April 17th saw the CAS team attending our second year at the Three Counties Showground’s family-friendly agricultural event, CountryTastic.

The event was a jam-packed day for children and parents to experience the wonders of the British countryside through various activities, but CAS were excited to be a part of the deeper message on rabbit welfare.

Forming our very own ‘Rabbit Ranch’ zone, we were able to showcase what good rabbit housing and welfare standards are, as well as providing educational advice on appropriate rabbit care and enrichment toy-making for children to take part in.

Two of our gorgeous rabbit residents, Domino and McCoy attended and were the perfect models to showcase what a happy bunny looks like when they are provided with good quality housing, enrichment and lots of space!

Sadly, despite being the third most popular choice of pet in the U.K, rabbits also remain the most neglected. Many live a life of solitude in inappropriate housing such as hutches and indoor cages, which do not meet the minimum housing requirements for their welfare considerations.

**A rabbit should freely have access to a living accommodation area of 10ft x 6ft with a minimum height of 3ft **

Our attendance at this agricultural event was driven by our partnership with the Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund (RWAF) campaign in 2023, a movement to boycott agricultural rabbit displays. RWAF set the precedence to help end the typical largescale event showcasing of rabbits, who are held in small, meshed cages for hours to be viewed by the public, holding no consideration of the rabbit’s welfare or comfort.

A step was made to change this at the Great Yorkshire Show, followed in quick succession by the Three Counties Showground in 2024, a change we hope can continue to grow across the country.

As an organisation we look forward to supporting better rabbit welfare and helping to break the myths many people sadly carry about rabbits.

If you are in need of any advice or support about rabbits or to better understand your bunny, you can talk to our team at smallanimals@gawa.org.uk

We are delighted to share our Spring/Summer 2025 Newsletter

World Book Day is an annual event held to celebrate and encourage reading.

The day further aims to offer all children and young people the opportunity to own a book of their own. To access free resources and book vouchers CLICK HERE to visit World Book Days official site.

Cheltenham Animal Shelter aims to support children reading by working with our rescue animals through our Paws for Reading scheme.

Two local primary schools currently access to project; The Ridge Academy and Gardners Lane Primary School. The initiative was set up in 2017 alongside Prestbury Library and The Ridge Academy to help local primary school children with low level reading confidence.

“I would say that this project is very rewarding – it’s my favourite. The SEN pupils get to be out in the community and can enjoy being in the library. Having a dog in the room immediately reduces their anxiety levels. It has been so wonderful to see children enjoying books – especially those who didn’t think they liked them – we can always find a book that fits with their special interest. It’s satisfying to know that the animals coming from the shelter – enjoy their socialisation time too.”

 

Laura, Library Assistant at Prestbury Library

During the sessions children read aloud to one of our rescue animals.

Through reading to a dog, cat, or rabbit, instead of their peers, teachers, or parents it allows them to relax and enjoy the experience without the pressures of expectation. Furthermore, it can be a therapeutic experience for the young person, by reducing their stress levels, resulting in any worries they have surrounding reading decreasing, making the activity more enjoyable.

“Paws for reading has been a great way of getting our pupils to be interested in reading and motivated to read aloud. Reading to animals has helped with building their confidence and enjoy reading more in a stress-free environment.”

 

Rachel, Teacher at The Ridge Academy

The project further benefits our rescue animals.

Sessions run at Prestbury library with the Ridge Academy allow the dogs to have respite from their kennels. During both the onsite sessions where the children read to our cats or rabbits, and off-site sessions with the dogs the sounds of the children’s voices and extra human companionship can help relax the animals and reduce their stress levels within the rescue environment.

All our animals are assessed by our behaviour team, ensuring any pets taking part in the sessions will enjoy their time on the project and benefit from the extra human interaction.

Here is what some of the students from Gardners Lane Primary School have to say about their experience of the project!

“I really liked visiting the animal shelter because the animals were amazing. The rabbits were so awesome and cute. I liked reading to them.”

“It’s good because I love animals, and I liked reading to them. They liked my story book too”.

“I liked reading to the cats and one of them liked it when I played with the cat toy. It was fun”

“Danielle was so nice to us and let us see all the cats and rabbits.”

“I liked the cats as they came out to see me when I read my book. I think they wanted to play.”

To find out more about our project or express an interest in your school joining the initiative please visit our Paws for Reading page.

