Earlier this year, our home-run rescue took a big step forward by relocating to new premises, carefully chosen not just for today’s needs, but as the long-term foundation for everything we envision for Tiny Paws.
Thanks to your amazing support, Phase 1: The Rabbit Refuge is now complete – a safe, enriching environment that our rabbits are already enjoying.
Now, we’re moving on to Phase 2: The Rodent Retreat – a purpose-built facility designed for housing rescued rats, hamsters, chinchillas, degus, mice and gerbils while they recover and wait for their forever homes. These little lives deserve our care and consideration, and we’re committed to giving them the specialised spaces they need to thrive.
Our Goal for Phase 2: The Rodent Retreat
To build our brand new rodent cabin we need to raise a massive £15,000!
Thanks to your generous support in recent years - and some careful saving behind the scenes - we have already raised the first £5,000 of our target.
And now, we have an exciting boost:
A generous partner has pledged £5,000 in match funding– but only if we can raise the remaining £5,000 ourselves. This means every donation you make will be doubled and will help unlock these funds!
There’s a deadline on the pledge – we have limited time to raise the remaining funds and unlock the £5,000. If we don’t meet the target in time, we lose the match funding – and the build will be delayed.
We have just 6 weeks to raise the remaining funds and start building before the colder autumn weather sets in – so our rescued rodents can have a warm, secure home in time for winter.
🎉 Special Invitation for £100+ Donors
We’re so grateful for every single donation towards the Rodent Retreat – and we want to celebrate this milestone with you!
Any individual who donates £100 or more will have their name listed on a thank you board inside the cabin and will receive an exclusive invitation to our Rodent Retreat Launch Party once the build is complete.
You’ll be among the very first to step inside the brand-new cabin, see the finished enclosures, and meet some of the tiny residents who will benefit from your generosity. 🐭💛
It’s our way of saying a huge thank you for helping make this dream a reality.
This purpose-built haven will provide a safe, warm, and enriching home that can welcome around 50 animals at any one time, or 150 individuals over the year!
The Rodent Retreat will include:
12 units for rats, degus, or chinchillas
Six units for hamsters, mice, or gerbils
To bring this vision to life, we need to raise £15,000 to cover:
- Laying strong foundations
- Constructing the cabin, a solid wooden structure where our animals can recuperate safely and securely
- Adding insulation to make the space warm and cozy in the winter
- Installing climate control to keep optimum temperature throughout the year
- Installing electrics for light and heat
- Setting up plumbing for water bottles and easy cleaning
- And one vital upgrade we’re especially excited about:
A dedicated eco-friendly volunteer compost toilet! This small but mighty addition will hugely improve flexibility, comfort, and accessibility for our amazing volunteers – no more relying on the main house, meaning more hands-on help, whenever it’s needed.
Why This Matters
Sadly small animals are often overlooked and undervalued. Some people do not understand their needs, and may buy them thinking they are easy pets. Many of the animals come to us from situations of neglect, abandonment, or even cruelty. They may be scared, unwell, or simply misunderstood. They need comfort, safety, and care tailored to their species-specific needs.
A purpose-built Rodent Retreat means we can give them exactly that.
This dedicated space will provide secure, quiet, and enriching environments designed specifically for rats, mice, hamsters, gerbils, degus and chinchillas. All of this will reduce stress, prevent illness, and provide better enrichment, all of which are crucial for their recovery and wellbeing.
Every detail of the Rodent Retreat has been designed with their welfare in mind.
What’s more, with more room and more suitable setups, we can say “yes” to more animals in need. Including urgent or large intake cases that we struggle to accommodate right now.
The demand for our help is huge - our stats from the last year show just how many animals we are asked to help.
Join us in building this dream rescue for rodents, by supporting our Big Build!
We need your involvement to make this happen - right now we don’t have all the funds to build the Rodent Retreat. We must keep our funds to care for the animals we have right now. But, with your help - whether you're an individual, a family or a business, we can do it!
Changing the lives of animals is something we all care about - so let’s come together and make this vital retreat for rodents a reality.
When you donate, we promise to keep you updated on the progress of the build, and how your gift is making a difference.
The most direct way to support the Big Build is to make a donation today. We promise that your donation will be ring-fenced specifically for this project only, meaning you will literally be paying for the cement, the timber, the lighting, the enclosures, even the plumbing! So please donate today and make this dream for rodents a reality!