Boom in unwanted kittens putting cat charity under strain

Plea: Call for more owners to get their cats neutered as abandoned animal numbers rise

A charity is urging cat owners to consider neutering after taking in more than 700 unwanted Scottish kittens.

Cats Protection says its resources are “stretched to the limit” due to the number of homeless kittens at its centres across Scotland.

With the annual kitten season – the time of the year when most cats give birth – now under way, the charity said there had been a surge in numbers of the animals, which need to be hand-reared around the clock.

Liz Grant, coordinator of the Outer Aberdeen and District branch, has now called for more owners to have their pets neutered to stop cats “breeding uncontrollably”.

She said: “Kitten season is an incredibly busy time for us and sadly, we see many kittens and young cats handed in to us because they were not expected or planned.

“With so many cute kittens around, it then makes it even harder for the older cats in our care to attract the attention of a new owner.

“Our resources are already stretched to the limit and the number of unneutered cats breeding uncontrollably makes it even harder to cope. All this heartache could easily be avoided if more cats were neutered.

“It is a simple procedure and Cats Protection is able to offer many owners help towards its cost.”

It found new homes for more than 14,500 kittens across the UK during 2016 and the charity is hoping cat lovers will donate whatever they can to help them look after this year’s unwanted felines.

Liz added: “They may be tiny but caring for a young kitten is incredibly time and labour-intensive.

“Not only do they need to be fed with specialist formula throughout the day and night, they also need a lot of careful interaction and handling to ensure they learn all the social skills they’d normally learn from their mothers.”

Anyone wishing to donate should visit www.cats.org.uk/donate or text KITTEN1 to 70660 to donate £5.

Anyone wishing to offer an unwanted cat a home can visit www.cats.org.uk/ adopt-a-cat

With so many cute kittens around, it makes it hard for the older cats in our care to attract attention. LIZ GRANT CATS PROTECTION

Picture: Gareth Jennings. A rise in the number of abandoned kittens has led to one animal charity pleading with owners to get their adult cats neutered.