A STRAY black cat has been saved from a dice with death at a local business.

Staff at the unnamed premises had been feeding the friendly moggy, now named Joe, for several weeks before they reported it to St Albans branch of Cats Protection when their boss threatened to have the cat killed if it did not move on.

The charity is full to capacity and has been on ‘amber alert’ for several months as there are no free pens at any of their fosterers’ homes to take in more unwanted cats, but luckily a space became available for Joe.

Coordinator of the branch, Jean Thompson, said: “However, at the same time we also received a distress call from a woman in Harpenden who had discovered a cat with kittens in her garden.

“Although this was an urgent situation given all the inclement weather we were having, we no longer had any fosterer available who had room to care for this cat and kittens.”

But in a twist of luck, the woman had been thinking of adopting a rescue cat and jumped at the chance of giving Joe a new home.

The charity was then able to clear the way for Poppy the cat and her kittens, one of whom was so small it had to be hand-fed.

Jean continued: “This success story urgently highlights our need for caring volunteers to help us and for adopters who want to give rescue cats a second chance. Every cat in care has a story of why it wasn’t wanted and they all deserve a second chance.”

If you are looking to adopt a cat, want to volunteer or help with fundraising then call 0845 3712064.