This was previously on Ann's Page

Jan and I first came across each other when she applied for a Catsup Cat of Character Award for Bernard, one of her rescue cats. From such small beginnings, we went on to become good friends and I've since made a number of other firm friends at the Cat Register and Rescue charity in Falkirk of which Jan's a member. We visit regularly and this is an account of a weekend I spent there very recently.

Falkirk is about 120 miles from Whitley Bay. It's a pleasant run through the Northumbrian and Borders countryside if you discount the occasional drivers with a death wish who also use those roads. Being overtaken at 70 mph on the blind side of a hill on a single carriageway puts quite a strain on the nervous system.

Normally when I visit Falkirk, it's purely social. I enjoy catching up with everyone and spending time with all the cats including Anthony, Spock and Dracs's adopted Siamese brother who is fostered by Rita and Lisa. This time, I'd been invited to take the Catsup Stall to Cat Register and Rescue's Annual Photo Show. Jen, who's adopted Hannah, another of Rita and Lisa's foster cats came along with me to help.

First stop is always Jan's home where I get up to date with what's been happening since the last visit. I particularly wanted to see Benjamin again. He was an orphan who'd been taken in by CR & R when he was only a day old. The last time I visited, he was 8 weeks old, with a bulging tummy, a big personality and a fierce determination not to miss a single thing that happened.

In the 8 weeks since that visit he's grown up quite a bit and is turning into a happy, handsome boy with a purr so loud it takes you aback the first time you hear it. I've just heard he'll be going to a good permanent home very shortly.

In fact, Benjamin was no longer the baby of the house. Just a week and a half before our arrival, CR & R had taken in a mother and her 4 two week old kittens. The mother had eaten poison and was close to death when she was found. Jan didn't expect her to survive, but, against all the odds, she pulled through and has been dubbed their miracle girl. She was in a pen with her kittens. Although she was unable to feed them, she had lost none of her other mothering instincts and it was good to watch her catch, pin down and give a thorough wash to each kitten after a bottle feeding session. Once that was finished, mother and kittens curled up in a cosy group and had a well earned rest. I couldn't resist getting in on the bottle feeding although, being a novice, I was pretty damp afterwards and so were the kittens. They were still only 3½ weeks old when these pictures were taken of my attempts.

I also wanted to see Boran. More than any other of the many successes CR & R have, she has a special place in my heart. I first met her over a year ago. I thought she was about 8 weeks old. She was adorable, playing on my lap, purring and generally succeeding in taking my attention away from the computer session Jan and I were having. (Jan mistakenly thinks I actually know what I'm doing with computers!) I was devastated when Jan said that Boran was actually 15 weeks old and only half the size of her two littermates. Jan was doing everything she could, but past experience suggested that Boran wouldn't make it into adulthood. It seemed so unfair that a beautiful and happy young kitten had such a short future. Some 6 months went by before I was at Jan's again. I'd been too cowardly to ask about Boran in between times. My first sight when I went into the computer room, which also doubles as the nursery, was of a truly magnificent longhaired ginger and white beauty sitting on the windowsill.

With Jan's help, Boran had confounded the odds. Not only that, she'd done it spectacularly. At nearly 2 years old, Boran's still petite although by no means undersized any longer. Despite showing every sign of having overcome her precarious start in life, Jan still worries about her, but I know she's in very good hands.

But I digress. The main event of the weekend was the Photo Show. Like all charities, CR & R has to work hard to bring in the funds to keep going and the Photo Show is one of their big annual events. It's run on the lines of a real Cat Show, with trophies and rosettes, but, instead of the cats themselves being entered, it's their photos that are exhibited. This I imagine is much to the relief of the participants who, for the most part, are purely family pets with no previous experience of cat shows.

At 9 pm on the Friday evening, after the line dancing class had finished (I wanted to go early to join in but was outvoted), CR & R hit the Church Hall where the event was being held with a vengeance. By 10 pm, stalls had been set up, display areas decorated and the place had been transformed.

Jen and I had it easy. All we had to do the following morning was get ourselves up and be ready in time for the start of the Show. Members of the CR & R had to see to the many cats they have in care first. Some of them were up at what I would class as still being the middle of the night.

The event was a complete success.

	There were some beautiful prizes including some engraved glassware for "Best in Show" and "Best Cat with a Disability". The lovely silver plated frame was for "Best Rescue Cat".
The photo show was well supported with over encouraged to buy from the many stalls	200 entries and lots of spectators, who were  as well as stop for coffee and a bite to eat.
The Catsup Stall is growing. It's difficult these days to fit everything onto just one table. As you can see, we now have our own "uniform" too. This is a closeup of the material from which our waistcoats are made

Money's still coming in, but to date, the Photo Show has raised approximately £1,800 ($2,700). Anyone involved in fundraising will know just how magnificent that amount is for a single event.

I'm proud to be associated with CR & R and very happy to be able to publicise some of the work they do to a wider audience. And finally, I couldn't possibly write a page like this without including a thank you for all the wonderful hospitality I receive whenever I visit.

Click here to find out more about the Cat Register and Rescue
Click here if you'd like to find out how to join their Adopt A Cat Scheme
Rita and Lisa, members of CR & R and foster carers of the boys adopted brother Anthony, sell their playmats in the Catsup Shop. All their profits go to CR & R.