Find out about the media spokespeople for Cats Protection.

John May: Chief Executive

John joined Cats Protection in November 2022. Prior to this, he gained a vast amount of experience through 11 years with The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award. He has also been a former non-executive director of UNICEF, helped to found ‘Teach First’ in the UK, and is a past vice chairman of the World Organization of the Scout Movement.

He originally trained as a teacher and has since been the national education director of Business in the Community, founding chief executive of Career Ready and chief executive of Young Enterprise.

Catherine Cottrell: Director of Marketing & Income Generation

Catherine has a wealth of experience from the commercial, education and charity sectors, including in her current role as Cats Protection’s Director of Marketing & Income Generation, where she leads fundraising and commercial activities, raising approximately £70m per year.

Prior to this she was Executive Director of Fundraising and Partnerships for Comic Relief developing a new strategy and income streams for the charity brand; Director of Fundraising at UNICEF UK where she doubled income in a five-year period; and Group Head of Fundraising at the RSPCA where she led the creation and implementation of a new fundraising strategy bringing high growth in income from individuals and high value partnerships.

Catherine enjoyed a long career in sales and marketing which began in 1994 with Haymarket Publishing, after studying History at the University of Aberdeen and Marketing as a postgraduate at the University of Strathclyde. She later exhibited an interest in the not-for-profit sector working at Imperial Cancer Research Fund and then as Marketing Director at King's College London, leading the university’s national and international marketing activities.

Catherine plays an active role in the wider fundraising community, sitting on the Institute of Fundraising’s Learning and Development Committee, and the Fundraising Regulator’s Complaints and Investigations Committee. Catherine lives in Hove with her husband and two boys.

Madison Rogers: Associate Director of Advocacy, Campaigns and External Affairs

Madison joined Cats Protection in 2017 and works within the Advocacy & Government Relations team to campaign to improve cat welfare across the UK. Her role includes influencing politicians in Westminster and the devolved nations and engaging with varying organisations about issues affecting cat welfare.

Madison has a degree in politics and international relations and formerly worked for a public affairs agency in London with clients in financial services and the rail industry. Madison is currently an Executive Committee member for the Women in Public Affairs Network, representing women in the industry who work for charities. She has a rescue cat called Moodles.

Mike Elliott: Feline Welfare and Operations Director

Mike has been with Cats Protection since 2016 and became our Director of Field Operations in 2020.

Prior to joining CP, Mike spent 20 years in various public and voluntary sector roles, most recently as Assistant Director of Volunteering and Community Involvement at the National Trust.

Mike is a Trustee of the Association of Dogs and Cats Homes and is also Treasurer of the Links Group, helping them recently achieve charitable status.  He holds an MBA from the Open University Business School and is a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute.

Mike and his wife are former fosterers for CP and they have one ex CP foster cat, Bethany.

Peter Shergold: Associate Director of Community Operations

Peter Shergold is the Associate Director of Community Operations at Cats Protection, with oversight and responsibility for the effective running of the charity’s community-based operations, including its centres and branches. 

Peter has considerable experience in the charity sector, having joined Cats Protection in 2021 after working at St John Ambulance. Peter has also been a trustee of various organisations, including Advocacy Matters and 1st Sutton Coldfield Sea Scouts.

Peter lives in Birmingham with his wife and two young children. When he’s not working, Peter enjoys judo, walking and scouting.

Alison Richards: Chief Veterinary Officer

Alison joined the Veterinary team at Cats Protection in 2018, and previously took part in educational volunteering for the organisation. She qualified as a veterinary surgeon from Bristol University in 2010 and ahead of taking up her role at Cats Protection worked as a vet in practices across London and the South of England. Her passion for feline practice grew in that time, being the designated ‘cat person’ in all the practices she worked in. Since working at Cats Protection, Alison has relished the opportunity to better understand veterinary medicine in a charity setting and support vets working across the UK in their understanding of this.

When not at work, Alison can be found out walking her dog Benji, swimming in the sea or curled up on a sofa with a good book.

Nicky Trevorrow: Behaviour Manager

Nicky is responsible for delivering Cats Protection’s behaviour strategy, including the development of policies, protocols and strategies to ensure consistent high standards of understanding, care and welfare of cats in the charity’s branches and centres.

Nicky promotes the importance and impact of behaviour on feline welfare and on shelter medicine. She also supports owners that have recently adopted their cat, advising them of why their cat is behaving in a certain way and helping to reduce the number returned to the charity.

She achieved a BSc in Animal Behaviour at Anglia Ruskin University and a Postgraduate Diploma in Companion Animal Behaviour Counselling from the University of Southampton and worked as a registered veterinary nurse before joining the charity in 2010. She represents Cats Protection on the Animal Behaviour and Training Council (ABTC), is a member of International Cat Care’s feline wellbeing panel and a full member of the Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors (APBC).

Daniel Warren-Cummings: Central Behaviour Officer

Daniel is an expert on cat behaviour and advises owners on how to ensure the best welfare for cats. Daniel initiated the Cats Protection Feline Behaviour Conference in 2020, an annual event for animal professionals or owners who want to learn more about cat behaviour.

Born in Northern Ireland, Daniel lives in West Sussex and has worked for Cats Protection for fiveyears. Previously he was a behaviourist with a dog rehoming charity and continues to volunteer as a trainer for a disability charity that helps train assistance dogs.

Daniel graduated with a Master’s Degree in Animal Welfare Science, Ethics and Law and is a clinical Animal Behaviourist registered with the Animal Behaviour and Training Council. He writes on cat behaviour for several international publications. Daniel has a wonderful tabby cat called Lady Bug.

Jeff Knott: Advocacy and Influence Director

Jeff joined Cats Protection in early 2024 as our Advocacy & Influence Director, working with leaders across the organisation and sector to deliver impactful change for millions of cats and cat owners across the UK. His role focusses on bringing together advocacy, campaigns, communications, digital and education teams to develop innovative, joined-up programmes of work on priority cat welfare issues.

Prior to joining Cats Protection, Jeff worked for 16 years in nature conservation, with senior experience across a variety of influencing and operational roles. Away from work, Jeff is a sports fan, country music lover and trustee for an arts and heritage charity in the Isles of Scilly.

Jeff lives in Cambridgeshire with his wife Laura, daughter Erin, son Joel and 15-year-old rescue cat Pumpkin.

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