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RSPCA animal shelter in Landing Lane, York unable to accept any more cats

9:16am Thursday 17th December 2009 in


THE RSPCA today appealed for help after its York animal home was swamped with scores of stray and abandoned moggies.

Assistant manager Sue Heathcote said the complex at Landing Lane was already full of cats, even before the festive season had started.

She said: “We are completely full. We have got 53 cats and every cubicle is taken, and we never put them down if they are healthy.”

She said because the home was full, it had a waiting list of people waiting to hand over their pets and it could not accept any more strays.

She believed the recession was partly to blame for the glut, with some people saying they had lost their jobs and could no longer afford to look after their cat or were having to move house. Others blamed allergies for having to hand over their pet. “It has been a really, really bad year,” she said.

But she said some of the cats were strays which might have owners who wanted them, but had not thought to contact the RSPCA to see if it was looking after them.

She appealed for owners whose cat had disappeared in recent months to get in touch by phoning 01904 654949. She also urged any responsible people who would like to have a cat to get in touch, although she stressed that the RSPCA was not encouraging people to give pets as Christmas presents.

Comments(12)

Soothsayer17 says...
9:45am Thu 17 Dec 09

Coincidentally, I was speaking to a veterinary nurse in West Yorkshire who reported the same thing but she was quite clear as to the reason why as it happens every year, recession or no.
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Sadly, many cat owners decide that the hectic Xmas holidays provide the perfect excuse to get rid of unwanted animals as they wish to travel away and cannot be bothered to make arrangements to have their pets booked into catteries. Older, incontinent cats are likewise vulnerable if owners are planning to host Xmas parties.
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PS – on a separate note, any cat owners thinking of buying their pet a “Go-Go Hamster” ought to think twice as it turns out they are made of arsenic! So said James May on “Have I Got News For You” at any rate.

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A taxpayer says...
11:48am Thu 17 Dec 09

Until a licencing system operates for dependants; animal or human - people will continue to get pets and have children without thought for how they can afford them or care properly for them. This is how a capitalist democracy with EU 'human rights' works at it's worst.

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alfie says...
1:09pm Thu 17 Dec 09

A taxpayer wrote:
Until a licencing system operates for dependants; animal or human - people will continue to get pets and have children without thought for how they can afford them or care properly for them. This is how a capitalist democracy with EU 'human rights' works at it's worst.
Hear, Hear

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meme says...
1:17pm Thu 17 Dec 09

Bad news if u are a homeless cat

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MissConstrood says...
1:20pm Thu 17 Dec 09

As an animal lover myself i would treat the people the way they treat their animals in cases of neglect and cruelty. However, the rspca does seem to charge an extortionate price for people to adopt the animals. Last check it was £35 for a cat, which yes has good reasons for being this, but sadly when kittens are readily available for free, then the rspca will probably remain full.

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Get-a-grip says...
3:30pm Thu 17 Dec 09

The £35 pays towards spaying and inoculations, worming and de-fleaing, and if you can't afford that, you shouldn't even think of getting a cat. Extortionate it is not.

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MissConstrood says...
3:43pm Thu 17 Dec 09

I know what it pays for thats why i said there are good reasons for it - my point is that if people can get them for nothing else where, then thats what they are going to do. Sadly, not all consider the consequences.

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clar64pr says...
8:22pm Thu 17 Dec 09

as a life long animal lover i decided to adopt 2 cats from the rspca when mine died aged 15yrs. The lady who visited my home seemed really pleased with everything, however, i was turned down. i think it may have been because sometimes i work long hours, which is why i wanted 2 cats and not one. The result...i saved myself a fortune and homed to kittens free to good home and unfortunately 2 fully grown cats remained unadopted. i have heard numerous stories about perfectly fit adoptive families being refused so i am not surprised the rspca is overflowing! my cats are very happy and healthy and rarely wander from my large back garden

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angry mam says...
8:45pm Thu 17 Dec 09

I agree with clar64pr. When we decided to adopt 2 cats we were turned down. This was because both myself and husband worked. We ended up buying 1 cat from a place in Stamford Bridge and got 2 kittens given to us. I do think people should have a liecence for any pets. This would encourage only the genuine animal lovers to get a pet.

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Saywhat says...
11:30am Fri 18 Dec 09

I tied ages ago to get a cat from them but they never got in touch about a home visit despite my many attempts to jog them along a bit.
Fed up of waiting, I eventually got one from a private advertisement.
It's no wonder they are over-run with animals.

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maclochlainn says...
6:09pm Fri 18 Dec 09

The rspca should stand down their conditions for adopting animals, i understand they dont want to send them to any person who may not be fit but as i can gather you need to be unemployed or retired and spend every god for saken hour with the animals and pay a £100 adoption fee if your lucky enouh to pass inspection, its as easy to get on the net and buy one from a breader, sad to see

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Nern says...
11:27pm Fri 18 Dec 09

maclochlainn wrote:
The rspca should stand down their conditions for adopting animals, i understand they dont want to send them to any person who may not be fit but as i can gather you need to be unemployed or retired and spend every god for saken hour with the animals and pay a £100 adoption fee if your lucky enouh to pass inspection, its as easy to get on the net and buy one from a breader, sad to see
What you seem to have gathered is wrong. I work full time, and have adopted 2 dogs and a cat from the RSPCA in York. I was not allowed to adopt puppies or kittens due to my work hours, but I wanted adult animals anyway.

And I don't know what breeders you're talking about. £100 for a fully vaccinated, microchipped, and neutered dog is a bargain if you ask me. You go to a (responsible) breeder and you're looking at, say, £500? You get vaccinations if you're lucky and that's about it. Any breeder selling their pups for £100 is a backyard breeder.

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