Nor'West News: March 25, 2021

10 Thursday March 25 2021
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
NOR’WEST NEWS
Helping cats live out their nine
• By Bea Gooding
JOYCE LATHAM never grew up
with a pet.
But when a furry feline invited
itself into her family home one
day her relationship with cats
changed forever.
Now, the president of the Cats
Protection League Canterbury is
the proud owner of six cats, most
of whom have special needs.
And for the past 13 years, she
has been on a mission to save as
many cats in the city as possible.
“My family didn’t have cats,
but a cat walked in once and
from there, I became very much
a cat person,’’ said the Bryndwr
resident.
It was not difficult to foster
her own felines, she said, having
plenty of experience running a
cattery herself with usually 40 to
50 cats at a time.
The league rescue, rehabilitate
and rehome stray and
abandoned cats, and provide assistance
to those who could not
afford to desex their cats through
its Feline Fix programme.
Desexing your cat, particularly
tomcats, was crucial to help reduce
the rate of feline AIDS and
decrease the number of kittens
being brought into places like the
league.
About 50 volunteers came in
once a week to help out in the
cattery, office and shop, as well
as about four managers who
worked there regularly.
They also often found new
homes for cats that could no
longer be looked after, such as an
owner who was moving into a
retirement home.
Last year, the league rehomed
535 cats and kittens.
But it did not stop there – the
protection league provides emergency
cat food assistance and for
unexpected vet bills as well.
“Sometimes their own cats
have had kittens and we do take
them in when approached to
help rehome them,” Latham said.
“There are enough cats in
Christchurch and Canterbury
to go well around all of the organisations,
we’ve actually got a
MISSION:
Joyce Latham
with Hope
who has
found a new
home.
PHOTO:
GEOFF SLOAN
waiting list.”
Its second-hand shop in Linwood
was also a vital part of the
fundraising efforts, especially
with no government funding.
All store proceeds went towards
work to help the felines of
Canterbury.
When she is not reading or
gardening at home, Latham
volunteers her time feeding the
cats and acts as the matchmaker
when facilitating the rehoming
process.
After leaving a government
office job, she decided to dedicate
most of her energy to the league
and has done so since 2007.
“I like to match appropriate
cats to people with cats that suit
them,” she said.
“Some of them are a little older
or have special needs and need
medication, but we just talk with
people about what the cats are
like; their personalities.”
With so many success stories,
it was hard for Latham to pick
a particular instance that impacted
her the most.
But on the protection league’s
website, there were endless pages
of updates and photos from
owners on how their little furry
friend was getting along in their
new forever home.
There was one case where a lost
cat was brought into the cattery
and eventually reunited with its
owner after four years thanks to
its microchip.
Said Latham: “It’s why all of
us volunteer. When people give
feedback and say how the cats
have settled down, how much
they love them, it’s a constant
reward to know you’ve done a really
good job of helping to match
them up.