Won't somebody love us? Britain's cats are being abandoned in record numbers and inspiring volunteers are struggling to find them homes

By LIZ JONES

Two's company: These tabby kittens will be re homed in pairs

Stroking the motherless grey kitten on my lap, I look down and see a thin, rangy tom cat winding around my legs.

For three years Major has survived on scraps from the local Chinese, and he is covered in wounds. Yet he is so friendly, someone must have loved him once.

Sadly, those days are long gone. Like so many of the cats around me, Major was abandoned by his owner and left to the care of the Celia Hammond Animal Trust (CHAT) in East London.


Take a chance on me: (Left) Jack's eye had to be removed when he was rescued and Majorie (right) was left with two broken legs and a broken jaw after being hit by a car


This cat and dog rescue centre, opened by the former Vogue model in 1986, receives 30 or more calls a day reporting abuse or asking for help.

CHAT never turns away an animal or puts down a healthy cat, but for the first time Celia tells me she is unable to cope with the demand.

Sadly, this situation is replicated all over the country, with animal shelters straining at the seams as they attempt to care for an estimated seven to ten million abandoned cats.

Last week, it was revealed that the number of unwanted pets is so high that healthy cats are being put down.

Shockingly, black cats and black and white cats — which, apparently, are ‘unfashionable’ colours — are the most likely to be destroyed.

source: dailymail