The first ever open day at Cats Protection’s Ferndown Homing Centre on Saturday 3 July proved to be a huge success.
Approximately 500 people came to the open day, which lasted from 11am to 4pm, and a total of £3,200 was raised to help the centre look after and find homes for unwanted cats. 25 of the centre’s cats were reserved by owners, pending a home visit by the charity.
Joining the centre for the carnival-themed event were BBC South Today weathergirl Reham Khan; the Mayor of Ferndown Councillor Jean Read and Ferndown’s Town Crier Mike Andrews.
Reham said: “It was fantastic to see such incredible support for Cats Protection – these cats deserve to find loving homes and judging by the number of people that came along I’m sure more will find homes very soon. I’m proud to have been able to help.”
Councillor Jean Read, who along with Reham cut a special ribbon of paper paws to officially open the day, said: “I’m proud to have Cats Protection’s first ever UK homing centre situated here in Ferndown. The new centre makes adopting a cat from the charity quick and easy, plus it means that hundreds more cats can be found loving homes each year.”
Fiona White, the centre’s manager said: “The open day was a great success and we’re thrilled with the amount of people who came along on the day as well as the number of cats that have gone to new and loving homes. I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who visited on the day, and helped to make it such a huge success.”
Cats that were reserved on the day included Widget and Murphy, two lively black and white kittens who came to the centre via Cats Protection’s Frome branch. 
The day was also extremely exciting for nine-year-old Stacey Stevens who was announced as the winner of Cats Protection’s schools competition, sponsored by Stour and Avon Magazine.
Children from Years 4, 5 and 6 were asked to send in an imaginative drawing of the centre, and Stacey’s drawing featured a colourful depiction of the new homing centre and a poem about unwanted cats. Stacey won a selection of Cats Protection goodies and a £50 book token for her school, St Mary’s First School in West Moors.
If you would like to adopt a cat from the centre, please call 03000 120175 or visit www.cats.org.uk/ferndown
Cats Protection is the UK’s leading cat welfare charity and helps over 193,000 unwanted cats each year. The charity’s vision is a world where every cat is treated with kindness and an understanding of its needs.
