Bury St Edmunds care home resident makes purr-sonal visit to stray cats

A resident at a Bury St Edmunds care home spent an afternoon reuniting with some of her favourite animals.

When Pam Lamb, aged 73, and a resident at Care UK’s Glastonbury Court on Glastonbury Road, mentioned to team members that she’d love to visit the stray cats, they quickly set to work arranging a special trip to Bury’s Stray Cat Fund.

Pam, who was born in Norfolk, has loved cats since she was a child. Over the years, she’s had four beloved feline companions: Smokey, a grey cat; Fluffy, who was black and white; Tiger, a ginger and white tabby; and Poppy, who was grey and white. Pam raised all her cats from kittens and had always dreamed of adopting one from a rehoming centre but never quite got around to it.

Glastonbury Court regularly welcomes a pet therapy cat called Harry, a two-year-old stray cat, who is the only registered therapy cat in Suffolk and Norfolk. His owner, Lyndsey, volunteers at Bury’s Stray Cat Fund and after hearing about this connection, Pam became curious to learn more about how the centre operates and helps rehome cats in need.

During her visit to the sanctuary, Pam was given a behind-the-scenes tour by Lyndsey, who showed her how the centre cares for the cats and helps them find loving new homes.

Pam said: “I had a lovely day visiting the stray cats! I wanted to bring them all home, especially a Bengal cat called Blue.”

Pam hung her wish to visit the stray cats in person on the Glastonbury Court Wishing Tree, a special Care UK initiative that enables residents to revisit old hobbies and passions or try something new. Whether it’s a fish and chip supper, a skydive or watching a football match, no wish is too big or small for the team to try to grant.

Bonnie Hall, Customer Relations Manager at Glastonbury Court, said: “At Glastonbury, we regularly organise activities and events that promote positive wellbeing and bring back happy memories from residents’ careers and younger years. It has been so rewarding to see how much of a positive impact the Wishing Tree initiative has had in creating new memories for residents.

“The visit brought back many memories for Pam, and she shared some lovely stories about her own cats. Upon her return from the sanctuary, Pam shared the amazing work they do with other residents. It was a fantastic day that we’ll all remember for a long time.”

Glastonbury Court is a modern care home providing full-time residential, nursing, dementia and respite care. Designed to enable residents to live enjoyable and fulfilling lives, the home has its very own cinema, hair and beauty salon and pub. There is plenty of space, both indoors and out, for relaxation and recreation.