About Cats Paws Sanctuary
Cats Paws Sanctuary is a small independent charity which raises funds by running two charity shops in Blackpool, holding an annual Open Day and by the receipt of donations/bequests.
Our loving home for cats...
In 1986 a group of friends sat together discussing their concerns about the plight of homeless and abandoned cats in the Blackpool area. This is when they decided to form Cats Paws. They raised money to help the cats by doing jumble sales, auctions, Summer and Christmas fairs in their local church hall. One of the committee members ran a boarding cattery in Poulton-le-Fylde, where we housed the rescue cats. As funds grew, we were able to obtain a large ex-army accommodation block giving us extra space.
In 1996, the cattery owner wanted their land back. We carried on raising money in the hope that one day, we could build our own sanctuary. We managed to purchase the bungalow and land on School Road and began to build the present sanctuary in 2001. The official opening of the sanctuary was on 8th July 2002. Over the years we have built the sanctuary up to what it is today and we are super proud of what we have achieved.
Our dedicated team...
The sanctuary is run by a team of five staff members, who have all gained different qualifications in animal care, welfare and behaviour. Between them all they have many years of experience working with rescued animals but in particular with our feline friends. They all work over a 7 day rota so the sanctuary is fully staffed 365 days a year. We pride ourselves on our high standards, after all we are rescuing these beautiful cats to improve their lives. All staff attend regular courses on all aspects of the health and behaviour of animals which keeps them up to date with new treatments and care.
We also have “In House” courses which allow staff to work towards higher levels of Animal Care. We have a dedicated team of volunteers who come on a regular basis to help with grooming and socialising the cats and kittens and most importantly helping to keep the sanctuary clean and safe for them. The charity has six Trustees and a supporting committee which meets regularly every month.
Our charity shops...
We have a great team of dedicated, volunteers who run our charity shops. Our shops sell a wide variety of good quality “pre loved” items which are donated by our amazing supporters. All money raised in our charity shops goes directly to helping the cats and kittens at our sanctuary.
So why don’t you pop down and have a look around for a great bargain! We are always looking for good quality items to sell in our charity shops. Unfortunately, due to safety reasons we are unable to sell electrical items, bike helmets, car seats, prams and large furniture.