By Lorraine Almond-Farrant

My husband (Chris) and I decided to sell up in Cambridge and move to Spain in November 2002….there were a few thought processes involved, but I won't go into those now. We brought with us our 3 cats and 3 dogs from England. In June 2003 we moved in to our new (well, it's over 300 years old actually!) house in Polop.

The start of a journey
In August a 'friend' of ours brought round a little bundle of 4 kittens, of about 2 days old, and presented them to us….he had found them in a dustbin in Callosa (a few kms away) and knew that I would know what to do with them. I decided to keep them for a while…..until I knew what to do with them! Two of them were really poorly and thought they were going to die, but in the morning we still had four, and so began a journey…which hasn't ended!

Lovely Blue Eyes
Shortly after this I was putting some rubbish in a dustbin in Benidorm, when I heard a very faint 'squeak'….on investigation, I found two awful-looking kittens….they seemed wet all over, but did have lovely blue eyes. I obviously, wrapped them up and took them home with me….keeping them warm by putting them down my sweater! They were also full of fleas! One of them wouldn't take water from a syringe….so I decided to visit a vet, who 'dripped him up' and kept him for two days. This proved worthwhile, and he survived, and when I brought him home to his brother, they were both so much happier. They have turned out to be lovely Siamese kittens.

Introduction to the dogs
After syringe feeding them for a few weeks, I really got to know their individual needs, habits and character….there was no way they were going anywhere! They soon started to grow and our next job was to gradually introduce them to our dogs. Using a wire transporter as security for the kittens, we brought them together. The dogs were obviously interested, and Tia, our GSD, used to lie down next to them (protecting them we think), and the kittens used to put their paws through the bars and stroke her nose! This proved to be a very worthwhile exercise as, once they were big enough, they were able to 'hold their own' against the dogs without being afraid. You should see them now (they are about one year old now) playing together, almost tormenting the dogs. When the dogs get too boisterous, the kittens either 'play dead' (and the dogs then give up), or they give them a whack round the nose for their troubles!

You can see pictures of these six kittens….Felix (black and white), Spangle (ginger and white), Samson (black), and Zweena (tortashell). The Siamese are called Picasso (he looked a picture), and Dahl (because he had a funny twisted tail/tale).

Benidorm Animal Shelter:
Shortly after this I got speaking with someone who did voluntary work at Benidorm Animal Shelter, and got an invite to go and see it... and to spend a few hours with the dogs and cats. When I got there I felt a mixture of happiness, sadness, anger and surprise. There were around 250 dogs…..in large runs and all mixed together…. and 150 cats, obviously separate from the dogs but all free to come and go as they please within a large area. There was no hot water and disinfectant was not used, only cold water to wash out areas from time to time….therefore certain diseases were rife at the shelter. Food came in the barrow-load, from various Benidorm Hotels….all the left overs from the restaurants…..so, whilst it was only human food (too much salt, sugar etc..), it was actually plentiful and, in general, the animals seemed pretty well fed, and most (ok, some) looked relatively happy.

I was doing it for no money at all
Initially, I was treated with a certain amount of disdain as, I was told, that they always had people who would come and help out, but then only once or twice and then they were never seen again. So, as I 'hung on' for week after week, usually going twice or three time each week, I gradually came to be accepted by the staff, and that I was a dedicated hard worker, even though I was doing it for no money at all….just love. It seemed to me that the cats were being relatively neglected, so I decided to concentrate most of my time on this area…..tidying, cleaning, disinfecting (bringing my own bleach, towels etc..!), even Frontlining for fleas, and using antibiotics in many cases.

All the cats could mix
One of the main problems at the shelter was the fact that there was no neutering program at all…..so, whilst the dogs were segregated into male and female runs, all the cats could mix to their heart's content! This meant that the population would grow significantly due to kittens being born, but the other side of it was that not many of them would survive the disease. It was then, really, that I decided to start taking an interest in the 'protection' of newly born kittens …..to try and give them some sort of good life. People would bring kittens to reception at the shelter and, before they could come into contact with any disease, I would offer to look after them….at home!

So, our home in Polop became a sanctuary for kittens…..however, once I had filled 3 rooms with them, it wasn't a sanctuary for my husband!!

PACK Shelter:
So, the next bit of the 'plan' came to me…..we must buy a piece of land on which to put the cats…..oh, and our dogs now numbered 5, so it would also be good to 'lose' them as well. Chris asked around, and eventually we found a suitable plot…..this was on a hill just outside Polop, in the 'Campo', at the end of a long winding track, and with 100 orange trees on 8 terraces. One of the terraces was much larger than the others and would be ideal for a small wooden cabin…..for the dogs (with a few home comforts)….and I could also see where some sheds could be erected with suitable runs for the kittens.

We proceeded to purchase this land and the first job was to securely fence the large terrace, secure enough so that the dogs could not escape….nor anyone / anything else could enter. The wooden cabin was ordered and paid for, as were the two initial cat sheds and runs…..you can see pictures of these.

I decided that I should concentrate on looking after the "dustbin" and any other abandoned kittens. Plus I should help to spread the word of the benefits of neutering the male and female cats in the area.

Chris came up with the appropriate name of PACK…. "Protection of Abandoned Cats and Kittens"….and so the PACK Shelter was up and running.

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The dogs cabine

Still building

Picasso

Zweena and Samson




Spangle



felix

Fanta