Val was involved with the cats at the SPA refuge in Tarbes and this led on to working with Les Amis and the development of the cat and kitten foster programme. Over the years this has grown from a handful of cats – and especially kittens – being fostered and adopted to more than 100 successfully placed every year.

With input from the rest of the cat team, Val deals with enquiries from people wanting to adopt or foster a cat; places cats and kittens with fosterers and monitors their progress; reviews applications from potential adopters; arranges transport and covoiturage to get cats to their adoptive or foster homes; advises people with cat-related problems; assists people who need to re-home a cat; helps people in various parts of France to find sources of help locally; prepares profiles and appeals for Facebook and the website!

Of the work with Les Amis, Val says, “When a situation is particularly sad or harrowing, or the sheer volume of work is overwhelming, being able to share a problem, to get instant practical and emotional support is fantastic. We are a team, and it’s good to share a laugh at some of the weird and wonderful situations that arise in animal rescue!”