Pets victims of tough times
AN animal charity working in Brighouse has said that the economic crisis has led to a sharp rise in the number of stray, homeless and rejected cats.
The Cats Protection Organisation is getting up to 15 calls a day from people who want them to take in an unwanted cat.
Owners are thought to be struggling to look after the animals as people are forced to move into rented accommodation, which often forbids owners from keeping pets.
Janet Lawton, coordinator for the local branch of the Cat Protection organisation, said: "It's very upsetting because in some cases there is nothing we can do. At the moment all the places in our foster homes are full and we've got some cats who have been waiting months to be re-homed.
"I recently took a call from a person whose neighbour had done a moonlight flit, leaving their cat behind. They cut off its collar and left it in the garden. We've also had someone dump a dead mother cat with a box of kittens - one of the kittens was still alive and we were able to rescue it" she said.
In its first year the branch re-homed 130 cats but so far, in the first six months of this year, only 47 animals have been adopted.
Anyone who finds a stray cat is advised to make a shelter for it and feed it.
"They should contact us and we'll arrange for neutering where appropriate and find a place for it where we can," she added.
Christine Mackenzie, re-homing officer, said: "It's been very slow, and we desperately need to find homes for the cats already with our foster carers."
Vet Martin Stelfox from the Brighouse Veterinary Centre, who is currently fostering an adult female, Tinker, said: "Cats make excellent family pets and the charity is caring for many friendly, affectionate animals who have been waiting too long for a new home. It's very sad."
The cats are all health checked, vaccinated, and either neutered or, in the case of kittens, issued with a neutering voucher. Prospective adopters have to agree to a home check and are asked to make a donation to cover the costs.
"The donation which the Cats Protection organisation ask people to pay is around half of the cost of what the health check would cost normally."
Tinker has been living at the Vet Centre for four months, but Martin is hopeful that soon she will be able to find a new home.
"She's been here for a while now and we hope that sometime soon a family will come forward to take her. She's a lovely cat and would make a great pet."
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Wednesday 23 May 2012
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