Janeen Treweek is by her own admission an avid dog lover – an unexpected revelation for someone who’s co-founded a successful Sunraysia cat rescue organisation. Mallee Cats was born from a sheer passion for animal welfare and a desire to help the ever increasing population of stray cats in the region. Danielle Wilcock spoke with Janeen about the organisation she founded more than two years ago alongside her niece, Kerry Hawkes. Picture: Ben Gross
JANEEN, a nurse of 20 years, and her niece Kerry are without question animal lovers.
Janeen has several cats currently in her care and oversees the careful fostering and successful rehoming of many stray and unwanted cats.
She is passionate about the rescue work Mallee Cats does, but it is extraordinary to learn Janeen is in fact quite the dog lover.
“I’m really a dog lover myself but I find that some cats can behave quite similar. They all have very unique characters,” she says.
“The issue surrounding stray cats is such a big problem, especially in our region.
“It was a desire to help locally with the rescuing and rehoming of stray cats that got me involved with cat rescue.”
Both Janeen and Kerry have been involved in cat rescue for more than five years.
They established Mallee Cats two years ago and have successfully rescued and rehomed more than 200 cats.
“My niece and I started out initially helping the pound and other rescues locally,” she explained.
“We used to do a lot of help with desexing and and transportation of cats down to Melbourne rescue centres.
“It happened organically and a couple of years ago we had the idea to start our own cat rescue.”
Shortly after establishing Mallee Cats, Janeen was approached by Mildura pet store Petbarn.
They were asked if Mallee Cats would be part of their Petbarn Foundation, an incredible opportunity.
Mallee Cats is the Mildura store’s chosen rescue organisation and Janeen explains the significance of this partnership.
Kittens and adult cats up for adoption can be found at the back of the store, affording Mallee Cats some much-needed exposure and has promoted many successful adoptions.
“The work we do with Petbarn has been really fantastic for us,” Janeen explains.
“The staff in the store are great. Each day they have a member of staff assigned to welfare checks of the cats.
“Either myself or Kerry will check on the cats daily and conduct our own welfare checks, we also have a vet conduct further welfare checks as and when needed.”
She explains the cats are only in the store for a week or two at any time and should the environment not be conducive to some adoptees, they simply wont go in-store.
“We were really fortunate to be offered this opportunity, it’s helped us successfully rehome many of our cats,” Janeen explains.
Sometimes cats can be under their care for prolonged periods of time, it could be understandably hard to pass them on.
Janeen was asked if she develops emotional ties to the cats she fosters.
She says: “If we’re confident they’re going to the right home it makes letting them go a lot easier.”
“That’s why we take great care in choosing their new homes.
“If we’re not confident in the home then we simply don’t let them go.”
Over the years, Janeen and Kerry have fine-tuned their policies.
Kerry manages their Facebook group, a tool they’ve increasingly adopted since establishing Mallee Cats.
Kerry regularly adds photos and posts of cats in their care ready for rehoming.
They have also worked hard to conscientiously develop the procedures that protect the cats in their care, ensuring their welfare is upheld when they come to be rehomed.
“We have changed our processes over time to make it safer for the cats.,” Janeen explains.
“Luckily though we don’t have to say no to potential owners a lot.
“We have found that more people do put a lot of thought into taking on a rescue cat.”
Having never run their own organisation before, there were some unfamiliarities with regards to cat rescue.
Janeen explains that a rescue in Victoria provided some vital assistance in the early days.
“Peninsula Cat Rescue worked with us for a long time before we did too much on our own,” she says.
“When we first got into pet rescue they were an organisation we would relocate cats to. They did a lot of work with us in the first stages and we learnt a lot from them.”
Janeen talks of a Facebook group that all pet rescues are part of, providing a safe space for all involved to liaise with one another, receive advice and support. It also allows rescues to communicate and discuss relocation of rescue animals locally and statewide.
“There is a transport van that runs from Mildura to Melbourne,” she states. “It runs weekly now but it didn’t always.”
Janeen explains the weekly commute is facilitated not by council or state, but by two volunteers.
Without this transportation, it would be difficult for pets in northern parts of Victoria to be rehomed as effectively.
“They transport rescue animals to larger animal rescues down in Melbourne,” Janeen says. “They go from here to the Wentworth pound then call at other towns such as Robinvale and Kerang.
“They go to whichever pound needs them which is really quite valuable.”
Mallee Cats utilises this service but focuses primarily on rehoming their cats locally.
The successful rehoming of cats takes a lot of time, care and money.
Being a small, self-funded organisation, Mallee Cats relies heavily on fundraising and donations from the local community.
“We do rely heavily on donations and fundraisers,” Janeen says. “We have a Bunnings Bake sale coming up and we also held pet Christmas photographs at PetBarn to raise money.
“Last month we did a Bunnings sausage sizzle fundraiser, which was really great.”
Veterinary bills are without question the biggest financial burden when it comes to animal rescue.
Janeen estimates that in order to get a cat fully vet-worked and ready for rehoming, the cost would be upwards of $500.
“Local vets are great, they do offer us discounted rates, which really helps, but the vet work is really costly,” she explains.
“Any money we raise really just goes straight towards the veterinary fees.
“The Riverbend Vet do the majority of our veterinary care and Dr Deb held a fundraiser for us just before Christmas. We were able to raise $300 which again really helps.”
The veterinary work involves desexing, microchipping, vaccinations as well as continual flea and worming.
If cats are sick or require ongoing medical attention this needs addressing before any rehoming process can occur.
Mallee Cats has also recently begun offering to pay for council registrations for the first year.
“We find that by offering this it is an additional incentive and encourages people to want to rehome a rescue cat,” Janeen says.
Janeen hopes to continue doing the work she does, with no immediate plans to expand her organisation.
“We are really at capacity right now, funding makes it hard to expand,” she says.
“We have five foster carers at the moment who all help greatly, we’re like a big family.
“We all do what we can. It’s hard as we all run our fostering and caring for our cats around our work and families. At the moment it really is a case of continuing the work we’re doing.”
Their next fundraiser is the Bunnings Bake Sale on January 26. Donations are also welcomed and can be done so by contacting them on their Facebook page – Mallee Cats.