We had a fantastic time during our sessions this February half-term.

Our children and young people helped look after the rescue animals by cleaning kennels and rabbit pens, making cat toy pom-poms, and experiencing exclusive animal interactions.

During the session we focused on pet safety and how our pets communicate through their body language to tell us how they are feeling.

We also learnt about the ‘ladder of communication,’ which is a tool originally created by Kendal Shepherd. The ladder demonstrates steps dogs will typically show when communicating stress or uncertainty in a situation.

Animal Encounters

For our dog meets, the children met Jasper the Greyhound and Mia the SBT X Shepherd. During the session they had the opportunity to meet one of the dogs and then set up lots of scent games and enrichment items for them. This included hiding treats amongst towels, egg boxes, cones, snuffle mats and treat balls and puzzles.

The children also met Jasper, Rory, or Cinnamon the cats who enjoyed playing with the children with interactive rope toys. These toys are great for mentally stimulating our cats and enabling them to express natural behaviours such as, pouncing and stalking as they would when hunting!

While we had the cats in the sensory area, we discussed cats body language and how they communicate to us how they are feeling.

For our rabbit interaction the children met shelter residents in small groups where we had an informal chat about rabbit handling, nutrition, and enrichment! Marlin took part in most of the sessions. All the children and young people did a great job being calm and quiet around him, which really helped build his confidence around people.

Sessions for Young Adults! 

One of our sessions this holiday was aimed exclusively for secondary school students. During the session the young people helped clean out small animal pens, prepared enrichment items by making destruction tubes for either a rabbit, dog, or cat, and met our rescue animals.

During the session the young people learnt about dog body language, and “life skills.” We also looked at calming signals and how our dogs may use lower-level signs of stress to show they are unsure or need a break from training. We then looked at basic trick training and positive reinforcement by rewarding our dogs with toys, treats, or praise. 

With our rescue dog we put this to practice by doing trick training with Mia. Each of the young people had a chance to get Mia to ‘sit,’ ‘touch’ or ‘wait,’ which are all important life skills for dogs. 

Our dogs knowing these commands can also help when finding them a new forever home. After her training we had some ‘down time’ with Mia in the education room with some human company and snuffle mats.

Here at Cheltenham Animal Shelter, we celebrate World Spay Day to highlight the importance of neutering our pets, and to advocate how neutering can be highly beneficial for our pet’s welfare.

In 2024 alone we looked after a total of 67 kittens. 40 were born at the Shelter, 20 were brought in as strays, and 7 were signed over because their previous owner was no longer able to care for them.

Neutering is an operation that prevents female cats getting pregnant, and stops male cats impregnating female cats. For females this procedure is known as ‘spaying,’ and for male cats a ‘castration.’

In 2024 we neutered approximately 91 cats and kittens.

As responsible pet owners it is important to understand the benefits of neutering our pets, the procedure can have a positive impact on their health, behaviour, as well as preventing unwanted litters.

Cats can get pregnant from 4 months of age. Unneutered cats should not mix after this time, including siblings. It is a myth that there are benefits to our cats having a litter before neutering. In fact, as cats can get pregnant so young, it could even be harmful for them to have a litter when they are so small themselves.

Not only can neutering prevent unwanted litters but you are also:

Protecting female cats

• Neutering can help protect your cat from getting diseases including some cancers and tumours.
• Reduces the risk of womb infections.
• Repeated pregnancies can affect the cat’s body condition and leave them vulnerable to diseases.
• Protecting female cats from the risks of pregnancy.

Protecting male cats

• Can help prevent them from roaming further away from home, which can carry risks including getting lost and car accidents.
• Can reduce the risk of cats getting into fights with other cats, which can result in injury.
• Unneutered male cats are at more risk of contracting FIV (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus). Cats can become infected with FIV through cat bites. CLICK HERE to read the Blue Cross news article on FIV.
• It can also help prevent ‘spraying’ in your home. Cats spray urine to mark territory. Unneutered cats will also spray to attract potential mates. In unneutered cats this can lead to spraying in your home and garden.

Helping to reduce the cost of cat ownership

• Pregnant cats come with vet bills.
• The cost of looking after the kittens after birth.

Before your cat is neutered it is important for both your cat and those around you to

• Keep unneutered cats inside!
• Ensure siblings of the opposite sex are kept separate from four months of age.

So why do we love our pets?

