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 Cats Protection is seeking essential donations to help care for the thousands of kittens that need the charity’s help over the summer months, which the organisation estimates will cost an extra £1.9m of funds.
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Approximately 5,700 kittens are taken in by Cats Protection every summer and each kitten is looked after until it is around nine weeks old when it is ready to find a new home. The arrival of kittens builds up over the summer as unneutered cats go on to have their second, then sometimes their third, litter of kittens.
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Fifi was one such example. She was rescued from a filthy rabbit hutch in the Rugby area wedged up against her four sisters. There was no food, water or any way out and the litter had to be rushed to the vets suffering from malnutrition, dehydration and severe digestive bugs. Thanks to round-the-clock care by branch volunteers, Fifi and three of her litter made a full recovery and have since been found a new home.
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Skip was another. He narrowly escaped being crushed to death in a recycling plant in Scotland after one of the workers detected a faint miaow coming from a pile of cardboard. At two-and-a-half weeks old, he appeared to have been abandoned and again it was only thanks to the dedication of a Cats Protection volunteer, who stayed up for several nights to bottle-feed him every couple of hours, that he survived.
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Janet Wickens, Director of Fundraising and Communications said: “Sadly there are many more kittens like Fifi and Skip that need the charity’s help. It could cost £16.50 to feed and care for one kitten for 3 days and that includes equipment for handrearing, plus a heat source, to mimic the life-saving warmth of their mother so donations are absolutely essential to help save the life of a kitten like Fifi.”
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Cats Protection is also urging owners to neuter their cats to reduce the numbers of kittens that are brought to the charity. One unneutered cat can produce up to 18 kittens in a year which can lead to 20,000 descendants in five years. Neutering also makes cats less likely to fight and pass on diseases transmitted through biting and saliva, so will greatly benefit a cat’s health.
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To make a donation to help the charity cope with the thousands of kittens that need help this summer, please call 0800 917 2287 (lines open Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm).
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