Dorset cat centre appeals for help as its pens are full

Staff and volunteers at Cats Protection’s Ferndown Homing Centre on Cobham Road are experiencing unusually high levels of cats needing care and are appealing for would-be cat adopters to consider giving a cat or kitten a home before the summer is over.

Centre manager, Michele Hopper-Pay, said: “We always expect summer to be busy, but we’ve noticed that we’ve received fewer enquiries over the past couple of months and that homing has really slowed down.

"Our pens are full and our waiting list just keeps getting bigger with 30 cats waiting to come into care at the moment.

“The cats waiting range from nine months old to 16 years and they need to come into care for a variety of reasons - from their owner being evicted or passing away to a house move or other change of family circumstance.”

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Stumpy, one of the cats currently looking for a home

Just one of the cats currently looking for a home is six-year-old ginger and white Stumpy, who had a hard time in his previous home with a child and other cats who didn’t get on with him. When he arrived at the centre he understandably took a little time to learn to trust but now he is known for his affectionate and playful personality as well as his love of being groomed or stroked.

There were five times as many cats on the centre’s waiting list at the end of this quarter than the average for the same periods since 2017. There are now five cats waiting for every space available for new admissions into the centre.

The trend is reflected across the charity’s network with adoption centre waiting lists nationwide 70% higher in May 2022 compared with May 2021.

To find out more about cats currently available for adoption at the centre visit www.cats.org.uk/ferndown  or call 03000 120 175.