Cork charity seeks homes for 80 cats and kittens as surrendered numbers spiral

More than 80 kittens and cats are waiting to be rehomed, Cork Cats Action Trust said.

More than 80 kittens and cats are waiting to be rehomed as a Cork charity says it is turning people away because it is full.

Cork Cats Action Trust said it cannot take any more of the cats into its care for adoption due to the number of animals it is already looking after.

The volunteer-based organisation said it has been an exceptional kitten season this year, and that turning people away has been the “most uncomfortable thing in the world”.

“It’s an awful position to be in, but we are just at maximum capacity,” charity trustee Jessica Quinn said.

“Considering we do not have a shelter or physical premises for the kittens to go to, we rely entirely on our volunteers and our fosters to take cats into their own homes,” she told the Irish Examiner.

“I don’t think there’s been a day this year where I haven’t had kittens in every room of my house,” she added.

Ms Quinn said it is difficult to pinpoint why there has been an increase this year, but believes a lack of neutering is a factor.

“We typically get calls from the community about feral colonies, which is the big job. Stray cats turn up in people’s gardens, or kittens are born in playhouses, polytunnels or coal bunkers.

“People tend to reach out when things get really bad. It’s usually, ‘I’ve been feeding this cat for the past couple of years, and this is her third litter of kittens, and suddenly there are 40 cats all procreating in the background’,” she said.

Ms Quinn said action needs to be taken immediately, and people need to neuter their cats as soon as possible, especially if they let their animals outside. She said stray cats are “everybody’s responsibility” and that the charity is there to help, “especially if the cat isn’t friendly”.

The charity also said it has had to stop rehoming cats to renters due to evictions.

Ms Quinn said the charity paused rehoming to renters across the country earlier this year.

“Now, there’s always going to be exceptions to this, but earlier on in the year, before kitten season really kicked off, I was spending most of my time rehoming — what I call private rehomings — which are people being evicted and having nowhere else to go because they cannot find pet-friendly accommodation, so they are giving up their cats,” she said.

"It’s the cats and the dogs who are suffering the most from this, and it is really making us and other rescues think about it.

“Even if someone has written permission from their landlord, it’s not this landlord’s problem we have to worry about; it’s the next landlord. So if something happened, and if people say they have a back-up plan, then we can consider those types of adoptions.

“However, most people don’t have those back-up plans, so it means they can’t adopt because we need that security for the cat,” Ms Quinn added.