The Ashford Garden Cattery in Kent has launched a fundraising appeal as it faces the prospect it might have to close later this year.
The animal centre, which is run by the RSPCA’s Ashford and District Branch, lost around £30,000 last year with predicted losses likely to reach £50,000. This was attributed to cost of living rises such as rising veterinary bills as well as the general downturn in legacy donations.
Trustees say that unless the centre – which was opened in May 2006 by the late Paul O’Grady (pictured) – can raise an initial £50,000 it could be forced to close its doors at the end of the year. The popular animal-loving comedian and broadcaster maintained his links with the cattery, serving as the branch’s president.
Around 6,000 cats have been rehomed from the cattery, based in Station Road, Ashford, since it opened and it is due to mark its 20th anniversary this year.
Secretary of the Branch Trustees, Sally Moir, says a consultation has started with the centre’s six staff in a bid to reduce costs. Volunteers are also being informed of the issues facing the cattery.
Sally explained: “Last year we lost £30,000 and our predicted loss this year could be £50,000 and while the branch has reserves they will only last so long. As well as our cattery which has rehomed thousands of cats in its time, we run a pet food bank and offer welfare and neutering services to pet owners who are struggling financially.
“Our focus is on providing a high-quality rehoming service for cats, many of whom are brought to us by RSPCA inspectors after being rescued from cruelty and neglect.
“The demand for our services just keeps on going up and up with the big rise in cruelty cases our inspectors witnessed last year contributing to that. We have been full to capacity with cats for long periods of time, although every day we get emails and phone calls from people wanting to give up their cats, while we also deal with abandoned cats, pregnant mothers and kittens that need hand-rearing.
“We try to help try to help as many as we can but we are always full up. The situation is not helped by the issues with the age of our buildings, which means the numbers of cats we can now accommodate has halved because of new welfare legislation.
Sally added: “While our veterinary costs have soared, our fundraising has dropped, which has meant our losses keep on growing. Unless we get an injection of funds we will not have much choice but to close the cattery at the end of this year. That will be a huge blow to the Kent community and cat lovers from a wider area too who have relied on our services.
“Regretably, in a bid to cut our costs we are talking to our staff to identify savings. But we are really hopeful that people will rally round and help us by making a donation to our appeal.”
Last summer the RSPCA revealed that the number of cats being cared for at the charity’s fourteen national centres had doubled to 1,700 and that there were thousands more felines being cared for at independently-run RSPCA branches across England and Wales, like Ashford.
