2021 - 2022 TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT
CAT CHAT, the Cat Rescue Resource Registered Charity no 1100649 Address: PO Box 358 Ramsgate, Kent CT12 6YP
TRUSTEES’ ANNUAL REPORT for the financial year 8.6.21 - 7.6.22
THE CHARITY’S OBJECTIVES ARE:
CAT CHAT 2021-2022 ANNUAL REVIEW
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To promote the efficiency and effectiveness of charities whose
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purposes are to promote animal welfare, by the provision of an internet website, IT support and facilities.
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To advance the education of the public in matters of animal welfare by the provision of a website and information service.
Public Benefit Statement
Cat Chat is committed to assisting members of the public in all matters relating to cats, cat rescue and cat welfare, and the advancement of public education through our website information, forum, helpdesk, social media pages, and via our qualified advisors. The charity’s trustees confirm their due regard to the public benefit guidelines published by the Charity Commission.
Specific services offered by Cat Chat for the benefit of the public are:
- A comprehensive area-by-area database of cat rescue and
Introduction
The Trustees of Cat Chat present this review of the financial year June 2021 – June 2022. This period saw the end of Covid 19 lockdown, and the consequent relaxing of all related rules. The impact of the return to normal soon became clear. After nearly two years of low occupancy, shelters began reporting an influx of cats being given up for rehoming. The situation was exacerbated by the unusually high numbers of kittens - a direct result of difficulties arranging neutering during the pandemic. By June 2022 many shelters were at capacity as the additional impact of rising living costs found families having to make hard decisions about their pets.
As ever, the Cat Chat team quickly responded to changing circumstances. Shelters gradually returned to face-to-face rehoming, adding increasing numbers of cats to the Cat Chat site. Meanwhile members of the public sought advice on a range of rehoming issues; Cat Chat’s advice pages and Help Desk being key resources. Additionally, the number of enquiries referred to Cat Chat by some of the major animal welfare charities grew to record levels.
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rehoming facilities in the UK and Ireland.
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Provision of a public database of cats needing homes, searchable by county / town / shelter.
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Advice and information pages e.g. health & behaviour, lost
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& found, neutering, fostering, rehoming. Other cat-related articles are provided on our Blog.
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Veterinary advice; our qualified volunteer veterinary advisor assists the public via email with specific (non-urgent) advice.
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Helpdesk: our email help desk volunteers provide advice to
Governance
Cat Chat is led by a board of seven Trustees. During the 2021-22 financial year nine meetings plus the AGM, were held. At the AGM it was confirmed that Mrs Lindsey Kennett, Minutes Secretary and a Trustee since 2011, had stepped down. Trustees noted their appreciation of Mrs Kennett’s hard work and long commitment to Cat Chat.
Mrs Angela James (Trustee) was nominated and confirmed into the post of Minutes Secretary.
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the public on all other cat related issues.
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We maintain active social media pages, as well as a
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carefully moderated public forum enabling the provision and exchange of advice and information on a wide range of cat related issues.
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A web-links directory covering pet help & services, pet
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health & behaviour, pet care, plus an A - Z of rescue organisations helping a wide variety of animals.
Finances
Despite the impact of Covid on charitable donations in general, Cat Chat’s finances as at June 2022 remained in good order. This was aided by two modest legacies, and the continued support of the Cat Gallery in York who again nominated Cat Chat as one of its ‘chosen charities’. However, Cat Chat’s financial stability depends on the generosity of our regular donors, headed by the Friends of Cat Chat, and our loyal sponsors:
Burns Pet Nutrition, The Cat Butler, The Cat Gallery, CEVA Animal Health, Erin House, FindPetBoarding, Kitty Collars, MDC Exports, MPM Products, Pets Reunited and Protectapet.
Other sources of income included Amazon Smile, Easyfundraising, eBay, and our Web Shop.
As always Cat Chat looks ahead. We never lose sight of our vision statement...