There are the obvious benefits of having pets like companionship, helping with feelings of loneliness and the pets need for exercise inspiring people to become healthier. Pets also help us with increased social interaction and provide support for people dealing with difficult times such as poor mental health, bereavement or loss.

There has also been scientific evidence to show that pets provide benefits for people’s health and wellbeing. For example, it has been shown that people who have pets are more likely to live longer. This is because the presence of a pet brings a positive effect upon our mental health and wellbeing.

When it comes to scientific studies around the human and animal bond, there are many theories in why we choose to be close to and love our pets. One of the theories called stress-reduction, looks into how animals can reduce a person’s stress levels. For example, when being stroked, animals release ‘happy chemicals’ themselves but they also increase these chemicals levels in humans. These include chemicals such as: serotonin, dopamine and adrenaline.

Another theory, social support theory, looks at emotional, practical and informal support through supportive human relationships, for example how dog walking can increase social interactions with people.

Another popular theory is attachment theory which investigates how the attachment between humans and animals mirror a parent – child relationship. A 2019 study revealed that cats have the same attachment to their owners that babies show to their parents!

So what can we do to show our pets that we love them?

Take dogs out for a wellness and enriching dog walk
A wellness and enriching dog walk can really help our dogs feel comfortable and calm in their environment. This type of dog walk is not our usual getting from A to B walk but is instead a big opportunity for our dogs to sniff as much as they want to and be out as long as they would like. As sniffing helps dogs learn more about their environment, they are more likely to enjoy this type of walk and it might even tire them out more than your usual walk!

Treat them with a new toy
We love to spoil our pets with toys and what better day to do this than National Love Your Pet Day! You do not even have to buy a toy for them but you can instead create a new toy. See below for our how-to sheets on pop-pom toys for cats, hay balls for our small animals, destruction boxes for dogs and snuffle mats for any pet – just add their favourite treat.

All of these toys can be made with items that you might find in your home and your pet will adore them! Click the images to enlarge.

Play their favourite game
Why not play your pet’s favourite game to show that you love them? This could be a game of hide and seek with a treat hidden behind a pillow or even a game of fetch in the garden.

Treat them to a spa day
How about treating our pets to a groom or even massaging some pet safe balm onto their pads and noses to help with any dryness. Most animals need to be brushed regularly and this is a great time to do it to ensure they are kept clean and tidy. We have fantastic groomers onsite here where you can surprise your pooch with a groom to show them you love them! Check out Short Bark & Sides dog grooming services based at the Shelter.

Make some fun and easy treats at home
Along with making toys at home, we can also hand bake some animal treats! See below for our how-to sheets on treats for our pets.

The best way to show our pet we love them is by making sure they are healthy and safe.

Ensure your pet is up to date with their vaccinations and carry out a health check to make sure they are feeling the best they can be!

Following a great response in 2024 to our pop-up charity shop in Cavendish House, we decided to make our town centre presence more permanent in a new premises, just off the main high street, that opened its doors on 23rd November.

Located at 25 Winchcombe Street and selling a range of quality kid’s, men’s and women’s clothing, shoes, and accessories, homewares, books and games at bargain prices, there is something for any savvy shopper. Dogs are welcome too!

Cheltenham Animal Shelter invites you to visit the charity shop in Winchcombe Street to celebrate your love of animals in the run up to Valentines Day and be the among the first to hunt for bargains in the new EXTENDED SHOP SPACE on the first floor.

The event will celebrate the opening of the first floor to shoppers for the first time on Saturday 8th February from 11am where there will be balloons, cakes, drinks and a 50% OFF EVERYTHING SALE for the whole weekend!

All proceeds help the homeless pets at Cheltenham Animal Shelter so please call in and bag yourself some bargains!

Since our on-site charity shop in Gardners Lane opened in 2013, it has raised over £600,000 for pets in need and has proved to be a vital source of income to keep the Shelter running.

Charity shops also provide a valuable resource for people as the cost-of-living rises, and the Shelter’s shops sell only the best quality items at real charity shop prices, offering the local community a destination for sustainable and affordable retail therapy.

We hope that the shop in Winchcombe Street will be a great success and pave the way for us to open more off-site shops in the county.

The Winchcombe Street shop is open Tuesday to Saturday 9am to 5pm, Sundays 10am to 4pm, and is closed on Mondays.

