Canning Town cat charity overwhelmed by increase in abandoned pets

The Celia Hammond Animal Trust says more cats are coming in than are being rehomed every week

A cat charity in London says it is overwhelmed by an increase in cats left at their shelters.

The Celia Hammond Animal Trust says a shortage of vets due to Brexit means people are struggling to get their animals neutered, adding the cost-of-living crisis is also having an impact.

The trust said many ended up left with them, with more cats coming in than were being rehomed every week.

The British Veterinary Association and government have been asked to comment.

One pet found by the team and now at the trust's Canning Town sanctuary is black and white cat Chips, who was discovered in a plastic bag.

Chips needed lots of treatment, and his fur is still stained brown from oil

The charity's vet said: "He was literally sitting in his own urine.

"The colour - you couldn't tell at that point what colour this cat is, he was so dirty. Later we figured out it's not just dirt."

On closer examination, the team realised he was actually covered in oil, and his fur is still stained brown despite lots of treatment.

The Canning Town branch of the trust has set up a specific maternity section in a separate area, to care for female cats and their young kittens before they are rehomed.

Sanctuary manager Emma Salter says all cats are assessed, neutered and microchipped before being rehomed

The trust's founder, Celia Hammond, said in its 28-year history it had "never had a problem recruiting vets" until now.

She founded the trust - which also has branches in Lewisham and Hastings - in 1986 and opened two low-cost neutering clinics in the 1990s to help control the feral cat population.

"Before, when we started, it was out of control because people couldn't afford to get their animals neutered. We sorted that and within two or three years we made a huge difference in south London," she explained.

"This is different. We can say 'you should be getting your cat neutered', but where are you going to get that done?"

The trust's founder says people are also bringing their cats in due to the cost of living

She attributes problems the charity is experiencing with recruitment to Brexit, adding: "Brexit and Covid together basically did it, because people haven't been able to get their animals neutered so the population of cats having been fairly under control, we could cope - now it's out of control."

She also said the cost-of-living crisis was having an impact, with "people bringing cats in here saying 'I can't afford to feed them any more'".

It comes after Battersea Dogs & Cats Home told the BBC in May it was seeing more animals coming through the doors but fewer families willing to adopt, due to rising costs.

Meanwhile, the charity Cats Protection has published advice for cat owners on how to cope with pet costs during the cost-of-living crisis.

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