Cats feeling crunch as recession hits protection charity

THE credit crunch is starting to bite hard at a Wrexham animal charity.

The town’s Cats Protection branch, which runs an adoption centre in Madeira Hill for stray and abandoned felines says in its latest newsletter that it is being overwhelmed with calls from desperate owners, who are being forced to quit their own homes and move into rented property where landlords do not allow pets.

The article in Cat’s Cradle also reveals that the branch is being asked to care for a growing number of abandoned cats - as its own income slumps because of the recession.

For the first time ever, it has had to dig into its reserves to make ends meet.

Lynn Gay, who is in charge of the adoption centre, said: “At the start of the year we didn’t seem to have been too badly affected by the credit crunch but now it is really starting to bite.

“Not a day goes by when we don’t receive a number of calls about cats and kittens being abandoned outside homes that people have been forced to move out of.

“At a recent open day we had at the centre we even had someone bring along a kitten in a box.

“We are also having a lot of pregnant female cats being brought in whose owners have not been able to afford to have them neutered.”

Lynn added: “We have also seen our own income go down. People used to come in and give us a donation of £20 or £30 but that is just not happening any more.

“When we arrange an adoption, it has been our policy to ask for a donation of £30-40 towards the full medical check and tagging we give to every cat before it is re-homed.

“But it is getting to the stage where we are wondering about reducing this.”

One piece of good news for the branch is that the recession has brought a surge in business at its charity shop in Wrexham town centre as people go hunting for bargains.

But this means that stock levels have become very low, with the branch particularly short of women’s wear and bric-a-brac.

It is also short of volunteers to help look after cats at the adoption centre between 9 and 11am on Saturdays and Sundays.

For details of volunteering opportunities, call the centre on 01978 313574.