A new cat rehoming centre has opened in south west London to help find forever homes for cats in need.
The RSPCA Wimbledon, Wandsworth and Sutton District branch has opened the new centre next door to the RSPCA Putney Animal Hospital, to provide a base for the branch and also provide boarding for cats looking for forever homes.
The centre was opened on Tuesday 21 August during a ribbon cutting ceremony with members of the public, staff, CEO of the RSPCA Chris Sherwood and Comedian and TV Presenter Jo Brand.
Jo Brand had been filming for the next series of Channel 5 show, Jo Brand’s Cats and Kittens at the hospital in Putney, so was on hand to officially open the centre.
Branch Manager, Laura Kennedy, said: “It is just fantastic to be able to open a cat rehoming centre for our branch. Previously, we have relied on advertising the cats available for rehoming on our website and word of mouth. Now we have a base and a presence in the community where people can op-in and speak to us, and hopefully rehome a cat.”
Since officially opening on September 1, the centre has already successfully rehomed six cats in 12 days from the centre.
One of the success stories so far is Tammy and Lacha, two black and white brothers who came into RSPCA care on March 13th from a multi-cat household.
For six months they did not have a single enquiry, which left staff caring for them baffled. The eight-year old brothers were moved to the cat rehoming centre and just one fay after opening, the pair were rehomed together.
Laura added: “Tammy and Lacha are a brilliant example of how having a centre really does make rehoming so much easier. Not only can people come in to see the handful of cats we have in the centre, but they can also learn about the other cats we have in foster homes, or private boarding who are looking for homes.
“The UK is facing a cat overpopulation crisis and our branch sees no exception with lots and lots of cats coming into our care each year, particularly in the summer months when so many unplanned and sadly unwanted kittens end up coming into RSPCA care.
“The new centre will make it easier to rehome cats, and network cats from the hospital to other areas. It will allow us to work closely with the hospital as we are just next door so transportation will no longer be an issue with a quick trip across the car park to a cat pod. This means that we can provide boarding for cats who no longer need to be treated at the hospital but may not otherwise have been able to be moved out due to space demands.”
The centre welcomes donations of food and litter for the cats in its care. To contact the RSPCA Wimbledon, Wandsworth and Sutton branch call 07944 308169 or email [email protected]
