Last night we launched our Manifesto for Cats at a
parliamentary afternoon tea reception in the House of Commons. The public were
consulted on our 10 Manifesto priorities last May which, if delivered, would create
a better world for cats.
The launch was attended by an audience of 40 MPs and Lords, professional
organisations and other animal welfare charities. Here’s a lowdown of the
launch as it happened:
1pm: The team are carrying a giant cardboard cut-out of a
kitten across the bridge on our way to the Houses of Parliament!
![]() |
Carrying a disguised kitten cardboard cut-out across Westminster Bridge |
1.15pm: We start making our way through the security gates.
1.30pm: We get a cheeky snap of security guards with some of
our handmade cat-themed iced biscuits!
![]() |
The cat-themed biscuits are a hit! |
1.45pm: We have a sit down in the public café surrounded by
all our equipment. Time for a cuppa and to check that we’ve got everything!
1.55pm: We spot TV vet Marc Abraham, Marisa Heath from the Associate
Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare (APGAW) and Vicky Craighill from the
PDSA in the café.
3pm: We start making our way across to the Strangers' Dining
Room. We’ve got a lot of boxes and cases to lug over!
3.15pm: We begin setting up the room. A platform is
built for our huge cardboard kitten, which we’ll later be asking our guests to
pose with to have their photo taken. Manifesto promotional banners are set up
and TV monitors and sound equipment are tested.
3.35pm: Guests start arriving and queueing up outside the
room.
![]() |
Setting up the Strangers' Dining Room |
4pm: We open the doors to all MPs and guests. Away we go!
4.15pm: Neil Parish MP and Angela Smith MP arrive and have
their photos taken with Cats Protection’s CEO Peter Hepburn and Chair Heather
McCann.
![]() |
Neil Parish MP and Cats Protection CEO Peter Hepburn; photo courtesy of Philippa Gedge |
![]() |
Cats Protection Chair Heather McCann and Angela Smith MP; photo courtesy of Philippa Gedge |
4.30pm: Our host Neil Parish MP offers a warm welcome to the
reception.
4.32pm: Heather McCann thanks our guests for coming and
states that our Manifesto is “not just Manifesto for Cats. It is a Manifesto
for people.”
![]() |
Heather explains why we need to speak up for cats; photo courtesy of Philippa Gedge |
4.35pm: We play a short Manifesto video featuring cat owners
explaining why we need to speak up for cats. Watch the video here.
4.40pm: Angela Smith MP and Lord de Mauley offer responses
to the video and the Manifesto for Cats.
![]() |
Lord de Mauley delivering his response to the Manifesto for Cats; photo courtesy of Philippa Gedge |
4.52pm: Heather McCann invites everyone to network and have
their photo with our giant kitten!
5.05pm: The room is bustling!
5.15pm: A queue begins to form by the six-foot cardboard kitten;
it certainly is a talking point!
5.25pm: Felix Burrows, our young star in the Manifesto video has his
photo taken with the cardboard kitten.
![]() |
Felix Burrows; photo courtesy of Philippa Gedge |
5.40pm: We’re handing out loads of goody bags containing our
very popular cat-themed biscuits made in the kitchens at the National Cat Centre!
![]() |
Cat-themed biscuits; photo courtesy of Philippa Gedge |
![]() |
Cat-themed cupcakes; photo courtesy of Philippa Gedge |
5.45pm: Behaviour Manager Nicky Trevorrow strokes the giant cardboard
kitten’s chin while having her photo taken.
![]() |
Behaviour Manager Nicky Trevorrow; photo courtesy of Philippa Gedge |
6pm: Guests start to vacate the room and the event ends.
What a fantastic afternoon! We hope that the launch of the Manifesto
for Cats can help to change outdated laws and policies to protect cats. Our
priorities include calls for tighter regulation of the licensing of air guns
and banning the use of snares – both of which cause unimaginable pain and
suffering, through injury and death, to cats on a daily basis. We're also
calling for measures to control the breeding and sale of kittens to drive out
unscrupulous breeders and prevent the growing number of unwanted cats.
Want to get involved? You can make a real difference by
writing to your MP and urging them to support our Manifesto for Cats. Find out
more and read the full Manifesto document at www.cats.org.uk/manifesto
Photos of MPs and stakeholders who attended the launch are
available to view on our
Facebook page.
Awesome event!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, we're really pleased with how it went!
Delete