We have been delighted with the response generated by our kitten Facebook posts - the latest featured Geo, pictured, and advised that we had more kittens needing homes than potential adopters.

The post reached more than 22,000 people which is a record for the ManxSPCA, and shows the positive impact that social media can have.

The Facebook post also advised that anyone interested in adopting a kitten should complete and return a homefinder questionnaire (available on the adoption page of our website), and that potential adopters living in rented accommodation should attach a letter of permission from their landlord.

The forms have been coming in thick and fast, and we are confident that all the kittens that we have at Ard Jerkyll at the moment will have homes to go to.

However, we are happy to keep a waiting list for kittens and so please complete a form if you’re prepared to wait a few weeks.

All our kittens are fully health checked and vaccinated and they come with a neutering voucher.

Geo was given his name by the gentleman who found him, because he was out geo-cashing at the time! He has very attractive colouring, but did you know that tabby cat markings appeared in domesticated cats only in the Middle Ages?

Recent research has involved an analysis of the DNA of more than 350 dead cats, including the bones of one buried with its Neolithic master 9,000 years ago, and mummified cats from Egypt.

None of the ancient domestic cats had tabby markings, and it was only in the 18th century that the markings were common enough in domestic cats to be recorded.

The domestic cat only has a few genes that are different from those in wild cats - and one of the most significant is the tabby gene.

The researchers determined that the popularity of the tabby markings was a sign that cats were being kept, and bred, for their looks and this marked a new phase in cat ownership - they became attractive pets as well as functional rodent controllers.

We’re really surprised that tabby Rex(ina), the rare hermaphrodite cat we featured in this article a few weeks ago, is still in the cattery because he/she is very definitely an attractive pet, with a lovely personality, but he/she is simply not being favoured by adopters.

He/she is only three years old and is very settled in the cattery, but we would love him/her to spend the Summer in a ’forever’ home.

And stretching the ’tabby’ theme still further, the Miss Isle of Man Community Challenge contestant who is raising funds for the ManxSPCA, Tabby Wright, is keeping up her fundraising momentum. Having swum around the Tower of Refuge and finished all 85 miles of the Parish Walk in the last month, her next physical challenges will be to take part in the Tin Bath Championships on July 15 in Castletown, and then the End2End Horseback Challenge on July 22.

This latter event is a first for the island, as far as we know, and involves more than 40 horses and riders completing the road-based End2End course (rather than the mountain bike one) in relays. The event is aiming to raise awareness of road safety in relation to horses, and promote sensible road use by both riders and drivers, as well as being a great fund-raiser for the ManxSPCA.

Tabby has proved that she has physical strength and energy but, just as importantly, she has the personal qualities to motivate others to help raise funds for the ManxSPCA. She is a great ambassador for us, for the island, and for its young people.