While all eyes are on Tokyo this weekend for the Olympics closing ceremony, the cats at Battersea have been celebrating a bit of nearer to residence with an Olympics of their very own on the main animal charity’s London centre. Sunday 8 August marks not solely the ultimate day of Olympic sporting occasions in Tokyo but in addition International Cat Day, an annual celebration of cats across the globe, so employees on the charity have marked the event with video games and competitions for the cats of their care.
Battersea’s ‘cathletes’ had been awarded medals for an array of sporting and endurance achievements together with ‘excessive soar’ (swish leaps from their perch), ‘wrestling’ (playfighting with a sibling or toy), ‘diving’ (pouncing from their cat tree) and the brand new sport of energy napping.
As properly as a method of holding the cats entertained, employees are hoping that shining a highlight on a few of the cats’ quirks will make them stand out to any potential homeowners and finally assist discover these particular cats a house.
A cattery spokesperson stated: “Here at Battersea each cat is a winner in our eyes however we wished to take a second to rejoice the particular qualities of some of our particular person cats. No two cats are ever the identical and their uniqueness deserves to be recognised – at Battersea we assist cats of all shapes, sizes and sporting skills.”
Among the rivals had been a number of cattery veterans who’ve all damaged the typical size of keep file. The dashing Micky could also be a bit lengthy within the tooth at 10 years previous, however his love of drooling to indicate affection means he has dribbling expertise to rival any professional basketball participant and in addition gained gold at ‘head bumps’. Meanwhile candy Sid will not be profitable any steadiness contests on account of his lack of a tail however his penchant for ping pong balls in his earlier handmade him a positive wager to take gold in racket sports activities whereas he waits for his favorite pastime, fishing, to change into an Olympic sport. Deaf and partially sighted Zara is splendidly agile, energetic and enthusiastic with every little thing she does so employees determined she was the feline equal of a heptathlete, and whereas one-year-old Reign could also be younger, he’s already perfected his gymnastic ground work. The tuxedo cat can generally present his nerves however as soon as he’s settled, he flops with precision and rolls across the ground for his adoring followers.
The inaugural Battersea ‘purr-lympics’ additionally noticed some recent faces together with two pairs of kittens. First up had been Arnold and Steven, a pair of four-month-old kittens who had been discovered deserted in a field. This energetic duo didn’t let their tough begin in life forestall them from turning into a double menace. The bothers are Battersea’s finest wrestlers and divers, steadily leaping from their cat tree and perches – and very often touchdown on each other. When he’s not diving, Arnold loves spending time cuddled as much as hand-knitted blankets, reminding employees of champion diver and knitting afficionado Tom Daley.
At solely eleven weeks previous, siblings Tanya and Ozzie had been the youngest cats being judged for his or her athletic prowess. Ultimately although, employees determined that it was too quickly to inform what particular abilities the pair might need and awarded them gold for cutest and loveliest as a substitute.
The spokesperson added: “While some cats will solely be with us a short time earlier than racing off to their new residence, others could also be with us for for much longer as they overcome any needed hurdles earlier than they will cross the end line and go to a brand new residence. We are right here to assist a cat for so long as it wants, whether or not their journey with us is a marathon or a dash.”
Battersea has nice trigger to rejoice International Cat Day this 12 months because the charity continues to extend its help of rescues abroad, in addition to these within the UK. Through the work of the Battersea Academy, which was established in 2018, over 41,000 cats and canines around the globe have thus far benefited from the help of the much-loved charity.
To discover out extra about Battersea’s work with worldwide rescues, please go to the Academy web site https://academy.battersea.org.uk/.
For additional details about Battersea’s cats, together with these presently in search of a house, go to www.battersea.org.uk/cats.
