Spilsby: Cat rescuer's sleepless nights as numbers soar

Gill Atkins with one of the residents of Last Resort Rescue in Spilsby

The owner of an animal rescue centre says the sheer number of cats coming in is causing sleepless nights.

Gill Atkins, who runs Last Resort Rescue in Spilsby, Lincolnshire, with daughter Sarah, said the problem was getting "worse and worse every year".

She said: "I lay awake at night wondering what will happen if we can't take them."

Some owners even "threaten to dump" kittens if she and her daughter refuse to take them in, she told the BBC.

Last Resort Rescue in Spilsby is said to be close to breaking point

Ms Atkins said caring for the unwanted cats - especially kittens - had become a "24-hour-a-day" job for them.

"When kittens are very tiny, we're up every two to three hours during the night [to feed them]," she said.

Ms Atkins said some people were giving up their cats "for financial reasons".

"Some people have got their cute kitten, it's grown, the novelty has worn off," she added.

Ms Atkins urged people to neuter their cats and to properly consider whether they can care for a pet before getting one.

"It's a lifetime commitment and they [cats] should be classed as a member of your family," she said.

Owners are being urged to neuter their cats to prevent unwanted litters