“ ”[To Help Cats Out of Shelters into Homes]
A selection of cats homed during 2021 / 2022
Communications, Champions and Blogs
During Covid 19, good communication remained paramount to Cat Chat’s ability to support and inform not only shelters and the public, but also colleagues across the rehoming sector. As a web-based charity Cat Chat’s main communication channels are online via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Cat Chat also publishes a monthly newsletter which provides more detailed information - particularly about recent homings - a topic of special interest to our supporters. Cat Chat is particularly grateful to Suzi Perry, one of the celebrities who endorsed our “Twenty for 2020” campaign, and who continues to engage with our Twitter and Instagram content. Suzi has since become one of Cat Chat’s Champions.
As well as Suzi Perry, Cat Chat’s Champions include: Ian Anderson, Tom Cox, Vicky Halls, Susan Hampshire, Sir David Jason, and vet Dr Pete Wedderburn.
Another important strand of Cat Chat’s communications is our highly successful series of online blog posts. These are provided by a range of welfare professionals, and cover topics such as: When & Why to Neuter, Cats and Babies Living in Harmony, and Microchipping Your Cat .
Partnerships and Other Collaborations
Marcus from Bushy Tail Cat Aid, Watford “Thanks to your wonderful website and the help you offer, Marcus has found a good home. Cat Chat truly helps small rescues like ours.”
Valued partnerships with a number of organisations continued during this financial year. Radio Caroline, recently nominated by The Times in their list of top digital radio stations, maintained its support. The team at Caroline have now worked with Cat Chat for four years, helping to create a range of ads, and kindly donating additional air time.
The charity entered a second year of a productive partnership with Blush.net who generously continue to manage Cat Chat’s Google Grants account. They have greatly improved the effectiveness of the charity’s ad campaigns, maximising their online reach.
Ely & Smudge from Barnsley Animal Rescue Charity After several months in care, Smudge and her 3-legged brother Ely were happily homed together after being seen on Cat Chat’s ‘Overlooked Cats’ section.
Important partnerships also continue across the animal welfare community as information sharing remains central to the sector’s progress in the Covid aftermath.
Future Projects
Initial discussions are underway to re-develop our central Cats Needing Homes portal. This ambitious project, scheduled for 2023 will include more advanced and effective Cat Homing Pages.
Thanks and Acknowledgements
Cat Chat would like to express grateful thanks and acknowledgement to its Volunteers, Trustees and Patrons, all of whom generously donate their time and skills. Special appreciation also, to our two permanent staff members Bonita Howard (Cat Homing Manager) and Angela James (Cat Homing Assistant) for their continued loyalty and hard work over many years.
2021-2022 STATISTICS
Shelters, Visitors, Followers
Charlotte from Independent Cat Rescue, Manchester Charlotte is deaf and has Cerebellar Hypoplasia (wobbly cat syndrome). Thanks to being seen on Cat Chat, she found a loving, experienced home, and is now living her best life!
898,430 Monthly number of website pages viewed (average) 211,764 Monthly number of visitors to the website (average) 1,171 Shelters listed
- 437 Active individual shelter’s homing pages 10,692 Facebook followers (at year end) 2,981 Twitter followers (at year end) 895 Instagram followers (at year end)
Admin, Volunteers, Trustees, Patrons
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2 part-time staff / 1 web developer
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23 full volunteers (excl. trustees & staff) 2 casual volunteers 7 Trustees 3 Patrons
A selection of cats homed during 2021 / 2022
Governing Document: Constitution dated 29 October 2003
Governance
Maxwell from
Mitzi’s Kitty Corner, Totnes, Devon After appearing on Cat Chat, ex-stray Maxwell had five enquiries in five days. The first couple to meet him, fell in love with him. Happy people and happy Maxwell!
Denzil from
Cat Action Trust 1977, Doncaster South Denzil was born with a heart condition requiring long-term veterinary treatment. He found his ideal home, when his new family read about him on Cat Chat.
