My story
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MY STORY
In July 2015, we lost our original River Road feeding station when a red zoned home was demolished.
We moved the feeding station to an abandoned garage near Richmond Park and were relieved when our trail camera showed that all the cats were still visiting it. We spotted a new cat and wondered if he was a 'tourist' – a cat with a home nearby who was just passing through. Our images were all black and white because he only visited at night, but when a Lost advertisement appeared in early September, we recognised him. His owners were delighted.
Lucky had gone missing on 7 August 2015 after his family moved from Shirley to North Dallington. He found the feeding station two weeks later and visited twice each night, so his condition was excellent.
Lucky back with his owners.
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My story
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MY STORY
Rusty, a large ginger and white cat, started visiting our south Dallington feeding station in April, 2015.
This station was in Annette’s garden. Annette still lived in
the red zone, and put food out for the cats every day. Rusty sometimes showed himself in daylight and we placed a found advert on Trademe and Petsonthenet, and circulated a flyer. We trapped him on Sunday 30th August – he was our 100th red zone cat!
Rusty was very tame but quite unsettled and clingy. We discovered an abscess on his tummy and he was much more comfortable after this was drained by the vet. Rusty was desexed but had no microchip and was in need of dental treatment. Cats Protection League had only a short waiting list at the time so they accepted him for veterinary care and rehoming.
Rusty was rehomed in October by Cats Protection League, who have told us that his new owner is delighted with him
and frequently provides happy updates.
Rusty now resides with his delighted new owner.
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My story
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MY STORY
Shirley returned to Christchurch at the beginning of August 2015, several years after moving when she sadly lost her daughter in the February earthquake.
Katie is a beautiful grey and white long haired cat who has been Shirley's constant companion since before the quakes - until a young relative accidentally let her out of her Dallington flat after only one day in her new home. Shirley was devastated and searched on foot, putting photos up at the local shops and vet.
Three weeks later, Shirley saw a redzonecats flyer at the entrance to her block of flats. She made contact and we put cameras around our feeding stations, and near Shirley's current and previous homes. Shirley delivered lost cat flyers and we put her on TradeMe and Petsonthenet. Success! Germaine, who lives about a kilometre from Shirley, realised she had a new cat living under her deck, and contacted Shirley.
Katie was thin after being lost for six weeks and has now settled happily into her new home. Shirley is overjoyed to have her back.
Katie back home with Shirley.
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My story
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MY STORY
As demolitions progressed during 2015, redzonecats had to make sure all cats were rescued from an area before the last building was destroyed.
The last feeding station in the Avonside Loop was on Morris Street, and there were still three cats visiting it. Sossy was the second of two cats trapped in July, and he turned out to be very friendly. He even had a microchip, but it wasn’t registered, so there were no details of the owner.
We called the Animal Register and it turned out there
had been a clerical error when Sossy was microchipped by the Southland SPCA. The SPCA were able to provide the name and phone number of the likely owner, who lived in Christchurch. Sossy's owner, Jarrod, told us he had gone missing in November 2014, shortly after being moved from Avonside to Woolston. Jarrod and his daughter, who chose Sossy as a kitten, are thrilled to have him back home.
Sossy looks very happy too.
Sossy is very happy back with his owners.
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My story
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MY STORY
Bilbo was 'cat number one' so he had a special role in the creation of RedZoneCats. Bilbo, who once had a home, came to live under an abandoned house near the red zoned home of writer Di Madgin and her husband.
At this time, Bilbo was extremely timid. Di fed Bilbo each evening for over a year. She would sit very quietly while he ate his food in the dark under a tree, because if she moved or spoke, he would run away.
When Bilbo was mentioned in one of Di's gardening articles, Jane made contact and helped trap him. Bilbo came to live with Jane and her family. For a long time, he hid under a bed or under piles of blankets on the bed. Bilbo wasn't aggressive and would meow quietly when he heard someone. He loved being stroked but for several weeks he would revert each day to hiding mode. Bilbo slowly got braver and started to explore his indoor environment.
For outdoors, he was trained to wear a harness and lead, and was just carried around at first. After six months, Bilbo finally graduated to independence outdoors. Now, after more than a year, he really values his time outside and is not afraid of the bus, voices or fireworks. Bilbo now sleeps on Jane's bed. He loves a particular velvet blanket, and snuggles up close for warmth.
Bilbo on his favourite blanket.
