Francis arrived in August 2007. He is the only long haired resident which we currently have at the hospice. His health has generally been good since he has been with us. Francis does suffer from a form of asthma which he does have medication for from time to time, although I am pleased to say that currently he is doing well and doesn't need any medication. Like most of our residents, he is a very loving cat and is happy to curl up on a volunteers knee given half a chance. Francis and Zak are best buddies and can often be seen curled up together on one of the sofa's. At feeding time Francis can have a tendency to raise a paw at the other residents making it clear which bowl is his.

Will arrived in February 2008. Will is a resident who often doesn't like to mix too much with the other residents. He prefers to spend most of his time in the outside catio and he really loves the new decking area which we had built earlier this year. Will's health has generally been good although he has given us a couple of scares when he has suffered with bad bouts of diarrhoea and become very dehydrated. On both occasions he had to spend a few days staying at our resident vets. One thing that you notice with Will is that he can be very verbal making you think that he wants fuss, but he prefers to brush himself against your legs rather than jump up to curl up on your lap.

Joy arrived in May 1998. Over the years she has generally had good health. She did have a dental a few years ago and more also had surgery to remove two cysts, one on her neck and the other by her right eye. With the position of the cysts this was a worrying time but thankfully she has recovered incredibly well. She can be very vocal when she wants fuss and is usually one of the first to jump on your knee. Once on your knee she would happily settle down for hours and can make it difficult for the volunteers or visitors to get up.

Shy-Annie arrived in March 2005. For the first few years when she was at SFHFC she used to live mainly outside in the lions den, but in more recent years she can often be found in the main room at the hospice. She has had a thyroid problem now for a number of years which requires her to be on daily medication to keep this under control. In 2012 she was diagnosed as having a deep routed ear tumour or polyp. We monitor this closely and she does require her ears to be cleaned/flushed regularly which I am pleased to say she doesn't mind having done. Shy-Annie requires three types of daily medication to help with her ailment.

Soloman arrived in September 2010. He is one of our younger residents at approximately 8 or 9 years old. Before Solomon came to the hospice he had to endure the removal of his eye due to a serious infection. Solomon is a lively young boy who gets on generally well with the other residents although he can be a bit more playful than the others at times. Solomon has never let one eye hinder him at all and he loves to sit in our outdoor area watching the local birds and pigeons which frequent the garden coming in the search of nuts, (but I think also they love to tease our residents knowing that they are secure behind the mesh).

Sylvester arrived in November 2009. Sylvester is a lovely cat who really does enjoy his food. When the volunteers take some chicken down he will always be the first in the queue for that and in the past he has been known to sneak in the kitchen when the humans are dishing up just so he makes sure that he gets first dibs at what is on offer. He does have a bit of an issue with patches of dry skin but thankfully this has been checked by our vet and is nothing to worry about. Sylvester also has a deep routed ear tumour, which is sadly too far down his ear to operate on. He requires a daily ear bathe to help with his condition.

Lulu arrived in October 2010. She came to us having had a previous history of urinary tract problems, however I am pleased to say that since her time with us this has not proved to be too much of an issue. Lulu is such a sweet old lady who is very dignified and has a really soft nature. She is quiet and unassuming and does enjoy lots of fuss, although you have to go to her more so than some of the other residents as she will not always push herself to the front. She has recently started to show signs of her age, we think that she is approximately 18 years old.

Ace arrived in April 2009. When Ace first came to SFHFC he suffered with Stomatitis and used to require monthly injections to ease his condition. Thankfully over the time this has subsided and more recently his health has been very good. He is a very laid back cat and is estimated to be about nine years old. Ace loves nothing better than to roll over onto his back for you to rub his tummy and would lie there all day as he never wants you to stop. He gets on with the other residents although I think he prefers the company of us humans.

Bob:
Bad injury to his tail and Feline Immunodeficiency Virus

Arrival date November 2011

Bob arrived in November 2011. He had been found as a stray and due to his tail being badly damaged had to have the majority of his tail amputated following his initial vet check before coming in to SFHFC.  It was at this point that Bob was found to be FIV+, Bob is one of our younger residents at approximately 8 or 9 years of age and thankfully he recovered well from his operation. Sadly though over the following few months it become apparent that he was not settling into our open multicat environment. One of our volunteers had become rather fond of Bob and offered to foster him, so we decided to give this a try and I am pleased to say that he settled in well. That's now over two years ago and I am pleased to say he is really happy in his new life.

Jiminy:
Feline Immunodeficiency Virus

Arrival date 5th March 2010

Jiminy was thrown a lifeline when he was offered a home at SFHFC as the only other option at the time was euthanasia. He settled in well and generally his health was very good initially. In time Jiminy did begin to suffer with his breathing and also suffered with a skin condition, in addition to his weight increasing. Jiminy required two different types of daily medication to help him with his breathing problems. Again as in Houdini's case his diet and food intake was hard to regulate, with at this time over 20 residents to feed. So, as he got on with Houdini it was decided that Joyce and John would foster Jiminy as well. Thankfully the two of them generally get on very well.  They love their new life and enjoy getting up to various counts of mischief.

Houdini:
Feline Immunodeficiency Virus

Arrival date 11th July 2011

Houdini came to SFHFC after being found as a stray and being tested positive for FIV. While with us Houdini always preferred human company rather than the other cats (although he did get on with Jiminy) and was very happy to enjoy fuss while the various volunteers were there. The following couple of years saw him put a substantial amount of weight on, to the point where it became a concern. Although we had tried various ways to reduce his food intake it just wasn't working. At this time one of the trustees was interested in homing another cat so in 2012 Houdini was fostered to Joyce and John. I am pleased to say that he is living a happy and contented life and has reduced his weight slightly.