APT News

Celia Pike

Celia Pike, renowned feline artist, is one of Animal Protection Trust's Patrons. Celia's paintings of cats have been exhibited in top UK galleries and also at the Society of Feline Artists' (SOFA) annual exhibition in London.

Celia has been a loyal and generous supporter of APT for many years and, during this time, has painted an original watercolour of cats, used specifically as APT's very own Christmas card, as well as donating other Christmas cards, of her cat paintings, to help raise funds.

Celia said: "It was a lovely surprise and great honour to be asked to become Patron of Animal Protection Trust, as I have always been impressed by the hard work of everyone involved. I have rescue cats of my own and have great admiration for all the volunteers who give up their time to help make a difference to rescued pets that need new homes."

Celia, who lives in S.E London with her husband, Richard and two sons, has her own feline family of four: Woody, Rufus, Chester and Cheetah, all of whom have provided her with endless subject matter for her work. Since celebrating her postgraduate degree from the Royal Academy of Art School in London, Celia has painted professionally and exhibited her work in galleries across the UK. During her busy career, Celia has undertaken many varied commissions and her work has been featured on a wide range of greeting cards and calendars. In 2001, Celia was approached by the production designer of the famous Bridget Jones film, to provide paintings of cats to adorn the walls of the house of Bridget's parents. As we know, the film was a great success. In 2003 Celia was asked to provide further paintings for the sequel, Edge of Reason. The special request resulted in Celia painting 'Film Star Cat', using her own rescue cat, Chester as the inspiration. She was later invited to the Shepperton studios to see her paintings on the set.
Celia said: "It was a great thrill to be asked to the studios and I was very lucky to see three of the main stars of the film: Colin Firth, Renee Zellwegger and Jim Broadbent. It was such an exciting experience and then wonderful to go to the cinema and see my paintings in the film."

Photo captions:
1) Celia with Chester, who posed for 'Film Star Cat'
2) Painting of 'Film Star Cat' which appeared in Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason and later sold at SOFA's London exhibition.

Special Thank You To The Challenger Magazine & Scorpion Signs

Animal Protection Trust's appeal for a sign-writing sponsor for its new animal rescue vehicle, received a swift response from sign-writing businesses, who offered their services free of charge.

Jacqueline Ward-Reel said: "Within days we received responses from companies in Tadworth, Horley and Redhil l - we were thrilled with the results after our appeal in the Challenger and would like to thank the magazine for its kind support, the businesses who responded and, in particular to Scorpion Signs at Tadworth who undertook the sign-writing."

It's Not So Funny Being A Bunny!

Rabbits are Britain's third most popular pets and, yet sadly, many of them end up in animal rescue centres. Animal Protection Trust is hoping that a recent appeal will encourage pet lovers to consider giving a home to a rabbit from a rescue centre.
More details on the appeal or read about Bunny basics in caring for your rabbit.

Cat fostering

"Having recently moved to England from South Africa, we had to go through the agonizing process of leaving our three precious cats behind; as we felt that the 6 month quarantine would just not be fair to our furry friends. We decided against getting another cat straight away, as we did not know what our long-term plans were, and did not want to face another goodbye if we moved again. However, life without a feline was unbearable. Feeling quite miserable one Friday night, I surfed the internet, and found out about cat fostering. The rest was history, so they say...

We received our first foster cat from APT, of all days, the day before my birthday!  I couldn’t have been happier. A cute 8 month old bundle of black fluff called Stanley was lovingly taken into our care. He settled in very quickly… within 24 hours he was doing circuits around on top of the lounge furniture in our rented home! I despairingly said to my husband, John, “What have I done?”! I had forgotten how playful and energetic kittens could be. Stanley was an ace at chasing a ping pong ball up and down our stairs. We found it an entertaining way to channel some of his pent-up energy.

After 3 weeks we found Stanley a new home. Everyone thought that I would find it difficult to let Stanley go. However it was not difficult, for a number of reasons. First, I never saw him as our cat – rather we were giving him a temporary home that was better than a small cat pen. Secondly, our next foster cat was waiting in the wings (this was Sam, who we also had for about 3 weeks). And our third foster cat, Robbie, who was with us for about 6 weeks, even moved house with us when we bought our very own home here in July! But perhaps best of all with fostering, we get to see “our” cats a couple of months later happily settled and well loved in their new homes.

We are now fostering our fourth and fifth cats, a brother and sister called Bruno and Tiggy. It is hard work when a new foster cat arrives... settling them in and earning their trust. But when your efforts are rewarded with a nose rub, purr or snuggle, it makes it all worth while. In this new adventure, we have also made good human friends in Sue and Pete at APT, as well as with Carolyn who adopted Sam. Perhaps one day we will fall in love with a moggie and know that “This one is for me!”... but for now we are content with making a small difference to many furry foster felines in our home."

Rosemary Newton.

Painting donation

Animal Protection Trust was thrilled to receive a donation of an original painting by renowned feline artist, Celia Pike. The colourful, festive scene of two cats, with gifts under a Christmas tree, was specially painted to celebrate the charity's 20th anniversary in November 2004.

The painting, which was recently sold to help raise funds, was presented to APT's chairman, Jacqueline Ward-Reel, at the charity's Annual General Meeting. Celia said: "I am delighted to donate the painting to APT to help raise money. Everyone involved in the charity gives their time on a voluntary basis, so it is good to know that money from the sale of the painting will go directly towards the animals in its care."

Thank you very much for all the interest in this painting and for the money raised.