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My story
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MY STORY
Carlos appeared on camera at the Avon Loop and from the footage we were able to see that his collar was stuck behind
his leg.
We brought him in as an emergency rescue and quickly had the collar removed. The vets at McMaster and Heap determined that he was probably stuck like this for over a month, judging by the serious wound he had developed.
Despite his troubles, Carlos was very calm and affectionate. He recovered quickly and now lives a quiet life in Ilam.
Carlos shows off the wound from his collar.
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My story
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MY STORY
When Hades showed up on one of our red zone cameras he was obviously a lost cat, with a collar and even a shaved patch on his tail.
We brought him in the next day and a phone number on his collar saw him reunited with his owners that same day. He had been missing for two weeks.
Hades captured on camera at the feeding station,
with his collar and shaved tail visible.
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My story
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MY STORY
Lindi was a feral cat being fed by a member of the public just outside our Avon Loop area.
After determining the cat was likely to be a breeding female, we decided to bring her in.
Being wild, she was not at all used to being close to people, but after a few weeks of careful taming she quickly grew used to attention and handling. She is still a timid cat, but otherwise completely normal, enjoying a knee to sit on when she can.
Lindi now lives at the RedZoneCats home/office keeping Thistle’s boisterousness in check.
Lindi enjoying some office comfort.
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Our story
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MY STORY
Lucy and her kittens were living under a house near our New Brighton Road site and were lucky to be being fed by the last couple to move out of that street. See their story in video for Sable and Kili.
As the deadline approached for them to have to move out, a CERA subcontractor notified RedZoneCats via the facebook page to help evacuate the kittens.
After a long few days, Lucy and all of the kittens were eventually trapped and brought into RedZoneCats care. After their vet checks, Lucy and her kittens were fostered until they were old enough to be adopted.
Lucy now lives with three flatmates in a ComCare
Trust house, and her kittens live in Hokitika and Christchurch.
Lucy takes a break from kitten care.
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My story
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MY STORY
Ninja showed up in person at a feeding station and was very friendly, so we knew he must have been a lost cat.
A quick trip to the vet and a positive microchip scan later, he was reunited with his owner.
He had been missing about two weeks after getting the pip when his owner brought home young chickens, and kept them in the bedroom.
I HAVE BEEN REUNITED WITH MY OWNER!
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My story
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MY STORY
Ptolemy was one of the first cats to pop up on a new Avon Loop feeding station and an obvious bite wound on his tail made him a priority rescue.
He turned out to be a lovely friendly cat who loved being back with people.
After receiving treatment for his wound at McMaster & Heap, he stayed with one of our foster carers for a time until he found a new home in Fendalton.
Ptolemy arrives for treatment at McMaster and Heap.
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My story
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MY STORY
Thistle was rescued from the same area as Bilbo and was our first case of a fully feral cat.
He had grown up in the red zone and had never been handled or even been close to people before, so found life at the RedZoneCats home/office a bit of a shock at first. Though he was aggressive initially this was just because he was frightened
of people, and after a few weeks he became completely safe to handle, and is now very cuddly.
He is now a permanent resident of the RedZoneCats home/office and one of our best feline ambassadors, showing just how lovely a feral cat can turn out to be with the right care.
Thistle in the RedZoneCats garden.
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My story
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MY STORY
Thomas was one of those cats that kept returning to its old house in the red zone.
His owner was able to identify him from the surveillance images and we commenced trapping.
Thomas was very difficult to catch as he was very scared of other cats in the area and would only approach the trap at around 3am.
After some late nights, we finally captured Thomas and he was quickly reunited with his owner.
Thomas is happy to be found.
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My story
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MY STORY
Tybalt was a neutered male cat who had been living under a house in Avonside Drive and fed by a member of the public for a year.
Even though he previously had a home, after all that time he was still scared of people.
However, once trapped and brought back to the RedZoneCats home/office, he turned back into a completely chilled and friendly cat almost overnight.
He was looked after by a foster carer for a short time until he found a new home in Kaiapoi.
Tybalt was uniquely unconcerned during his
check-up at McMaster and Heap.
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My story
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MY STORY
Tom was another of the many feral black Toms that that frequent the red zone, and came from the same River Road station as Thistle.
He is a big stocky cat and was fully feral just like Thistle but despite being very frightened initially, he was always very gentle and never scratched or bit.
