The community documenting - and supporting - the life of a Hartlepool cat colony

A Facebook page documenting the lives of a Hartlepool cat family and making sure they have a better life has amassed a big following.
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Wildcats of Middleton has earned over 2,400 followers as it documents the lives of a now famous Hartlepool cat family and looks after the animals.

The page was set up to help two related colonies of cats, started in 2000 by a cat called Mrs Mog and her brother Socksy.

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Mrs Mog lived her whole life in the compound of Middleton fisherman's cabins until she passed away in 2019 of old age.

Sadie Waite started the Facebook page in 2016.Sadie Waite started the Facebook page in 2016.
Sadie Waite started the Facebook page in 2016.

The cats weren’t neutered and bred many times, reaching 31 in total by October 2016.

It was then that Sadie Waite joined the community after the late Jim Blair brought her on board and started the Facebook page.

Sadie has said that Jim, who passed away in 2020, "was desperate to save the cats” and was concerned they might be poisoned.

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Sadie said: "It was him that wanted to use Facebook as a tool to try and save the actual cabins and to get the wild cats famous, so people would then help us to save the cabins. The two go together.”

Mother and daughter cats eating.Mother and daughter cats eating.
Mother and daughter cats eating.

She helped neuter and find new homes for the cats, with now 14 felines remaining from the colony.

Seven cats sadly died after getting poisoned in early 2017.

Although the remaining cats are neutered, Sadie has said new cats keep coming in and the colony won’t disappear.

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The mental health support worker explained: "There’s cats always coming over from the docks. They wouldn’t be family anymore, but there will definitely be more cats coming in.”

One of the cats at Middleton.One of the cats at Middleton.
One of the cats at Middleton.
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The youngest member of the family, Gansher, has also remained on site after an unexpected turn of events – and even has his own Instagram page, @gnasher_middleton_wildcat.

Back in 2017, charity Cats Protection had come to collect his siblings in order to rehome them.

But Gnasher managed to “escape” after his mother hid him.

Fourteen cats have remained form the original family..Fourteen cats have remained form the original family..
Fourteen cats have remained form the original family..

Sadie said: "He was very timid when he first came in. Now, he’s the tamest and demands strokes all the time

"He was destined, it was his fate to stay.”

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If you would like to donate to their upkeep, message Wildcats of Middleton on Facebook.

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