Dorchester: Feral Cat Care thank Raggy Rat for Suzy postcard

Postcards of Suzy the cat have been selling out throughout the town of Dorchester in the last month.

The roving pet has been making a name for herself in the town since last year, wondering in and out of shops and businesses down South Street and Trinity Street and making friends as she goes.

Her fame grew and eventually, a Facebook group, Susie’s Travels in Dorchester, was set up to track the cute feline on her daily journeys through the town.

Weymouth-based artist Catherine Owen, who displays her work under the name of Raggy Rat, created a postcard with Suzy next to the Town Pump to honour the cute cat and also raise money for a local cause.

Feral Cat Care based in Chickerell, Weymouth, was chosen by Catherine to receive money from the sales of the postcards as the Facebook group wanted the money to go to a cat-related charity. 

The charity, which has been operating for 29 years, has two aims. Firstly to neuter and care for feral, stray and farm cats and kittens by providing them with food and veterinary care -  as well as provide a home for elderly, sick and injured cats.

Feral Cat Care also provide homes for domestic elderly cats that may have become homeless through no fault of their own, for example their owner passed away or had gone into residential care and could not care for them.

At the time of writing, £300 has been raised from the postcards, with the charity receiving £1 for every £1.50 of sales.

The money will go towards the procedures, which cost around £100 for male cats, and £120 for female cats to be neutered and microchipped.

Feral Cat Care looks after around 40 cats that have no homes and the money will also go towards food.  

Lynda Downton, co-ordinator at the charity said: “The response has been brilliant.

"A huge thanks goes to Catherine for creating the Suzy postcard and for choosing Feral Cat Care to receive the profit from the sales.

“It’s lovely that Suzy, who is enjoying her life, is helping the homeless feral and stray cats that are not so fortunate as her.

“Many thanks also to everyone who is purchasing the cards and to the shops involved.

“From the photographs I have seen, Susie is a very pretty little cat and I hope to have the pleasure of meeting her very soon."

Lynda added: “The only way of reducing and controlling the number of unwanted cats, which is a large problem and has become much more of a prevalent during the past few years is by neutering.

Suzy’s owner, Jenny Graves, said: “It’s been amazing to see the money they are raising and it's really positive for the charity and the town.”

If you need help with your cats and would like to know more about the work that Feral Cat Care does, then visit their Facebook page.