In a captivating conversation with Barbara Read, the visionary founder of Feline Friends, Jill Eckersley delves into the firsthand experiences gained from leading a London-based cat rescue organisation.
We all do our very best for the cats in our lives. We take care of our own, contribute
to feline charities when we can…and some of us really do go the extra mile. How does
it feel to get an emergency call and go out, perhaps at night, in the rain and the
cold, armed with a trap and a can of tuna? Someone who knows is Londoner Barbara Read,
who founded Hackney-based cat rescue Feline Friends back in 2013, and
- helped by her team of fosterers
- has been offering sanctuary to feral, stray and unwanted cats ever since.
“I never give up on a rescue,” Barbara says. “I’m a life-long animal lover, but my mum didn’t like cats and I was only able to have one of my own in 2008. Shola was a friend’s cat who was going to have to be returned to Mayhew in West London when my friend could no longer look after her. I took Shola in a split second and I suppose that was when it all started. I became aware of all the cats who had nowhere to go. At first, I had help from the RSPCA, Battersea, Mayhew and Cats Protection, but then I started to get my own group of fosterers together. Battersea kindly gave us grants to get equipment, I was trained in using traps in 2013 and have been doing it ever since!”
PATIENCE
It won’t come as any surprise to hear that the secret of a successful rescue is… patience!
“I might have to stay all day,” Barbara admits. “Good observation, and knowledge of
how cats behave, is important as well. One of my earliest rescues was a mum and six
kittens in Fulham. I took annual leave from my job and ended up sitting on a chair
with two traps, with their doors held by string, waiting for the cats to get hungry
and be tempted by a nice meal! I believe manual traps are better because you are in
control, and you don’t accidentally trap squirrels or foxes or someone else’s cat
by mistake. If you manage to trap kittens, mum will go into the cage after them. In
that first case with Dorothy and her ‘rainbow kittens’ - all colours -
we did the trapping in stages, but eventually caught them all and I took them home.
Once we have them safely, they are vet checked, and will be fostered by one of the
team before being neutered and found forever homes. If they are really feral cats
we find country homes for them. I have a hospital pen at home bec
