CATS of certain colours are being overlooked for rehoming at the local Cats Protection branch, which is struggling to cope with demand. The St Albans and district branch of the organisation is over-run with cats and has no space available for the many mor

CATS of certain colours are being overlooked for rehoming at the local Cats Protection branch, which is struggling to cope with demand.

The St Albans and district branch of the organisation is over-run with cats and has no space available for the many more that they have been asked to take in.

About 100 cats were rehomed by the branch last year with an average time in their care of a few weeks. But with more cats being taken in and fewer people coming forward to adopt, the animals are staying even longer in the charity's care.

Since the start of the recession, there has been sharp rise in the number of stray cats on the streets in the district, mainly due to a lack of neutering and owners abandoning their pets when they can no longer afford to keep them.

Black and white cats are the ones staying the longest at Cats Protection because the local branch is finding them harder to re-home.

Jean Thompson, branch coordinator, said: "There are a lot of them about and they don't often photograph well which is why we encourage anyone wanting to adopt a cat to visit."

The branch, which totally relies on volunteer fosterers to take care of the pets, has a number of such cats in desperate need of a loving home.

Rescued

Sasha, a black cat, is the branch's longest-standing resident and needs an experienced cat owner with no other cats.

Buster, a black and white cat, has also been at the branch for some considerable time, since being rescued from a garden where he had been sleeping under a bush.

A number of tabby cats and kittens are also waiting to be re-homed.

Jean, who has recently adopted a rescue cat herself, said: "We have limited space. We rely totally on volunteer fosterers who have specially designed cat pens in their gardens where cats we take in are cared for.

"Already we are over-run with calls about kittens and unwanted stray cats in people's gardens but we can only help a limited number of these cats as we don't have enough volunteers with pens to care for them. If we can find our present cats in care good homes, then we can help more cats."

All of the cats are vet-checked, vaccinated, micro-chipped, neutered and have been treated for worms and fleas, and they come with six weeks free pet insurance.

l For further information about adopting a cat call 0845 371 2064 and to see all of the cats in need of a home visit www.stalbans.cats.org.uk