Cats Protection Lifeline is a specialist charity which looks after the cats of abused women which frees them up to escape the abusive home and restart somewhere else. The charity relies on volunteer foster carers to be temporary cat caregivers. It is a very important branch of the Cats Protection charity which is also reliant on foster carers to look after rescue cats.
Cats Protection Lifeline is looking for foster carer volunteers and I’d like to spread the word.
As Amy Hyde, the manager, said, volunteers for this service help both cats and women. There is a double benefit. Often abused woman stay in abusive homes for a range of reasons against their better judgement one of which is to protect their cat as often abused women refuges don’t take in cats.
Also, cats can be at risk themselves from abusive men as they are can be abused to emotionally harm the woman who owns the cat. Cats can become a means for the man in a partnership to leverage desired behavior in the vulnerable female by for example threatening to harm the cat or actually harming the cat.
Amy says it better than me:
We know that in cases of domestic abuse, pets are often targeted as a way to control or coerce a victim-survivor into staying.
She confirms what I said above about refuges not taking in women with cats:
And as most refuges are unable to accept pets, this can be a significant barrier for people seeking support and safe housing.
Amy
‘Lifeline’ was formerly Paws Protect. They have fostered over 330 cats during 2023 which has allowed over 200 cat caregivers to find safety. It is an important service.
Although in almost all cases it is men abusing women it needs to be said that this is not always the case. I need to ensure that I remain neutral and unbiased. There are probably some instances (rare) where the cat owner is a man and he is being abused by his female partner. I don’t know if the man can use Lifeline’s services. They probably can.
Cats Protection have high standards for their foster carers. You have to be able to allocate 10-13 hours per week to fostering, have your own home or permission from the landlord, be at least 18, ideally have prior experience, have a good-sized room or suitable outdoor space just for the foster cat and access to a car to take the cat for appointments. Finally, any existing cats need to be vaccinated and kept away from the foster cat.
