Vulnerable cat owners and those suffering financial hardship can benefit from Cats Protection’s Community Kitty project, which is supporting pet welfare in south-east London.
Cats Protection Blackheath and Deptford is supporting Feed the Hill, a community-run food bank and surplus food redistributor which serves SE14 and neighbouring postcodes by delivering free weekly food boxes to around 200 eligible households.
Feed the Hill also has a social supermarket at 367 New Cross Rd, SE14, open Wednesdays (10am – 2pm). People can pay £2 and stock up on food they need for a week. People are welcome to visit the store without need to contact in advance.
The Community Kitty programme was set up to allow some branches such as the one in Blackheath and Deptford to help owners affected by the global health crisis to meet their pets’ essential needs. In turn, this could prevent people facing the difficult decision to relinquish their family cat.
Cats Protection Welfare Team Leader Kathy Vanner, said: “The COVID-19 crisis has affected many people and for a cat owner to be in the position where they may have to relinquish their cat due to financial difficulties is truly heart breaking.
“By teaming up with Feed the Hill we hope to take away this worry and enable more cats to remain at home with their families where they belong. The opportunity to help cats and their owners is a great way to support our community.
Princess, Ziggy and Zeus were three of the first cats to benefit from the fundraising scheme. Their owner said: “I am very grateful for the help I have received since being out of work. I am able to provide my cats with meals as if I was still working, thanks to Cats Protection.”
Volunteers at the Cats Protection branch have set themselves a target of raising £1,000, to provide cat food for the shop and home deliveries to help vulnerable people and support pet welfare in the community. For this sum, around 60 cats could be fed for 12 weeks.
Donations to support Cats Protection and feed hungry cats in south-east London can be made at: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/blackheath-catsprotection-community-kitty
Cats Protection works via its nationwide network of 37 centres and around 230 volunteer-run branches to home cats in need and improve feline welfare by providing advice and education to owners, as well as operating a neutering voucher scheme.