The on-site shop in Gardners Lane is open Monday to Friday 10am to 4:30pm (4pm on Wednesdays), 11am to 3pm on Saturday, and is closed on Sunday.

For more information about the shops, including items accepted as donations, please visit www.gawa.org.uk/charity-shop

We had a tree-mendous time at our Christmas Craft session on 14th December.

The three sessions offered an hour of festive fun for the whole family to enjoy. The sessions included a selection of crafts to complete, warm drinks, and a tour of the Shelter.

Crafts were demonstrated by the education team, with a selection to choose from including Christmas pom-poms, rabbit baubles, dog biscuits, colouring, letters to Santa, and a keepsake for the young people to take away.

Attendees could take their creations home for their own pets or donate them as a gift to a Shelter resident.

Santa’s Workshop

During the session we enjoyed hot drinks, gingerbread biscuits, and mince pies while making the enrichment items.

The children and young people also had the opportunity to write a letter to Santa, complete Christmas colouring sheets, and make a Christmas tree handprint keepsake to take away.

We would like to thank everyone for supporting our Christmas Craft event and our Animal Experience Days throughout 2024.

As well as learning about pet safety and responsible pet ownership by attending our sessions your children and young people are also helping the animal care team with their daily tasks and giving residents who love to be around people extra respite from their pens/ kennels and human companionship.

Your ticket purchases go towards the running costs of the Shelter so we can continue to help the dogs, cats, and small animals in our care. As an independent Shelter we do not receive government funding with our annual costs now over £1,000,000!

We would not be able to carry out the work we do without the generosity of our supporters. From all the staff, volunteers, and animals thank you.

Thank you to those who made our Shelter residents Christmas a little brighter by donating their craft items to a rescue animal.

These were given to the animals by the animal care team and, as you can see, they really enjoyed their presents!

Our Animal Experience Days run every school holiday except over the Christmas period.

They offer children and young people aged 5-16 a unique opportunity to learn about responsible pet ownership and safety in a fun, relaxed environment.

For more information and to join our mailing list for the sessions please visit our Animal Days page.

What best describes a receptionist in a busy pet rescue shelter?

A friendly face, a kind voice, a calm, reassuring first point of contact – all of those and more. What skills are needed – the ability to multitask, be resourceful and organised, be able to work through problems.

Members of the public reaching out to rescue organisations can be desperate for someone to solve, what to them seems insurmountable. In these situations, a receptionist needs to ‘think on their feet’. A kind word and the time to listen can help ease even the most stressful situations, so a calm response is the ‘best tool in the box’.

This is not to say being ‘at the sharp end’ is without its challenges. Pet care and responsibility is a very emotive subject which can bring out the best or worst in a person. Sadly, a shelter cannot always offer an immediate solution, if any, to every problem, which can be extremely hard to explain. A receptionist therefore needs a good knowledge of any support systems available and be able to reassure anyone experiencing difficulties there are choices.

So, what is a receptionist typically asked? There is a large range of enquiries, typically starting with ‘I need some advice’. This often leads into asking to surrender a pet, but can be anything from behavioural advice to an opinion about which type of pet to adopt and questions about shelter animals. There are, of course, in-house experts, but reception can give initial guidelines.

Another important role for reception is accepting donations. Whatever is gifted, be it bedding/food for the pets, something to sell in our charity shop or monetary, acknowledgement is key. The ability to show and express gratitude is invaluable, which brings us back to a kind word and time to listen, as the gift is often due to a bereavement and those giving may need to talk.

As well as enquiries regarding rescue and rehoming, reception organises the booking of holiday and creche days for privately owned cats/dogs. This process can sometimes be stressful for the client, so the receptionist is again someone to ‘lean on’. By demonstrating a thorough understanding of what we can offer, showing empathy and patience will reassure the pet’s owner the shelter can provide safe, comfortable care/accommodation. The pet’s arrival can also require words of comfort to help lessen any worry.

So, to summarise – the person behind the ‘front desk’ must be a ‘rock’, with good ‘listening ears’, who can think quick and stay ‘cool’. It comes with practice!

Finally, the bonus to being a receptionist is, without a doubt, the pleasure of seeing and hopefully meeting all creatures great and small, from a hamster to a St Bernard.

by Marie Booth, Receptionist at Cheltenham Animal Shelter for 25 years!

We are delighted to share our Winter 2024 Newsletter with you