Economic hardship has led to troubled times for man’s second favourite pet.

The Cats Protection’s Adoption Centre in Bredhurst is blaming the recession – plus marital discord – for a sudden surge in people trying to get their moggies re-homed.

There are usually 150 cats on the waiting list but it has risen steadily to 250 over the past six months.

Manager Adrian Ferne said: “We have lots of people ringing us saying they’re moving in to rented accommodation and they’re not allowed to have pets; others say they can’t afford them any more, they’ve been evicted from their homes, even marriage break-ups.

“We’ve always had a long waiting list but it has increased dramatically in the last six to eight months which ties in with the economic crisis starting.

“We just haven’t got the capacity to take them all. We can take between 150 to 160 at any given time. Other charities are also pointing people in our direction.

“We try to help as many as we can and we’ve just juggled things around at the centre so we can take another 15 new admissions.

“Fortunately there were no cats dumped over the Christmas period which was quite surprising but a good thing.

“We can give people advice and help people with regards to getting their cat neutered so they haven’t got the worry of having unwanted kittens.”

uE06E For more information on adopting a cat from the Bredhurst Adoption Centre based in Matts Hill Road, call 01634 232471.