AN ANIMAL charity has said it is facing a 'cat crisis' during lockdown as kitten season gets underway.

The RSPCA currently cares for more cats than any other pet, with more than 1,000 felines in its care at the moment.

Since lockdown, the charity has taken 324 cats into its care and fears that the situation is set to get worse, as lockdown means that it is harder for owners to neuter their pets and the charity’s experts fear they will see even more unwanted litters coming through its doors.

In 2019, there were 108,190 incidents reported about cats, with 262 reported in Herefordshire. Since the start of lockdown, there have been 6,630 cat-related incidents reported to the charity, with 13 incidents reported in the county.

Animal rescuers at the charity have been designated key workers by the Government and the charity has launched an emergency appeal for vital funding.

Dr Samantha Gaines, head of the RSPCA’s companion animal department, said: “We are currently caring for more cats than any other pet throughout the coronavirus crisis. Every year, the scale of the cat overpopulation problem becomes even more apparent from May to September when most cats are born as the RSPCA is often overwhelmed with kittens. The kitten season this year will continue despite COVID-19 and so the charity is bracing itself for even more cats.

“Our frontline officers will continue to rescue as many cats as we can and our animal centre staff, hospitals and branches will carry on caring for the many cats coming into our care throughout the crisis. We rely on donations from our generous supporters to carry out this vital work and need their support now more than ever as our services become stretched to the limit.

“We believe neutering cats from four months old will help tackle the cat overpopulation problem the UK faces. This will reduce the amount of unwanted and unexpected litters of kittens that are born and sadly end up in rescue centres. We understand that many owners may not be able to get their pets neutered at the moment as understandably vets are prioritising emergencies in the face of Covid-19 and restricting other procedures.

"It is important to follow your vet’s guidance and understand if they cannot neuter your pet at this time. We would urge anyone with an unneutered female cat to keep them indoors. If you have a male/female pair or really can’t keep your cat inside, do call your vet to discuss options.”

To help the RSPCA keep rescuing animals like these and keep animal hospitals and centres running for emergency treatment and round the clock care through these unprecedented times, please donate whatever you can spare at www.rspca.org.uk/covid