A GROUP of residents fear their neighbour who has up to 40 cats living in her house is posing a health risk.
Residents of Langton Avenue in Chelmsford – Lucie Hartley, 27, Toni Lyon, 23 and a 49-year-old man - who only wished to be known as Mark – are worried about the cats' welfare after they claimed many are underweight, infested with fleas and have bald spots in their fur.
Now the residents are clubbing together to help feed the felines and even arrange veterinary treatment after they claimed the woman, who lives in nearby West Avenue, admitted she needed help.
Miss Hartley said: "The other day I had a pouch of cat food on me and seven came running up to me they were so hungry."
Neighbour Toni Lyon says she saw one of the kittens out in the middle of the road recently, and says the cats are now posing a risk to passing traffic too.
"I thought it was a bit strange that the kitten was outside at all as it was only about five weeks old, but she has kittens running all around the streets."
Miss Hartley added: "At the end of the day, it is not down to us – we are not the professionals. The RSPCA officer rang me on Tuesday and said that it would take two months to sort it.
"We're stuck between a rock and a hard place – the RSPCA have the tools and experience and we've told the woman that there's help if she needs it."
The group took three of the cats away to look after them, one of which has now been adopted. "I don't want to bug her, but the Cats' Protection will send her vouchers to get them neutered," said Miss Hartley.
Mark added: "We presume there's about 40 cats based on what we can see and possibly what's inside and outside.
"It's been like this for quite some time – we understand it's an ongoing problem.
"None of her cats have been neutered and they will just continue to breed so it's only going to get worse."
When approached by the Chronicle, the cats' owner claimed she only had eight kittens and that it all started in May 2012 when a cat gave birth under the tree in her front garden. "I woke up to mewing," she said.
She added that the cats were treated well considering her lack of money, as she often spends £30 to £40 a week on the felines, which she said was more than she spends on herself. The woman, who did not want to be named, also said that she had contacted the RSPCA and that she wanted the cats re-homed. An RSPCA spokeswoman said: "We now have an action plan in place.
"An RSPCA inspector visited the cats at West Avenue, Chelmsford on August 21 and observed around ten cats all bright, active and apparently healthy.
"The occupant told us that she had around 18 cats, but did not know how many were male or how many were female.
"She was advised by the RSPCA inspector to keep giving the cats access to food and water but if any of her cats became ill or injured she was told to confine them and call the inspector who will collect them and take them to a vet.
"The Mid Essex and Chelmsford branch catteries are full but as space becomes available over time they will take the cats from West Avenue."