Tom went with his best mate Skaara to live on a Banks Peninsula farm in August 2014. His new owners have found Tom to be an exceptionally loving cat, who started climbing up on the bed for a cuddle from his earliest days at his new home. Tom and Skaara are
still best friends.
VIEW TOM IN OUR ALL BLACKS VIDEO
Tom and Skaara are still best friends.
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My story
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MY STORY
As a result of our video surveillance, Socksie the cat has been matched to its owner, Steph Walker. Socksie went missing from temporary accommodation in Shirley during EQC repairs from his owners house in St Martins four months ago.
Steph remained hopeful and kept updating her petsonthenet ad. After comparing this with our surveillance video we had no doubt we were seeing Socksie at one of our Dallington feeding stations. Shirley is close to Dallington and the surveillance was taken in early April.
Steph says the house and location are similar to their
St Martins home and Socksie would have liked this.
After returning a camera to the feeding station we confirmed that Socksie was still there and although he didn’t come when called by Steph we were able to trap him one evening and take him straight home to his excited owners. Steph commented on our facebook page:
“Thank you so much for all your efforts! There is no doubt it is Socksie when half an hour after arriving, he was giving my husband's forehead kisses (his favourite affection), and
then he slept in his usual spot on our bed. We are so grateful and happy to have him home.”
Socksies has been matched to his owner!
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My story
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MY STORY
A report of a hungry kitten by CERA was what first brought RedZoneCats to New Brighton Road.
Molly was timid, but clearly used to people and we were able to rescue her on the very same day we got the report.
Although very hungry, she was otherwise none the worse for wear and quickly found a new home in
Okuku (near Oxford) on a farm.
Molly all grown up at her new home.
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Gizzy MY STORY
In May we put cameras at Avon Loop feeding stations where the remaining houses were about to be demolished, to check that the cats were moving to our new sites. A new black and white cat who showed up on our surveillance was a close match to Gizzy, who was advertised by his owner Katrina as lost from Aranui.
We sent some videos to Katrina who confirmed Gizzy’s identity and visited his location several times to call him. However, he was too upset to show himself to anyone and we then set about trapping him. We took him straight home to Katrina who recently commented on our facebook page
“Big thanks guys, Gizzy has put a little weight back on, and is looking really good. It was such a relief to get my buddy back. I can never thank you guys enough.”
The red zone area where we found Gizzy was invaded by demolition teams the following week and so it was lucky we found him when we did.
BACK TO SURVEILLANCE VIDEO PAGE
Gizzy has been matched to his owner!
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My story
MY STORY
We first set up feeding stations in the Avon Loop during winter 2013 and became familiar with all the feline faces – many of whom we rescued. A lot of
new cats showed up in early 2014. One of these was
a distinctive long haired grey cat that avoided other cats. We could not find a Lost ad for this cat, and when we eventually trapped her, we found she had no microchip.
We called her Freya and placed Found advertisements on Trademe and Petsonthenet and put her on our facebook page. There was a lot of interest from people who wanted to adopt her but after a few weeks we had a phone call from her family, who had seen our advertisement.
We learned that Mayka got lost shortly after her family moved house. Also, she’d had kittens twice but was now speyed. Her owner is a photographer and has offered to help redzonecats
by taking photos of the cats. Mayka has settled well in her new home, where she lives with two of her grown up kittens.
Mayka enjoying a cuddle.
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My story
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Fingers unusual polydactyl features.
MY STORY
Fingers lived rough in the Avon Loop area
for years, where he and other homeless cats were fed by a local resident. When we rescued him we realised he was polydactyl – possessing extra toes on each foot, like Ernest Hemingway's famous polydactyl cats. We advertised him as found, with photos of his unusual feet.
After 2 months we heard from Stephen, who lost his polydactyl cat Fingers in 2009. His partner Angelene had seen our Found advertisement. Stephen, who lives in St Martins near the Heathcote River, had searched roads and river intensively, and used posters and flyers, concluding finally that Fingers may have been stolen because of his unusual polydactyl features. Despite being lost for 5 years Fingers responded to Stephen and has made himself immediately at home in his old house.
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My story
MY STORY
After we collected Fingers and Billy from Retreat Road, we set up a feeding station to look for other homeless cats that we knew were likely to be in the area. One black and white cat was a regular from the start but while reviewing more recent surveillance we noticed a second black and white cat had turned up. This cat matched Painter, who was advertised as lost on Petsonthenet.
