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Visit Willows
Open Saturday 20th May: 10:30 to 4pmClosed: all other days Adults: £6.00, Children: £5.00, Concessions: £3.00 |
Mischa Poorly
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%20at%20the%20sanctuary%20and%20are%20always%20causing%20mischief!&ayt=)
Our semi-feral resident, Mischa, has been extremely poorly recently. When rescued, along with three others, she was completely feral, but since she has been at Willows... she has become more tame and approachable. Her troubles started with an ear infection which our vets treated promptly. Unfortunately, she didn't respond to the treatment and the next day, her balance had deteriorated badly. She had to be rushed into the vets, placed on a drip and have tests run. Long story short, Mischa has been in and out of the vets most of April with symptoms including loss of balance, loss of appetite, constipation, trapped air in her stomach, refusing to eat and drink - the list goes on! She's had every test imaginable, and most recently an exploratory operation which revealed she has a very inflamed stomach. Mischa is currently being closely monitored in our hospital. She appears to be comfortable so now all we can do is await the result of her tests. Mischa came to us in 2021 as a young feral cat. Her family had been living rough on a couple of hay bales on the roadside, and sadly one of her siblings has been killed on the road. A Good Samaritan intervened and asked if we would help them as she couldn’t bear to see any more of them suffer the same fate. Nowhere else would help them and the situation had become desperate. Willows agreed to take them and the cats were trapped. Then they made the three hour round trip to the lifelong safety of their new home at Willows! Mischa isn't even two years old yet, had a very difficult start to life and really doesn't deserve to be so unwell. If you would like to help the cats at Willows please consider sponsoring one of these beauties... Or sponsor Mischa and her family at Willows... |
Fundraising for Willows!
This year, why not make a real difference and choose to walk the Kilt Walk for Willows or hold a fundraiser? Fundraising is such an amazing way to help a good cause, socialise and have fun! It’s a great way to try something new,
get fit and meet new people and it’s something the whole family can join in with too! We could really use your support this year as the cost of living is hitting us hard, so please consider making Willows the charity you help this year.
Please consider joining in the Kilt Walk and walking on behalf of Willows! They run four events per year so it’s easy to find a date that works for you! Here are some more fundraising ideas! |
Guinea Pigs!
Willows is home to many Guinea pigs and they live very happily at the sanctuary! They have a huge double tiered hutch within a predator-proof cage that they can pop out to at their leisure and which has lots of little additional houses they can visit! Unfortunately, people often get guinea pigs and then give them up when they realise how much work they are to care for. We go out of our way to make sure they get to lead the best life possible. Please consider supporting them at Willows. |
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Marmalade Update! 
Marmalade (pictured above as he is today) was abandoned in a busy town. Being partially sighted, this was very serious
for him and he was in danger of being hit by a car and killed. He was taken in by a local vets and many attempts were made to find his owner. However, he has no microchip and no one came forward to claim him. Willows
was asked to provide him the life-long home he so desperately needed. Being almost blind, feral and rather grumpy it was unlikely that he would ever find a suitable home so we said yes and started
organising things for him!
Using donations, given for this purpose, we built him a Catio (a cat patio!) and now he has a lovely cabin kitted out as a home for him. He has friends who he adores and he makes little chirping noises to greet them! When he first arrived he wasn’t keen on being friends with us and he hissed and growled and tried to attack us. We gave him all the space he needed and he is now happy to let us stroke him when he’s eating! Since he's been at Willows he’s gone from strength to strength and we know that with enough time we will win him around completely! We’d like to thank all our supporters for making his rescue and safe home a reality, as without you, it wouldn’t be possible! The Cat Hotel is a truly amazing and unique facility for cats, at Willows, that aren’t suitable for normal homes because they are either feral, not house trained, elderly or have health issues. Such cats are often forgotten and usually rejected by larger charities because they are very unlikely to find a good home. At Willows, we are strongly committed to helping disadvantaged cats live their best lives. We make sure that they all have constant access to this special facility and they are free to roam the 54 acre sanctuary. Every cat is health checked, neutered, vaccinated, has constant access to food and a cosy bed. Some of our cats cats have come from loving families who suffered a change of circumstances but many of them were facing death or had simply been forgotten by society. Not by us though! To us, they matter hugely and we are here for them. Please, please help us to continue our good work by sponsoring a cat, spreading the word about our good cause or by holding a fundraiser. |
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Donate to Willows!
Willows currently provides a life-long home more than 80 sheep.
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4 More Feral Cats Rescued |
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%20at%20the%20sanctuary%20and%20are%20always%20causing%20mischief!&ayt=)
A few months ago, we were contacted by a very concerned lady who had spotted a family of feral cats living by some hay bales by the roadside. She had already rescued some from that spot the previous year,
but had no room for any more cats....She started feeding them though and began the long process of winning their trust. In the meantime, she contacted various cat charities
to ask for help. Sadly, when she next went up to feed them, she found one of the family dead by the roadside as he had been hit by a car. Devastated, she contacted everywhere again to beg for help and explained
the severity of the situation. No one could help. The situation was worsening as one of the cats was becoming ill with a respiratory infection. Finally, she discovered Willows and when she called, we immediately
said we'd help! She managed to catch all of the siblings, and drove them for almost two hours to get them to us!
Milo, Mia and Misha were now safe and Misha received the much needed treatment for her respiratory issues. We then discussed with their saviour about finding their mum (Maddie we later named her) because we couldn't bear for her to be left to fend for herself and have even more uncared for kittens in the wilderness. It wasn't going to be easy to catch Maddie because she was completely feral, but she was going to try. Over several weeks, she set traps and made many trips with food and eventually, caught her! Maddie and her babies Milo, Misha and Mia are all now safe at Willows and have received all the necessary care. They have all been integrated into the Cat Hotel and are loving life at the sanctuary! They are so much luckier than most feral cats as they have somewhere to call home and they will never be hungry or cold again.. |
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Coming up to 25 Years Rescuing Animals
Founded 1998, obtained charity status in 1999
Willows Animal Sanctuary is the largest, ethically managed, equine, farm and domestic animal sanctuary in Scotland and will try to help any animal in distress. We operate a strict no kill policy and
only euthanise an animal on veterinary advice. We look after over 500 animals including over 100 horses, ponies and donkeys, approximately 50 cats, dogs and many reptiles as well as over
200 farm animals and birds.
We are totally dependent on donations, legacies and grants from benevolent organizations to keep the sanctuary running. Unlike larger charities we have no reserves of money and are always desperately short of funds. We specialise in helping elderly or more vulnerable animals that have already been refused help by well-known large national charities, but we can only continue to help needy animals with your support. |
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Registered Charity No: SC029625 this site is designed and maintained by Nick Robinson |