Cats In Distress Charity No 1167332
Trustees Annual report for the period 1[st] January 2025 – 31[st] December 2025
Our structure and governance remains unchanged. We are governed by our Constitution dated 25[th] May 2016. The charity is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO). Aside from the founding charity trustees, every trustee must be appointed for a term of three years by a resolution passed at a properly convened meeting of the charity trustees.
Objectives & Activities
Cats In Distress was established for the public benefit. We promote humane behaviour towards cats by providing security, protection and treatment for those cats in need of care and attention, due to sickness, maltreatment, poor circumstances or ill usage, where ever possible, we seek to rehome those cats. Our activities are carried out at our purpose built rescue centre, outdoor pens, fostering and home to home facilities. The purposes of the charity are set out in its governing document, dated 25[th] May 2016.
Cats In Distress is mainly staffed by volunteers and works predominantly to rescue and rehome owned (relinquished), stray and abandoned cats. In addition, through our partnerships with other charities we work to reunite lost cats with their owners, respond to calls for assistance from the public, and. More information is available on our website at www.cats-in-distress.org
For the public benefit we promote cat welfare and good practice on our website and through our social media platforms. We provide advice to owners whose cats have gone missing and advertise lost and found cats on our social media platforms. Our main phone is manned within office hours, to take calls from members of the public, veterinary practices, police, social services, hospitals, local authorities, other cat charities and animal welfare organisations, providing practical assistance with all feline matters. Calls such as lost & found cats, injured or deceased cats, advise on rehoming, help for the public to pay veterinary fees, feline behaviour, veterinary care, short term fostering for an owner who has been hospitalised, neutering & general cat health are all examples of the calls that we receive on a daily basis.
For the benefit of the public, our rehoming policy ensures we will only rehome cats that have been properly socialised and are suitable for living in a domestic situation. All domestic cats & kittens offered for rehoming receive a health check with any necessary veterinary treatment carried out. Cats for rehoming will be neutered, microchipped, fully vaccinated and given any veterinary treatment required. Five weeks’ free pet insurance is provided through Agria, Cats In Distress receive a commission for each policy subsequently taken out.
We respond to calls about feral cats. These are cats that have been born in the wild, have not received any suitable socialisation and cannot be domesticated. If left, a colony can quickly grow, causing problems for both the cats and the environment. We assist with trapping and neutering feral cats and providing them with basic health care, then returning them to their original location, known as TNR. If the location that the cats were found was found to be unsuitable, ie insufficient food or shelter a suitable feral placement where food and shelter is available will be identified and the cats relocated.
Providing opportunities of work experience & volunteering opportunities to students continues and is actively encouraged. We welcomed students from Frome, Trowbridge, Westbury, Warminster & Bath schools & colleges, as well as providing placement to a student studying Animal Husbandry at the University of Lancashire Vet school, at degree level in. Our continued association with the Duke of Edinburgh award enables young people to participate in volunteering opportunities at Bronze, Silver &
Gold level. We provided placement to a student studying a degree in Animal Husbandry at the University of Lancashire Vet school & University of Winchester.
2025 Achievements and Performance
2025 continued to be a challenge for the rescue industry in general and we were no different. The continuing economic crisis, the closure of some smaller rescues and continuing rise in vet fees continue to contribute to the number of owners reaching out for help and animals being abandoned. The number of calls & emails asking for help has continued to rise, and we saw an increasing number of communications from outside our geographical area.
2025 started with maintenance & work at the rescue. Having a polycarbonate roof on the rescue wasn’t ideal, cold in the winter and we struggled to keep the residents cool in the summer months. A new solid insulated roof was installed to improve energy efficiency in the winter and to stop overheating in the summer. Thankfully, this proved to have been fitted at the right time, with the long hot summer we were able to keep residents and volunteers nice and cool under the new roof. We also landscaped the enclosed garden, creating a cat & human friendly haven, with cat friendly planting giving the cats & volunteers a lovely place to sit and enjoy.
Whilst rehoming domestic cats is at the core of what we do we are conscious that ferals are a continuing problem not only for rescues but the general cat population. One of biggest achievements in 2025 was the launch of our new initiative the Working Cat Programme. Ferals cats are often misunderstood, but in an un-managed colony, feral cat numbers can increase to such a degree that they may become unhealthy through continued breeding, interbreeding, poor nutrition and fighting (especially among unneutered tom cats). This can pose a big problem for rescues, taking a large amount of time and resources (both human and financial) to deal with. Our initiative was set up to actively target farms, smallholdings and stables, promoting the humane control of the feral cat population. In un-managed colonies feral cat numbers can increase to such a degree that they may become unhealthy through continued breeding, interbreeding, poor nutrition and fighting (especially among unneutered tom cats). Left un-checked, it is a continual breeding cycle, where female cats may have one litter partially weaned and already be pregnant with another litter. Becoming continually pregnant also takes a high toll on the female cat, often leading to potentially fatal diseases. Kittens are often abandoned to fend for themselves or eventually die if food becomes scarce.
We recognise that a big part of moving forward towards positive change, involves engaging with and educating the younger generation. Our continuing involvement with Duke of Edinburgh awards at Bronze, Silver & Gold level and Work Experience for students from schools & colleges enables us to engage & educate at Key Stages 4 & 5. Another achievement this year was the development & launch of our Childrens’ Pet Care Parties. An idea developed by our vet nurse, aimed at Key stages 1 & 2, our pet care parties encourage the care of cats & kittens, with fun & age appropriate pet care education. Our first party was well received and we hope to build on this initiative by hosting birthday parties.
