Mary Millar’s story appears in the MAIL ON SUNDAY newspaper…
Mary
Former Cats Protection charity volunteer Mary Millar came to Featureworld to expose how the organisation has made cuts to its services – despite receiving a record income.
After speaking to Mary, and putting her in touch with the Mail On Sunday, the newspaper did its own investigation and discovered while Cats Protection – one of the UK’s best loved animal charities – receives £62million a year in donations and from investments, it has reduced spending on its frontline services by more than £3million.
Yet despite the cuts, its chief executive earns over £100,000 a year and spending on staff has increased.
Mary, along with other volunteers, was dismayed and upset that seven Cats Protection branches have recently been closed down, ironically, they claim, because they were saving too many cats.
The volunteers say cuts have been made that mean fewer cats are being neutered, cats are put down rather than fork out on vet’s fees and the budget for vaccines has been reduced so cats are no longer immunised against some key infections.
Much of the information about Cats Protection’s less desirable practices – such as the payment of its chief executive, closing of its branches, reducing the vaccines and neutering reductions – can be found within its own accounts and emails and notices distributed to its branches.
Mary, who along with all the contributors did not ask for any money and was not paid, is now campaigning for better laws to stop animals being ill treated. You can go to her website here: www.petsprotectionleague.org
After the story appeared in The Mail On Sunday, Mary said: “Thank you Alison so much for your help and support.”
As animal-lovers, Featureworld specialises in pet stories. In the past we have exposed the truth about the veterinary system: Why I’m ashamed to be a vet and the pet food industry: Is the pet food you’re feeding killing your four-legged friend? (and making your vet rich?)
Meanwhile, if you have a story about a pet – or charity you would like to be investigated by a top national newspaper, then contact us in confidence using the form to the right of this page…
I was with the cats protection waveny branch for four years as ferol officer my district was a fifty mile area and most of the time I worked alone I have four diary’s that I kept a record on the sites I did and strays , kittens were taken in by me and a few friends tamed and rehomed as time went on help got less and less do to poor coordination. As I had a friend wanting to set up I think they thought she was making money from the cats that were rehomed by her but as they were not rehoming she did a better job hense I have had to finish as I now have no funding on my own she is now with rspca so sad as I have prob done nearly 400 in that 5 time regards Brenda
After a Cat adopted myself I approached the local Kilmarnock Branch of Cats Protection. I found three ladies through work, family comittments and bureaucracy from Cats Protections’s Head Office, struggling to home more than 60 cats per year. After a short period as a volunteer even though I was seriously ill I was requested by CP to consider to take over as local Co-Ordinator. Supported by these local members we easily doubled membership over-night and then on average homed 240 cats per annum the next two years. During this period The Feral Officer took her redundancy, we purchased a 2nd van and between her, my daughter and myself we were doing full time hours voluntarily. The Branch was not only homing but we were dealing with 300% more cats through welfare, neutering, fundraising, speaking presentations, etc. The Branch was then put on Hold official reason:- I was Seriously ill. They knew that three years earlier yet placed us on hold till a new Co-ordinator could be found.This was for several years even though attempts and approaches were made by well educated and reliable individuals to fill this position.
I feel the real reason we were placed on hold was my continual questions on how the money was distriputed from Head Office. Particularly when two CP Executives were sent up to Scotland to congratulate us on our 1st years success and explain why I could not go on a TV show representing CP. They were more interested in telling us what sights they were going to see whilst they were in Scotland. A Jolly paid by CP to individuals paid too much a big difference between the paid and voluntary sector of CP. These were my endless quibs particularly when the membership is kept at an incorrect high so that the voluntary to paid sector looks small. If the figures were correct 25%+ of the staff are actually paid. A figure CP would refute as they are proud of their voluntary side. The public need to know when donating how much in each £1 actually goes to the cats. Ask CP and you get a load of waffle then a page of percentages and figures. It’s time they went back to basics with the charity and remember what it was set up for.
The Daily Mail is a horrible rag and nothing it prints should ever be taken at face value. I direct you toward’s CP’s response on their website: http://www.cats.org.uk/news/setting-the-record-straight
Hello. That response by CP has already been discussed in depth a number of weeks ago on this very website here: https://www.featureworld.co.uk/blog/putting-some-facts-straight-to-cats-protection/
Also please be aware that there has been no complaint to the paper or Featureworld from CP about any aspect of this article at all. I will be unable to post any more from you as your post here is bordering on being abusive.
Unfortunately Featureworld is unable to put any more anonymous comments on this post from individuals just giving their first name or names such as mermaid eyes. If you want to make a comment, then you must be like me – Alison Smith-Squire – and that is named and identified.
I adopted a ‘sponsored’ cat from Cats Protection back in 2012. I was led to believe that all vets fees would be paid for by Cats Protection and all I had to provide was food ,love and shelter. However my cat has stomatitis which flares up from time to time and CP do pay the vets bill for that but my cat recently had a bad chill and was sneezing a lot, he is also FIV so sneezing etc is a bigger deal to an FIV cat. I contacted the vets and they wanted to see him but before I could book an appointment I needed permission from CP as he was a sponsored cat and they needed to approve payment. I asked on last Saturday but it took until late evening today (Wednesday) to be told that they are only paying for the stomatitis and nothing else. Not what I was led to believe back in 2012 when I first took him on. I saw this on the CP Welwyn/Hatfield branch website about their sponsored cats. Surely this applies nationwide as this is a national organisation? This also ties in with what I was told back in 2012 but my local CP are trying to weasel out of that agreement.
Sponsored Cats
sponsored catWithin our branch we care for a small number of ‘Sponsored Cats’. Can you, or do you know of anyone who could help look after one?
A sponsored cat is a cat that is either too elderly to be homed or is on constant medication. The branch will supply or fund any medication, food, cat litter and toys. All we ask is that any care and love are given freely! This enables us to give one of these elderly or sick cats a comfortable and loving home for the rest of their days rather than spending their last weeks or months fending for themselves in the cold or wet outside as a stray.
These cats will nearly always need to remain indoors with a litter tray. If they are elderly they don’t want to go out in the cold or have to fight with other younger more dominant cats in the neighbourhood and if they are unwell we don’t want them either spreading infection to other cats or picking up other illness because they have a weak immune system.
We will always help where we can…but we can only help if people let us know there is a cat in need!
Please contact us on 0345 371 1855 if you can help us care for a sponsor cat.