Animal charity rehomes record number of cats in Burnley and Pendle (From Burnley and Pendle Citizen)

Animal charity rehomes record number of cats in Burnley and Pendle

2:00pm Saturday 2nd February 2013 in News

AN animal charity has rehomed a record number of cats following an appeal in the Lancashire Telegraph.

The Burnley and Pendle branch of Cats Protection was inundated with calls from people offering new homes to abandoned kittens after our front page story last month.

The group had admitted it was struggling to cope with the amount of stray and unwanted cats landing on its doorstep after rescuing 14 moggies in just two days.

Welfare officer Leanne Laycock said she was grateful for the response from across East Lancashire.

She said: “We would all like to say a big thank you to everyone who has contacted us. It’s made a real difference. We have now found homes for all of the cats that were in care at the time.

“This means we can help even more cats than we expected and take more unwanted cats of the street.

“Our drivers have been so busy dropping them off to their new homes, it’s been difficult for us to keep us as I work full-time but we’re doing our best.

“A lot of cats we are asked to take are pregnant or with kittens, including lots of cats stray due to looking for potential mates and never find their way back.

“This could all be avoided by having the cats neutered or spayed from six months old and Cats Protection can help with this.”

The charity, run entirely by its 22 volunteers, has a waiting list of more than 150 cats which owners want to get rid of, but only 12 spaces in its foster carers’ homes.

Andy Richards, from the Blackburn and District branch, said attracting volunteers and fundraising was still a problem for his team.

He said: “The branch is a small, relatively new one that has to raise all its running costs itself, so fundraising events are a vital life-line.

“The branch would be delighted to hear from you if you can help. You will have the satisfaction of knowing you will be contributing to the welfare of local cats in real need of help.”