Kitten season hits animal rescuers with 'a bang'

An animal rescue centre is experiencing a "boom" of kittens, with the number almost doubling its usual capacity and leaving it near "breaking point", staff have said.

Gables in Plymouth said it had 54 kittens currently in its care, with pregnant cats in care also due to give birth soon.

General manager Claire Sparkes said kitten season started "very late" because it was colder and went from winter straight into summer without a spring.

"That have messed up the kitten season and it has hit us with a bang," Sparkes said.

"We've got double, possibly nearly triple the amount of kittens we've ever had at one time," she said.

Sparkes added the influx had been "overwhelming" because the charity aimed to help both cats and dogs as possible, but "we're literally at breaking point now".

She said: "Normally we operate a waiting list and we always prioritise any vulnerable cats, especially pregnant and young kittens.

"Luckily we've got amazing volunteer foster carers that have helped us massively by taking quite a lot of mums and kittens home."

Sparkes said it was the most kittens she had seen at any one point in the organisation's care in her 20 years at the rescue.

She said most of the cats were mostly unwanted pets, as well as strays members of the public had found.

"Sometimes cats will give birth in people's sheds, gardens and in all sorts of weird and wonderful places. We've even taken kittens from recycling centres and industrial estates where cats that are on the streets give birth in not in the most convenient places."

Sparkes also said vets' bills also played a part in some people not getting a pet spayed or neutered.

She said, where pet owners used to wait until their kitten was six months old before getting them neutered, they could now get pregnant a lot younger at four months.

"We make sure our kittens are neutered before that stage to make sure they don't have to have kittens when they're kittens themselves."

Due to the high number of kittens in its care, the rescue ran out of kitten food and had to use stock from its shop, sparking an appeal to the public for help.

Gables said on social media it was "blown away" by the support of members of the public who donated or bought kitten-related items.

Sparkes said one cat cost the rescue about £8 a day for basic care, and then there were veterinary costs on top of that, including vaccines, flea and worming treatments.

Although there is a waiting list for people looking for kittens, she said the rescue found it particularly hard to rehome black kittens.

Sparkes said: "Everybody normally asks for gingers first, then tabbies, then black and white; but black kittens are really difficult to find homes for and it does take a long time, sometimes a few months."

"Hopefully, when people register to adopt a kitten or two from us, they can be open-minded about what colour."

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