Thames Valley Animal Welfare Registerga Chanty No. ￿16 Annual Report for the year to 31 March 2022 Alms and Qrganisation Thames Valley Animal Welfare (TVAW) is registered with the Charity Commission (No. 900616). The postal address is TVAW, P O Box 3139. Reading. RG19FQ. The e-mail address is fvawcats2018@gmail.Gom or fvawcats30@gmail.com and the website address is ￿W.tvaw.org.Uk. The Charity operates under a constitution approved by the Charity Commission and is administered by a Management Committee of Trustees, Gomprising at 31.3.2022. Chairman Vice-chainnan Secretary Treasurer other members Mrs A Butler-smith Mrs J MacGregor Mrs M FogaTty Miss H Westgarth Mrs P Parfitt, Mrs Y Room. Mrs C Laker, Miss S Aubrey, Mrs K Brewer and Mrs J Phelan. The object of the charity is to rescue abandoned, unwanted. ill-treated. and neglected cats. Veterinary treatment is provided when necessary and all Cats are spayed or neutered and microchipped before rehoming. The cats are cared for in indiwdual foster homes until they are ready for rehoming. TVAW aims to find loving pennanent homes wth responsible people for all animals in its care and undertakes never to destroy any cat unless advised to do so by a vetèrinary surgeon on the grounds of ill-health. The wort of the charity is undertaken entirely by volunteers working from their own homes. Throughout the year the trustees have given due regard to the Charity Commission's guidance on public benefit and consider that its activities meet the public benefit requirement. Although we reGord our perfOMan￿ in terms of the number of cats helped, behind eath case is an owner, relative, neighbour or member of Ihe public who needs help, either with an owned cat or a stray. Review of the year to 31 March 2022 For the second consecutive year, the Coronavirus Pandemic has made this year challenging - trying to tske in and ￿horne cats whilst always remaining within the govemment's guidelines. The situation has improved over the last 6 months as the restrictions have lifted. this has enabled us to return to nomality. We operate a waiting list for pla￿S in foster homes. with priority being given to the pregnant cats. kittens and sick or injured cats. We have had a high proportion of stray cats on the waiting list again this year, with very few owned cats being handed into foster Gare. Our waiting list was high over the summer months. however. the rest of the year we have been in a fortunate position to be able to tske in most cats very quickly. We have had fewer litters of kittens in foster rAre this year and the rehoming figures reflect this. The high number of people applying to adopt cats has continued this year. resulting in some disappointed people. Foster homes INe stsrted the year wth 14 outdoor foster homes and 16 cathouses. 5 indoor foster homes and 4 kittens socialisers. We have again seen quite a few changes within our fosterers. We are grateful to Anne Edmundson, Jackie Ralph, Janine Isenegger, Linda Adamson and Frankie Feast for all their hard work and dedication over their years of fostering for us. Jackie is still involved with the charity and occasionally helps out with foster ¢atslkittens in her home. During the year we have welcomed Niki Marshall, Stephanie Shearman, Samantha Trott and Amanda Farr, who have taken on a cathouse each, Sue Duke and Philippa Faulkner as indoor foster homes and Chantsl Comelius who joined us as a kitten socialiser. We appreciated Caroline Airey's help socialising kittens again over the summer months. We finished the year with 14 outdoor foster homes and 16 cathouses, 6 indoor foster homes and 4 kitten socialisers. We continue to be incredibly grateful to all our fosterers, who work extremely hard caring from cute kittens to ferocious ferals. We would also like to thank all our transport volunteers who travel far and wide collecting and trapping ￿ts. ststistlcs 202112022 155 102 202012021 201912020 161 123 201812019 174 146 201712018 192 141 30 Adult cats rehomed Kittens rehomed Returned to owner Put to slee IDied Neutering scheme- low cost Neutering scheme - free 143 14 10 38 76 151 118 23 14 28 108 Golden Oldie Scheme cats which rec8ived vet treatment Other Cats hel ed 22 30 31 25 45 59 411 47 447 46 475 49 565 52 694 Notes (a} Kittens aged up to 6 months {b) These figures do not include the cats who are matched by our lost and found register and do not therefore come into our care. Icl These are Cats which have been helped by TVAW in some way, usually by the provision of veterinary treatrnent when owners have been unable to afford it and have not come into a TVAW foster home. (d) One was an elderly cat with cat flu.1 semi feral cat with FIV and cat flu, 2 cats with renal failure, 1 with a tumour, 1 cat wth multiple issues and 1 deformed kitten. The decision to euthanase was taken, in conjunction with the vetennary surgeon. to end their suffering. Golden Oldie Scheme Rehoming elderly cats is never easy, but it is sometimes helpfiJl if they are offered for adoption under the "Golden Oldie Scheme. Often these cats have come into our care with ongoing health problems, such as hyperthyroidism, and therefore prospective owners would be unable take-out pet insurance. People are encouraged to offer them a home if TVAW is responsible for fiJture veterinary care. More cats are now being rehomed under the scheme and some cats which were rehomed under the scheme several years ago have now required expensive ongoing treatment for age-related health issues such as heart problems. Several generous owners do not take advantage of the scheme and opt to pay for their cat's treatment themselves, which is very helpful as the Gost of the scheme this year was almost £19.000. Low4ost neutèring scheme Be￿een April 1 st 2021 and March 31st 2022, 57 cats have been neutered or spayed under our Neutering Schemes. This is slightly more than last year. Several owners had more than one r2t castrated or spayed and 23 cats benefitted under our Free Neutering Scheme (14 last yearl and 34 from Low-cost neutering (38 last yearl. Many of the vets recommend us to clients, as do several of the larger charities- the RSPCA and Cats Protection, particularly - who approach us for financial help and in the present climate of the Coronavirus pandemic. we anb'cipated that these requests would increase. This has not been the case and one or hyo applicants have never presented their vouchersl Very few other charib'es offer this help nowadays and everyone who we do help, is immensely gratefrjl to us, proving how worthwhile this scheme is. Lost and Found Register During the year 1 st April 2021 to 31 st March 2022. 