THE CAT SUPPORT GROUP
(Founded in 2001)
Accepted as a charlty by the Charity Commlsslon for Northern Ireland
Charlty Reglstratlon number NIC 100721
ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2023
(1st January 2023 to 31st December 2023)
Chalrperson
Mrs Kate McGowan
Hon. Treasurer
Miss Sandra Johnstone
Hon. Secretary
Mrs Heather Cammock
Membership Secretary
Mr Richard Brown (Resigned from Committee November 2023)
Commlttee Members
Mrs Valerie Skelton
Mrs Carol Dougan
Mrs Jean Dykes
We call them dumb animals. and so they are, ftlr they cannot tell us how they feel,
but they do not suffer less because they have no words. Anna Sewell (1820 - 1878)

HISTORY OF THE CAT SUPPORT GROUP
The Cat Support Group was formed in 2001. We were accepted as a charity by HMRC in
2004 but now have been ￿gIStered with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland with
Reg. No. NIC100721.
At present we have a membership sitting in and around 85, with a membership fee of
£20.00 per annum.
We do not have a shelter, but our volunteers work from their own homes to look after kittens
and cats which come into our care; with the aim of re-homing as many of these anirnals as
possible. Our "no-kill" policy ensures that no healthy animal is ever put to sleep.
We have a Management Committee to oversee and approve the running of our affairs,
consisting of a Chairperson, Hon. Secretary, Membership Secretary, Hon. Treasurer and up
to three other nOn￿ffi￿ bearing Committee members.
To generate income, we have various fund-raising events throughout the year.
OBJECTIVES OF OUR CHARITY PLAN
To rescue stray and unwanted cats and klttens and to rehabilitate and re-home.
To promote the neutering and spaying of all cats and kittens not required for breeding.
To help and advise the people on the care of cats and kittens, especially in a rescue
situation.
We endeavour to meet these objectives by ensuring: .
All sick catslkittens are given appropriate veterinary care and brought to a clean bill of
health before b8ing put forward for re-homing.
All rescue animals are neutered or spayed when rescued or, if too young then this will be
carried out as soon as they are old enough.
Feral cats are trapped where possible and are neutered Ispayed as appropriate. At this
point th8y are also de-fleaedlwormed before being retumed to their colonies. Ferals are
provided with food as regularly as possible, and a watch is kept for any cat which appears
to be ill. If the animal can be caught it will be taken to a vet for examination.
We help and advis8 people who get in contact with us and people tend to find this usefvl, if
not indeed comforting, if they are in a difficult or worrying situation.

THE CHARITY TEST
The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland requires the Cat Support Group
To show how our charity is of benefit to the public: _
We are the only cat charity that is 'open all hours,, indeed our volunteers often receive
phone calls lale at night or at weekends when other help lines are closed. Previous
Cliftonpark Avenue Shetter volunteers eamed a lot of respect for long years of service
in an area where others feared to tread particularly when "The Troubles. were at their
height. This has resulted in people who would not otherwise consider asking for
assistance frorn 'outsiders' feeling comfortable enough to pick up the phone or indeed
call with one of us for help.
Vets ring us for help as they know we will respond promptly if at all possible - we do
not make empty promises.
Not having the financial, physical, and mental stress associated with having a shelter
frees our volunteers up to give the most valuable resource of all - time. We get calls
from people wanting 'rid' of cats but if we take the lime to talk to them, we find that
actually we can help them to keep their cats.
Sometimes they cannot afft)rd to feed them, so we help with funding. Maybe they
need to go into hospital or have been forced to seek alternative accommodation and
have nowhere for the cats to go in the interirn - we can, either try to find a volunteer to
board them, or go into the house and feed them.
A colony of feral cats that grows month on month due to klttens belng born18 very
stressful and can cause conflict in a neighbourhood. If we get the cats neutered not
only does the braeding stop but the objectionable odour of tom cat spray disappears
too,
Many friendships are forged through neighbours Jointly feeding cats - older people
make contact with people who not only get involved with feeding the cats but end up
helping the pensioners themselves when the need arises. By helping the cats and
occasionally a small dog, we have helped not only the person directly involved with
the animals but the wider community.
COMMirrEE'S REPORT 2023
Dear Members
Here we are again, it is hard to believe another year has passed in the life of our Cat
Support Group and it was lovely to end 2023 with a Christmas celebration reluming to the
Lansdowne Court Holel to catch up and socialise instead of grabbing quick conversations
when our fundraising sales are in full swing throughout the year.
We held three sales during 2023 in May, September, and November and a big shout out to
everyone including attendees, stallholders, and the donators of items, as these are
essential to bolstering the Groups Funds in order to continue to operate. We are trying hard
to come up with new ideas on how improve and keep the sales fresh and it was lovely to
welcome Heather Long on board with her creative crochet items and to see our book stall
morph into a side line of greeting cards and homemade jams.