Our fundraising activities, quiz nights, spring & xmas fairs were well attended and raised £8150. We were very grateful to receive a grant of £3000 from Hobhouse Trust, Pets at Home continued to support us through our adopters and supporters being Pet Club members, by nominating us as their chosen charity we received Lifeline vouchers totalling £666, which we were able to spend in Pets At Home stores. We continue to be a member of the Association of Dog & cat Homes, through that membership we are also part of the Mars Adoption Mission and are able to access free food from them.
During 2025 we admitted 377 animals, 180 cats, 47 ferals & 150 kittens, the increase in ferals & kittens reflects the setting up of the working cat programme and increasing number of people not neutering their cats. Of those 308 were rehomed and 27 were subject to Trap, Neuter & Return
We continued to build on our working relationship with other organisations within the rescue industry, assisting & helping on different projects with Search & Scan, RSPCA, Cats Protection & Chippenham Cat Rescue.
2025 Financial Review (See accounts)
Review of the charity’s financial position at the end of the period 31 December 2025. The Charity holds cash in hand and in the bank of unrestricted funds, totalling £109042.76
Our main source of funding continues to be from donations, but the trustees were also very active in applying for grants. Our fundraising activities focussed on events throughout the year, organised & hosted by us, quiz nights, spring & autumn fairs raising £5107. We continued to be part of The Adoption Mission run by Mars, providing with the opportunity to receive free Whiskas cat food. We received vouchers totalling £1128 from Pets at Home through their VIP lifelines scheme
All our expenditure has been to support the key objectives of the charity namely; Maintaining and expanding the rescue centre Recruiting, managing & supporting fosterers and other volunteers in their duties Providing the appropriate care and treatment of all cats that are admitted to the charity. Assisting pet owners who are facing economic difficulties, by offering food and/or help with vet fees to enable the pet to remain with the owner.
Working with other charities, local authorities and the police to safeguard animals in critical situations.
Our largest expenditure in 2025 was for vet fees, medication and food, without these elements we would not be able to continue our work. We continued to be part of The Adoption Mission run by Mars, this also provides us with the opportunity to order free Whiskas cat food.
All our expenditure has been to support the key objectives of the charity namely; Maintaining and expanding the rescue centre Recruiting, managing & supporting fosterers and other volunteers in their duties Providing the appropriate care and treatment of all cats that are admitted to the charity. Assisting pet owners who are facing economic difficulties, by offering food and/or help with vet fees to enable the pet to remain with the owner.
Working with other charities, local authorities and the police to safeguard animals in critical situations.
Name of the Trustees who manage the charity:
Ginny Parratt – Founding Trustee Claire Randall Cooke – Treasurer
Mark Cooke -Secretary
Lynette Nicholson Karen Denning Diane Oliver (resigned Oct 25)
Cats in Distress Registered Charity 1167332 Payment and Receipts Account for FY2025
| Income Received | Net |
|---|---|
| Donations/Adoptions/Legacies | 198768 |
| Commission Received | 4191 |
| Events | 8152 |
| Gift Aid | 11116 |
| Grants | 3000 |
| Total Received | 225227 |
| Expenditure | Net |
| Salaryand Assoc costs | 32668 |
| Vet Fees,Meds,Microchips | 61687 |
| Cat Consumables (food, litter, ppe, clg) | 12286 |
| Other Costs | 8807 |
| Insurance, Mileage, Utilities | 6836 |
| Cat Furnishings and Eqpt | 3025 |
| Buildingmaintenance | 33520 |
| Event Expenses | 1056 |
| Training | 55 |
| Total Expenses | 159941 |
| Net Income (income less expenses) Excess of income over Expenditure Opening balance at Bank and Cash in Hand (1/1/25) Total Income Less Expenses Cash in hand/Floats Cheques Acc Payable and Debit Card Closing Bank @ 31/12/25 Total Funds carried forward bank and cash |
|
| 65287 | |
| 65287 | |
| 43756 225227 |
|
| 268983 159941 535 0 0 |
|
| 108508 | |
| 108508 | |
| 109043 |
CHARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WALES Independent examinerfs report on the accounts Section A Independent Examiner's Report Report to the trust•es Cats in Distress On accounts for tho y•ar ended 31112r2025 Charity no (rf any) 1167332 Set out on pages I rep to the tnjstees on my examinatK)n of the accourrts of the above charrty (Ihe Tnjsf) for the year ended 31M2f2026 Rgsponslbllitles and basis of r•port As Ihe charty's trust88s, yw are r@SnSib for the preparation of the accounts in aCclan wilh the requiremerrts of Charities Act 2011 ('the Acr). I rep in resw of my examination of the Trusys accounts carried out under secb'on 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed all the appIlble CtionS given by the Charity Commission unaer seoon 1445Mb) of the A Ind?p•ndent I have completed my examnation. I confirm that no material matters have •xaminerfs statement come to my attention in connection wtth the examination whiGh gives me cause to telieve that in. any material resFect". the account'ng records were not kept in accordanc8 with section 130 of the Chatiti'es Act, or the accounts not accord the aC(Unting reo)rds,' or the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements conMIng the form and Conient of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts aThJ Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a Irue ar]d fairf view vthich is not a matter consKlered as part of an irKlepend8nt examination. I have no cOnmS have come a)sS no other matters connection with the examination to which attention should b8 drawn in this report in order to enab a proper UrTstanding of the accounts to be reached. - Please delete Ihe rty$ in the brackets rfthey (} not apply. Sign•d: Date: Name: Jenny Ush8r Relovant professional qua16fication(s) or body {rfany): NIA Addr•ss: 39 osprey Road Wanninster ltshire, BA12 8GD IER Oot 2018
Section B Disclosure Only complete ifthe examiner needs to highlight material matters of concern (see CC32, Indendent examination of d)arity accounts.. directions and guidan examiners). Glv• hern brief detsils ol any itsms that the examlner wlshas to disclos•. IER Oct 2018