Cats Protection Tyneside Adoption Centre in Gateshead is urgently seeking new homes after taking in 44 cats from two properties in the North East. The charity has received 27 cats from one home and 17 from another.
In both cases, cat lovers requested support after finding themselves overwhelmed as unneutered cats continued to mate, according to the charity.
Challenge of multi-cat households
Kezzie Hicks, deputy centre manager, explained that unneutered cats can quickly lead to an out-of-control situation. "It is surprisingly easy for situations to get out of control if one or more cats in the home are unneutered," she said.
"Cats will mate with whatever cat is close, even if they are related. If a cat has, say, six kittens, it will only be a matter of months before those kittens are able to reproduce."
She noted that cats in multi-cat households are often not properly socialised and may not be comfortable as pets. "An adoption centre environment is not the best place to see their true personalities but it is clear some of these cats are terrified of human contact so we have to make the decision to find them an alternative to living as a family pet."
'Inbetweener' cats and appeal
Many of the cats are considered 'inbetweener' cats, which thrive in outdoor settings such as farms or stables. Among them are four-month-old kittens Zippy and Zoom, who were initially wary of people but have grown in confidence.
The charity hopes to find them a quiet, adult-only home with owners who understand how to interact with such cats.
Hicks added: "We are not able to bring all these cats in at once because we just don't have the room, as some are rehomed we bring in others to take their place. It would be great if we can get some interest from people needing a farm cat so our seemingly endless supply of cats and kittens don’t have to spend too much time in the centre and can be quickly rehomed."
For more information on Zippy and Zoom or other 'inbetweener' cats, visit the Cats Protection Tyneside Adoption Centre website or call 0191 6531052.
