Cat-CHING Sheffield: "The cat crisis in Sheffield is much bigger than my charity has the power to deal with"

A popular cat rescue charity says Sheffield is seeing its worst kitten season in five years and is “at risk” of going under.

Cat-CHING Sheffield has helped rescue and rehome hundreds of cats in the Steel City since it was founded in 2019 - but now, it has been forced to close its doors to new cases.

Founder Lauren James-Thompson, who runs the charity alongside her full time job, says they already have over 100 cats and kittens on their books across 34 foster families.

Now, after already “running at our absolute limit” for years and faced with heavier kitten seasons each year, Lauren says the charity is at risk of running aground.

“If the volume of cats in need continues to remain or to rise, there is a massive risk to our existence,” said Lauren.

“I started the charity in April 2019 and naively thought that by dedicating every spare moment I had and bringing others along with me, I’d be able to solve Sheffield’s homeless cat issue within five years.

“I now realise the cat crisis in Sheffield is much bigger than my charity has the power to deal with and a larger scale approach with significant financial backing is needed.”

The homegrown Sheffield charity captures and rehomes strays from across the city while also paying for them to be spayed, neutered and wormed, on top of any severe health problems.

However, they has been struck with some severe bills in the last two weeks, including over a total of over £2,500 in one day for a c-section and an overnight stay at a vet for one kitten.

“The financial toll is immense, especially if the cat is taken poorly during the ‘out of hours’ period,” said Lauren, who revealed how they have spent over £130,000 on vet bills and £30,000 on cat food in the past year.

Subscribe to The Star’s newsletter for all the latest news in Sheffield delivered direct to your inbox.

“It truly feels like kitten season gets worse every single year,” said Lauren.

“People are abandoning unneutered cats, not only is this awful for the cat as they have to fight for survival, but it also means they reproduce, and cats can multiply very quickly.

“We are frequently called out to rescue cats who have given birth in garden sheds and often, this results in the discovery of a new colony of cats.

“We are always on the lookout for new foster families as it’s heartbreaking when we have to say no to helping cats in need.”

Now, Lauren says she has had to take the “heartbreaking” decision to close Cat-CHING’s doors to new rescues while it works through its backlog and shores up its finances - or else it might have to close forever.

Lauren said: “We made the difficult decision to close our doors to new cats as we are at capacity... we simply cannot afford the cost of caring for any more cats.

“At this stage we are unsure how long it will take us to get back on our feet, we have been running at our absolute limit for such a long time and as a tiny team of volunteers who run the charity alongside separate full-time jobs, it really has an impact on us.”

To see which cats are available for adoption, or for information on how to become a foster or to donate, visit the Cat-CHING Facebook page.