Tyrone cat shelter reaches full capacity

STAFF at Grovehill Animal Trust in Sixmilecross are currently on a mission to highlight the importance of neutering and spaying your cats as their shelter is currently ‘bursting’, having reached full capacity.

With many abandoned and stray cats now having to rely on foster care as they await their forever homes, Janice Blakley from Grovehill Animal Trust spoke with the Tyrone Herald to highlight the importance of taking care of your fury little felines and how they are currently coping with this overwhelming situation at the shelter.

She said, “We currently have so many cats in our care, ranging from three months old to nine years.

“The shelter is full, and many other cats are currently in foster homes.

“We have so many cats in our care in such a beautiful range of colours, and you just cant help but love the next one that comes as much as the last.

“We would love to see them find a new home and be given a second chance.”

Ultimately, the message Janice wants to spread is the importance of spaying and neutering your cats to help reduce the problem.

She continues, “It is important to spay and neuter your cats, both male and female to prevent unwanted litters and the spread of feral cats, which can be a rough life for a cat.

“It also reduces the risk of your cat from potentially roaming around at night when in heat and getting knocked down on the roads.

“It’s a simple operation, it doesn’t do them any harm and they recover quick.”

Janice then highlights just how easily this simple procedure can help prevent such issues, explaining that, “All it takes is one female cat to have six kittens, then within a few months each of those kittens may have six of their own, and it just keeps multiplying, leaving a lot of those kittens at risk of being abandoned or having to run feral.”

With a range of cats currently available for adoption at Grovehill Animal Trust, Janice concludes, “Many of these cats are here for a variety of reasons.

“They’re not all abandoned and strays, sometimes we have to take cats in due to their owners passing away, or because people simply cannot afford to or are not fit to look after them any longer.

“We would love to help them find new homes as I have no doubt that after Christmas, we will sadly have many more coming to the shelter.”

If you are interested in adopting a cat, you can contact Grovehill Animal Trust online at http://grovehillanimaltrust.org/ or via telephone on 028 8076 0482.