Patrons:
Sir Roger Gale MP, Lady Suzy Gale, and the Postgate Family representing Bagpuss
Trustees:
Mrs M Ovens (Chairman) (appointed 13.12.05) Ramsgate, Kent
Mrs M Bull (appointed 18.03.08) Ramsgate, Kent
Mrs J Love-Hinsley FCCA (Treasurer) (appointed 13.12.05) Grove Ferry, Canterbury, Kent
Mrs A James (appointed 13.05.08) Whitstable Kent
Miss M P Cotter (Co-Founder) (founded 08.06.00 / trustee from charity registration 12.11.03) Ramsgate, Kent
Ms L Mahmood (Social Media Co-ordinator) (appointed 03.12.14) Staplehurst, Kent
Mr S L Wise (Co-Founder) (founded 08.06.00 / trustee from charity registration 12.11.03) Ramsgate, Kent
Accountant/Treasurer
Independent Accounts Scrutineer Ms Z Tudor CIMA Ramsgate, Kent
Mrs J Love-Hinsley FCCA Grove Ferry, Canterbury, Kent
The Trustees declare this to be an accurate report of the activities of Cat Chat for the financial year ended 7 June 2022.
SIGNED ON BEHALF OF THE CHARITY’S TRUSTEES
MRS. M. OVENS (CHAIR)
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MRS J. LOVE-HINSLEY (TREASURER)
DATE………………….
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“I would like to commend to you, my friends, this most feline website: www.catchat.org where they will help you to find a catfriend, if you are a person, or a personfriend, if you are a cat.”
Bagpuss (Cat Chat Patron)
Rolly from
All Animal Rescue, Southampton After years living rough, Rolly was in a bad way when he arrived at the rescue. After being nursed back to health, he was adopted when his story appeared on Cat Chat.
Cat Chat, the Cat Rescue Resource Registered Charity no. 1100649 Website: www.catchat.org
Cat Chat - Registered Charity No: 1100649 Income and Expenditure Account for the Year Ended 7th June 2022
| £ | £ | |
|---|---|---|
| Income | ||
| Advertising/Sponsorship | 2,100.00 | |
| Profit on Sale of Merchandise | 1,145.37 | |
| Donations | 21,349.24 | |
| Legacy Donations | 50,556.66 | |
| Total Donations | 71,905.90 | |
| Sundry Income | 75.00 | |
| Bank Interest | 220.64 | |
| Total Income | 75,446.91 | |
| Less Expenditure | ||
| Wages, National Insurance and Pension | 18,477.45 | |
| Website and Charity Development | 7,814.08 | |
| Telephone | 408.98 | |
| Donations | 1,050.42 | |
| Advertising & Sponsorship | 1,286.67 | |
| Internet and Webserver | 7,327.15 | |
| Postage, Printing & Stationery | 1,002.41 | |
| Travel Expenses | 16.15 | |
| Consultancy and Professional Fees | 0 | |
| Equipment/Repairs and Maintenance | 0 | |
| Software Fees | 938.90 | |
| Insurance Costs | 340.38 | |
| Paypal/Bank Charges | 165.46 |
| General Expenses Depreciation of Equipment Profit for the Year |
210.36 39,038.41 302.25 39,340.66 36,106.25 |
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| Cat Chat Registered Charity No: 1100649 Balance Sheet as at 7th June 2022 £ Fixed Assets Office Equipment At Cost 4,424.70 4,424.70 Less Depreciation to Date 3,744.64 3,744.64 Current Assets Stock of Merchandise 1,974.24 Balance at Bank 140,001.49 Cash in Hand 37.67 Sundry Debtors 320.99 142,334.39 Less Current Liabilities Sundry Creditors 614.84 Capital Account Capital Account 106,293.36 Profit for the year 36,106.25 |
£ 680.06 141,719.55 142,399.61 |
| 142,399.61 |
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