Hundreds of RSPCA reports about cats since lockdown began

As the kitten season gets underway, the RSPCA is warning it could see an influx of even more as unneutered cats give birth to unwanted litters.

The charity is facing a cat crisis as the charity cares for more cats than any other pet with more than 1,000 felines currently in its care.

Since lockdown, the charity has taken 324 cats into its care, more than any other pet, and fears that the situation is set to get worse, as the traditional kitten season gets underway.

There is always an influx of youngsters at this time of year but lockdown means that it is harder for owners to neuter their pets and the charity’s experts fear they will see even more unwanted litters coming through its doors.

Since the start of lockdown, there have been 6,630 incidents reported to the charity’s hotline about cats with 568 incidents reported across the West Midlands.

These include a litter of five kittens who were found dumped inside a cardboard box in Handsworth on May 12.

ACO Cara Gibbon was called to collect the three week old kittens who were all anaemic, caused by the shocking number of fleas on their little bodies.

After some care from the hospital’s vet staff, four of the kittens were taken home by a foster carer to be cared for, but staff had concerns for the fifth and smallest kitten, who was severely underweight and struggling much more than her siblings due to the anaemia.

Staff hand-fed her round-the-clock and kept her warm and comfortable with fluids, and she began to perk up. She has just now been reunited with her siblings at the home of the fosterer.

Dr Samantha Gaines, head of the RSPCA’s companion animal department, said: “We are currently caring for more cats than any other pet throughout the coronavirus crisis. Every year, the scale of the cat overpopulation problem becomes even more apparent from May to September when most cats are born as the RSPCA is often overwhelmed with kittens. The kitten season this year will continue despite Covid-19 and so the charity is bracing itself for even more cats.”

The charity is currently caring for 1,013 cats which is more than any other pet in its care.

Last year, there were 108,190 incidents reported about cats including 10,346 in the West Midlands.

Sam added: “Our frontline officers will continue to rescue as many cats as we can and our animal centre staff, hospitals and branches will carry on caring for the many cats coming into our care throughout the crisis. We rely on donations from our generous supporters to carry out this vital work and need their support now more than ever as our services become stretched to the limit.

“We believe neutering cats from four months old will help tackle the cat overpopulation problem the UK faces. This will reduce the amount of unwanted and unexpected litters of kittens that are born and sadly end up in rescue centres. We understand that many owners may not be able to get their pets neutered at the moment as understandably vets are prioritising emergencies in the face of Covid-19 and restricting other procedures. It is important to follow your vet’s guidance and understand if they cannot neuter your pet at this time. We would urge anyone with an unneutered female cat to keep them indoors. If you have a male/female pair or really can’t keep your cat inside, do call your vet to discuss options.”