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One of the main aims of Les Amis des Chats is to improve the understanding about cat welfare for the next generation of cat owners as well as those who already have the responsibility of ownership.
Les amis des chats provides advice and information on cat healthcare and responsible pet ownership, neutering and humane control of stray cats.
For children
  “Les amis des chats” continues to develop its education programme for children and schools because this fulfils several purposes. Education in schools will raise awareness and that is an invaluable long term way to change community attitudes and promote community involvement - these children will soon grow up and may be running their local community and have influence in local policies, or they may be future cat owners. In the short term, children will talk to their parents about what they are doing in school and the message will spread. In addition, education helps to dispel myths and traditionally held views about cats.
Our children's page on our website is specially designed to help children aged 7 –11 learning English. This page includes cat-related activities that are fun and creative to do while learning another language. The page can be downloaded.
Kevin the Kat, a Les amis des chats character designed to bring some fun into learning hosts the page. He has his own stories for children and a Facebook page to keep everyone up-to-date with what he is doing.
 And it’s Kevin the Kat that presents our new education resource, the DVD entitled Kevin the Kat : Anglais avec les chats. The DVD includes 3 lessons about cat welfare as a tool to teach English to children aged 8 to 12 years. We have chosen the format of a DVD in order to reach the maximum of children, using a popular and accessible method.
The lessons include:
Cat body parts and colours: understanding and compassion towards cats;
A healthy cat and its environment: awareness of the needs of cats; and
Cat population control: neutering and responsibilities of cat ownership.
The lessons include student evaluation tests.
The lessons in English use a level of English language already achieved by primary school students and are a means of revisiting and expanding language skills previously acquired using a completely different, novel and interesting subject matter. There is also a completely separate version in French, which could be used by any teacher to provide cat welfare education to students.
The DVD has been created in collaboration with the audiovisual association CMBL Productions. We greatly appreciate the sponsorship provided by the bank Credit Agricole Nord Midi-Pyreneees for this project.
The DVD has been sent to 164 schools in Tarn et Garonne and other municipalities where the association has permission under a byelaw to run stray cat sterilisation programmes. It is important to receive feedback about this education resource and the teachers have also received a form for evaluation of the DVD.
The DVD is now featured on the WSPA web site at:
http://enextranet.animalwelfareonline.org/work/FCAW/resources/index.aspx
We have also received this comment on the DVD from A Alessandri, Administratrice Générale, Fondation Assistance aux Animaux: "Votre DVD est ... un excellent outil pédagogique, éducatif et ludique et nous espérons qu'il sera largement diffusé."
If you would like to buy a copy of the DVD, it costs 5 € plus post and packing; to ask for more information click here.
For members, pet owners and village residents
For members, a regular newsletter "Langue des chats" is provided, often including a feature written by a veterinarian about how to care for your cat or kitten.
Fact sheets (PDF files) are downloadable from the Health section for specific issues. These are regularly updated.
Information booths visit many of the markets in the area to offer information, and publicise our work. The more people that know our objectives and understand how we can help, the more people will provide a more caring environment for cats.
Inhabitants of Tarn et Garonne, Lot and Lot et Garonne in which the association has permission to work are informed of our activities. Articles about our trap-neuter-return humane population control of stray cats, distribution of neutering vouchers for cat owners, and out eduction programme are regularly featured in newletters published by local councils.
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