89 cats have been reported lost and 26 reported found, (last year 56 and 22 respectively). We recorded 16 of the cats registered lost as happily reunited with their owners The figures for found cats doesn't include the cats who have been taken into foster care. The numbers for this year are slightly up on the previous year, this is most likely due to a retum to normal activity as Coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic restrictions eased during 2021. Most cats reported to us have come via our lost and found email. by private messaging to our Facebook page or by phone. Facebook continues to be a valuable resource for both rehoming and lost & found, with several ats finding new homes and being reunited bmth their owner as a direct result of contenuappeals via the TVAW Facebook page. During the year. our followers have increased by 140h, a steady increase which we expect to continue throughout 2022. Frl8nds of TVAW The Friends of TVAW was intrOdU￿d in 1993 as a way of keeping people who are interested in our work infomied of our activikn'es. This is achieved by the publication three times a year of our newsletter"Paws for Thoughf. We have more than 650 members and the newsletter is very well received. Subscriptions and donations from the Friends now form a substantial and very welcome proportion of our income. TVAW Website We are very grateful to Pam Budd at Loud-n-clear who regularly updates our website. Financlal Thames Valley Animal Welfare is ents'rely dependent upon donations and its own ftjndpising efforts to finance its work. It does not own any land or buildings or employ any staff. Its work is carried out entirely by volunteers. Our main sources of income are donations, induding Friends, subscriptions, and our own fundraising activities- mainly stslls at various local events plus the sale of our Christmas cards and tslendars. We are grateful to Gerry Homx. one of the fosterers, who continues to raise funds by selling donated items for TVAW on eBay and through donatsons made via his own website. Reclaiming Gift Aid creates a lot of work in tenns of record keeping but generated a most welcome income of almost £95Crf). The fact that we still have healthy reserves due to the generosity of our supporters, has meant that we have been able continue to cover the increasingly expensive veterinary costs and maintsin our commitments to our fosterers. However, with expenditure continuing to rise. we review our levels of expenditure monthly as this continues to be a source of concem. Of particular COn￿M, is the need to plan for the replacement of some of our older Lindee Lu cat houses. We have 14 Lindee Lu and 2 Quality Timber cathouses, some wthich are over 10 years old. Even with regular timber trealment and maintenance the manufacturers do not expect them to last much beyond 15 years. To replace the smallest of our cathouses at current prices would cost from £6.000 per unit. Acknowledgements Once again, very many people have helped TKIAW finanaally with both large and small donations during the year and small legacies and donations in memory of relatives, fn'ends, or pets. Whilst it is not possible to list all of them individually in this report, we would like to thank them all for their continued support. Our fosterers have been very grateful for the cat food, litter and bedding which has been donated by many of our supporters during the year- this is a tsngible way in which supporters can help us and fosterers find it very encouraging to receive such contributions. Date: ZL Hilary Westgarth, Treasurer Date: /.0S.ZL Yvonne Room, Co-ordinator y p rLocfK Date.oi.q T* For and on behaff of the trustees 11 U ￿ ## **Independent examiners report to the trustees of Thames Valley Animal Welfare “TVAW”** ## **Registered Charity no. 900616** I report on the accounts of TVAW for the year ended 31 March 2022 ## **Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner** The charity’s trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this tear under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that at independent examination is needed. ## **It is my responsibility to** - Examine the accounts under section 145 of the 2011 Act - To follow the procedures laid down in the general directions given by the commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act - To state whether particular matters have come to my attention. ## **Basis of independent examiner’s reports** My examination was carried out in accordance with the general directions given by the charity commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a “true and fair view” and the report is limited to those matters set out in the next statement. ## **Independent examiners statement** In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention: 1. Which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements: - To keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the 2011 act and - To prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the 2011 act have not been met OR 2. To which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. ## Martin Tucker Name: Martin Tucker Date: 23 September 2022