Blackpool cat shelters fighting to keep up with ever-growing number of strays

Cats Paws Sanctuary on School Road, Fylde Coast Cats, Tender Paws on Lytham Road, and Furry Tails Feline Welfare on Stockydale Road are all trying hard to keep up with the ever-growing number of strays being brought to their doors.

Meanwhile they are facing fresh challenges when it comes to rehoming the cats, as strict social distancing rules mean they can no longer carry out regular home checks or allow potential owners into the shelters to look around.

Kath Upton, of Furry Tails, which cares for about 80 cats, said: "We have not been able to do home checks or let people in to find a pet, so it has been extremely difficult. The one thing that hasn't stopped is vet bills. We have had cats found outside in terrible conditions.

"We've had two cats in since Christmas with pneumonia. One cat came in very frail with an upper respiratory infection. A few of them had to have legs amputated. I'm currently looking for £7,000 just to pay the bills we already have.

"We have had a very heavy year. We've had a lot of cats come in in very bad condition and it's either we pay for their treatment or have them put down, and that's not what people donate their money for. It's a lot of pressure.

"There's no help out there for animal charities like us. Other businesses can close, but animals will always need cleaning and feeding and looking after.

"People have been very generous with donations of food, but really what we need more than anything is cash to pay the vet bills."

Kim Millard, who runs Fylde Coast Cats, said: "We have found a lot of people are giving up their pets. A lot of people are struggling financially and can't keep them so our intake has been higher if anything. We can't leave them outside because it's so cold at the minute.

"We had a massive backlog of 60 cats at the start of January and now we're down to about 30.

"During lockdown a lot of the vets weren't operating as normal so we're finding there's a lot of pregnant cats, and I'm not looking forward to kitten season. At the minute we have one pregnant cat and three litters in.

"We desperately need foster carers to look after the cats while we extend the cattery."

Meanwhile Tender Paws has turned to online auctions to raise money for the care of the cats it takes in while its charity shop remains closed.

Founder Chrissie Meryem said: "Our shop may be shut, but we're doing out best to stay open.

"We can safely say we are busy. One week we brought in five cats, and two of them were pregnant.

"At the same time, we are seeing more people interested in adopting older cats."