The welfare work has of course continued throughout Ihe year with cats and kittens being
trapped, neutered, and spayed, with many hours being dedicated to rescues. Given we do
not operate a shelter it would be a remiss not to mention our fellow partner charities who
assist us when necessary in taking in vulnerable animals and offering them love, shelter
and food, so focusing on 2023 a big thank you to Lila's Legacy, Belfast Kitten Rescue, The
Barn Rescue Centre, and of course our own little band of rescue warriors who are out there
on the ground helping all animals in distress.
We received many calls for help through the year, here is just a small snippet of activily
during this reporting year:
> Assisting with trapping strays, checking for microchips, and rf unclaimed neutering,
spaying and re-homing. During 2023 we also got involved with supporting and feeding
two groups of ferals in Saintfield and Ballygowan.
> Helping with a situation that had developed needing cats trapped at New Barnsley
where our member Jeanette managed to trap and spaylneuter 21 out of 22 cats with
12 of those cats being female. The cats were desperately hungry, and food was
donated from various individuals and ourselves, with Seventh Heaven supplying
snugs and straw. Carol Dougan trapped and had 36 cats spayed and neutered during
2023 and as you can see other rescuers are also intervening to do the same. This
results in the most challenglng element of cat rescue, as foster places need to be
secured for all losvstray or abandoned cats until they are re-homed. It's becoming an
increasingly difficult task given that rescue and foster homes are extremely scarce
especlally durlng kltten season.
> Saving a ginger kitten where our member Jackie travelled to a recycling depot in
Mallusk and rescued the wee mite. Being badly injured he was taken straight to the
vet where It was touch and go whether he would survive the weekend. But he defied
all the odds and pulled Ihrough and has been adopted by member Lynne (kitten now
known as Alfie Moon) and dominates all the dog residents In the house.
Assisting a Care Home in Banger when we were notified of a cat with a shoulder
wound. Although the Home had been looking after the cat, we found on attending the
vet it was chipped and the owner was duly contacted confinning she had not seen her
cat in 3 years. The vet found necrosis was present in the wound and a procedure was
undertaken to remove the infection. The owner agreed to cover part of the cost with
our Group stepping in and paying the 8Xtra. The owner agreed to relinquish
ownership given that she had taken in a replacement cat during the 3-year period and
the Care Home decided to adopt the cat and cater for all his future needs by opening
an account for him and taking out insurance. So, with a little help from CSG the cat
(Scooter) found his forever home with the residents of the Care Home where he has
an unending supply of laps to sit on, and hugs and pets for the rest of his days.
We will continue to be vocal in highlighting the problem of not spaying and neutering cats
which perpetuates animal welfare problems evolving and getting out of control causing
unnecessary expenditure for small animal charities such as ours in having to intervene.
We would just like to end this report with thanking you all for your continued support and
donations over the year. We hope despite the challenging environment and ever-increasing
vet bills we will continue to be able to operate and see that no anirnal suffers unnecessarily
when thanks to your generosity the CSG can help.
Yours sincerely, Kate. Sandra, Heather, Val. Jean, and Carol

Report from the Honorary Treasurer
This has been my seventh year as Treasurer of the Cat Support Group, and l am pleased to
report that we have continued to provide help to animals and their carers in need or
distress.
A Statement of Accounts for the Year Ending 31SI December 2023 which has been subject to
independent examination by the CSG Auditor is attached, and I would encourage you to
study it.
Receipts for the year came to £13,385. During 2023 we held 3 fundraising sales,
contributin8 £3,035, a further £7,791 being from Membership Fees or Donations.
However expenditure increased greatly, from £27,120 to £35,528 that is by 31%. Over 77%
of the total, £27,639, was for payments to Vets (all across Northern Ireland). The
corresponding figures for the previous 2 years were £10,987 and £18,915
Seventeen people, many of whom are members of the Group, recelved financial help wlth
feeding feral colonies or cat5 being fostered, a total of £5,420.
You can see from the Statement of Accounts the range of other receipts and payments.
You will realise that the annual expenditure for 2023 significantly exceeded income, by
£22,142. Although we usually report an annual deficit, this has been steadily growing, and
in fact over the last 10 years our deficit has totalled over £IOO,000 ! The Group has only
been able to sustain this position because of 8enerous legacies received in the past. At 31st
December 2023 the balance of Investments totalled £56,706, but at current levels of income
and expenditure the CSG may be limited to only one or two more years.
At the AGM last year we discussed that position, and unfortunately it has only become more
acute.
Sondra Johnstone
IHonorary Treasurer)
Cat Support Group {Nl) - Charity Registration number NIC100721