
Katie and Pawpurrs were nominated by Devon Rae on Facebook. She said: “Katie Hayes and her volunteers who run PawPurrs Halfway House in Manche