We told Painter’s owner Sue that it could take several days to trap him if he was wary of our equipment. However, Painter
was happy to go straight into the trap to feed, so we got him home just two days after making contact with Sue. In her Petsonthenet 'Success Story' Sue wrote:
“When you lose a pet it is so hard to keep up hope as the
months go by and I told myself that after two months I would start to put away his things (bed toys etc). Two months and one day later Jane from RedZoneCats contacted me. Keep up with your petsonthenet ad and make sure you include lots of photos of your pet from different angles (which was how Painter was recognised). I’m so grateful to petsonthenet and RedZoneCats for bringing Painter home.”
Painter relaxing.
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My story
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MY STORY
In 2014, Tilly’s elderly owners moved from
Strowan to temporary accommodation in Linwood. Their earthquake- damaged home was a ‘rebuild’
that would take many months, so they took Tilly
with them rather than put her in a cattery. Tilly
had other ideas though, and escaped at the first opportunity. Her owners had been through a difficult time with the earthquakes, had health problems,
so they didn’t have any photos of Tilly. This made
it difficult to advertise her as lost, although they
had microchipped her.
When Tilly was still missing after some months, her owners
offered redzonecats her leftover litter and food supplies – lots
of Fancy Feast! Jane collected these just after Christmas and asked for a description of Tilly, in case this matched any of the
cats visiting redzonecats feeding stations. That very day, Jane surprised a cat meeting Tilly’s description at a feeding station
2km from where Tilly had gone missing. Jane glimpsed a bright yellow collar just before the cat bolted. We had night time infra-red surveillance showing this tabby and white cat, which Jane emailed to Tilly’s owners. They started to get excited, and confirmed that she had a yellow collar! Jane used real-time surveillance to selectively trap Tilly, to avoid catching the
wrong cat. The next day, Tilly was positively identified and her Mum and Dad were overjoyed. Tilly is now in luxury cattery accommodation until her new home is finished.
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My story
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MY STORY
In late February this year, a Parklands resident named Belle contacted us through the website.
She had befriended a very thin but lovely calico/
torti cat living in a part of the red zone, where
few houses are left. Belle provided food and companionship each day and asked SPCA Canterbury for advice, who suggested she contact redzonecats. The location was well outside our monitored areas, but Belle was happy to volunteer her time on a daily basis, and we set up a feeding station. We met up with Belle on one of her daily visits, and because she had gained the cat's confidence we were able to pop her into a carry
box right there and then. A vet check the next morning at McMaster & Heap Veterinary detected
a microchip, and we were soon speaking to Lilly's very happy owner, Caitlin.
Lilly, who is 13 years old, went missing six months previously when moved from Woolston to Breezes Road during earthquake repairs. She ended up a long way from both homes, and on the other side of the Avon River. Lilly was able to return to her original home after being found, but the family will shortly be moving to the new Pegasus town north of Christchurch. They don’t want her to go missing again, so they plan to be very careful when introducing Lilly to her new territory.
Lilly with her very happy owner, Caitlin.
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My story
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MY STORY
Casper got back home thanks to a remarkable coincidence, much like Tilly's story. A new tabby cat appeared on camera at a Dallington feeding station
on 20 March, 2015. One daytime video was recorded that first day. Subsequently, he visited several times each night, visible on infra-red only.
Casper's dad Roy contacted redzonecats through the Facebook page, just as Jane was preparing to post a Found ad for the new tabby. Roy got pretty excited when he saw the video and he
was able to find some much better photos than the one on
Casper's Lost ad! A comparison of the tabby markings was
very encouraging. Jane briefed Roy & Jackie on a strategy to
'acquire' the target cat, which included first trapping one of
the other cats who visit the station. Everything went as planned and Jane was able to drive trap plus cat to Roy and Jackie's new home at 10pm for final confirmation that this was indeed Casper.
Casper had managed to escape from his new home after just a couple of nights, and may have been trying to return to his old territory in Avondale. Instead of crossing the river, he followed
it down into the south Dallington area. He lost a lot of weight
on his 7km journey, because after a week of regular meals at
the feeding station he was still much thinner than when he disappeared. Casper was only found because redzonecats use camera surveillance. The lady who lives where this feeding
station is located never saw him once, in the whole week that
he was there. Many lost cats become reclusive in this way.
A comparison of the tabby markings was very encouraging.
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