9:16am Thursday 17th December 2009
By Mike Laycock
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.
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