Covid lockdown: Cat Protection beg people not to abandon pets

It comes after a family of kittens were found in a barn and another cat who was left outside Cat Protection’s headquarters.

Shadow and her four two-week-old kittens were found in a box of car parts in a barn in Surrey on November 2 while Mario, a ragdoll puss thought to be aged ten, was left in a cat carrier outside the Cat Protection centre in Lewes Road, Chelwood Gate, near Newick.

Mario was dumped outside the Cat Protection centre

Karen Thompson, Cat Protection’s national cat adoption manager, provided an update on the cats and urged people not to abandon their pets during this second lockdown. She said: “Mario is absolutely lovely and so affectionate. He’s in great condition and seems to have been very well cared for.

“We don’t know why someone would have left him outside the centre in a cat carrier, but we can only imagine his owner needed to give him up, which must have been a difficult decision.

“While we understand it can be very hard to give up a cat, we’d reassure anyone in a similar position that we’re here to help, and they can always call us or drop us an email.” The kittens found in the barn are “doing well” but their mother is still nervous of people.

“Shadow is very nervous of people and we would imagine she will need an outdoor home in the future,” Karen added.

“Her kittens were only two weeks old which gives us time to ensure they can be well socialised and homed as pets.

“If the kittens hadn’t been found, it would have become very hard to socialise them with people and they would have gone on to grow into un-neutered feral cats, and capable of breeding in just a few months.

“It’s another reminder of why it’s so important that cats are neutered from a young age.”

Read more: Send The Argus your favourite pet pictures

Animal lovers who would like to help cats in the care of Cat Protection’s National Cat Adoption Centre can do so by purchasing an item from the centre’s Amazon Wish List.