A CAT sanctuary has opened a dedicated maternity unit to cope with a huge rise in the number of pregnant felines and new-born kittens being abandoned.
Chelmsford Cat Protection in Deadmans Lane, Galleywood, is currently providing shelter for seven mothers and their litters of kittens, and has helped and rehomed 160 this year alone.
Kieron Adams, Adoption Centre manager, told the Chronicle: "Four kittens came to us in June that had been found in a cardboard box in the Chelmsford area. They were only four to five weeks old and in a state of poor physical health.
"One of them had an injured leg as well."
The new maternity unit helps the cattery cope with a slow re-homing process, by assisting pregnant cats to give birth and looking after them until new homes can be found for them and their kittens.
In May the adoption centre housed 44 cats and kittens, but only 22 got new homes.
"We have no space left here to look after more cats at the moment," said Kieron.
"It is especially difficult knowing that there is a huge waiting list of over 200 cats and a six month waiting list for us to take in kittens.
"We simply cannot find enough homes for them."
For this reason, Kieron is urging people to make sure their pets are neutered.
"We have a budget to neuter cats from our postcode area CM1, CM2 and CM3, which helps prevent this problem," she said, "But some cats are simply left to wander outside and so it is very easy for them to become pregnant.
"It's a big problem so they're producing more unwanted kittens, and although we're here to pick up the pieces, we've only got limited space and resources."
The new cat pens have replaced ones which were over 20 years old, and include landscaping, which is not only attracting butterflies and bees, but is also enriching for the mother cats and their kittens by maintaining a spacious and tranquil home for them.
The public can visit the new maternity pens at the centre's family fun day tomorrow (August 9) between 11am and 3pm.
Visit the sanctuary's website at http://chelmsford.cats.org.uk/chelmsford for more details.
ANTON & ASH
Anton and Ash are five months old now and have been at the sanctuary since March.
Staff at Chelmsford Cat Protection believe that they are from the same litter, although it is difficult to tell because they came from a household of 20 cats, along with two other litters containing many black cats.
They are a mischievous and playful pair. No challenge is too scary for this inquisitive duo to undertake.
Kieron said: "Anton and Ash would suit even the busiest of homes. A family environment would nurture their playful natures."
SCOOTER & SNOOKI
Scooter and Snooki are 16-week-old kittens from the same multi-cat household as Anton and Ash.
The household's adult cats were left unneutered and so there were several litters of kittens from the female cats.
Kieron explains: "The owner of these cats called the adoption centre for help and so we helped neuter the cats and took in as many of the kittens as possible.
"Scooter and Snooki are far more shy and nervous about things.
"They would be more suited to a quieter household and gentle handling."
JUPITER & JUNIPER
This brother and sister came from a feral mother that could not be handled and are 15-weeks-old.
Kieron says: "They would need continued handling and support in order to integrate them into a household."
Despite this, they are far more settled now and much happier to be around people than before.
