The Boote Home for Cats was established in 1942 with money from the estate of the late Alderman of Liverpool, William Boote who was a great cat lover. He established, under the terms of his will, a home for stray cats and temporarily house cats whilst their owners are away from home. So although the Boote Home is mainly run as a rescue centre for abandoned and unwanted cats and kittens, we also have two rooms which are used for boarding for cats whilst their owners are on holiday. We currently re-home approximately 150 cats and kittens each year, paying for any medical treatment needed and most of the neutering costs. We have no funding at all so we also have to raise all the money needed for the upkeep of the home, its two part time employees and very high veterinary costs. We rely hugely on volunteers to feed and look after the cats and for transport to vets and new homes. We find most of our new homes by using a national web site www.catchat.org where Phoenix Cat Trust, with whom we work very closely, has a page showing pictures and information relating to all our cats.
The Boote Home for Cats is very dilapidated, so money has to be raised for updating, which we are working on methodically, prioritising work, such as underpinning and re-wiring which have recently been completed. Though the premises are still very run down at the moment, the cats are superbly looked after by Mrs Ridley, the Manager and her team of volunteers; our longer term cats waiting for homes do tend be be a bit on the plumptious side! We are actively seeking new Volunteers and Trustees, fosterers for cats and kittens, new loving permanent homes for our felines, donations of cat food, cat litter, new goods for our raffles, cleaning items and of course money.
