THE owner of a cat rescue charity has called upon pet owners to take account of their animals after it saw demand for its services almost double in less than a year.
Cat Watch Rescue Shelter is operated out of a newly built facility in Marnie Buckland's back garden in Amesbury.
The registered charity focuses on helping stray cats and has rescued, re-homed or reunited more than 1,500 cats and kittens so far since it started in 2019.
But Marnie has seen a massive increase in demand this year as 988 cats have been brought in since January.
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In comparison, between January to December last year, 566 cats were looked after.
This year as the cost of living continues to take hold and families look to cut costs, more domestic cats are being reported to Marnie.
She told Journal she has taken in 42 cats since September 2, adding: "I hate saying no but we're not set up for surrenders, we're set up for strays."
Marnie has had more calls recently from pet owners who claimed they did not know their cat was neutered.
Cats are rescued from all across Wiltshire and its border. Marnie said she had recently collected cats from Fovant, Tidworth, Calne and Winchester.
@salisburyjournal How cute are these stray kittens?! Cat Watch Rescue invited us to look round its new facility in #Amesbury. #wiltshire #cat #catsoftiktok #rescuecat #straycat #cute #kitten #salisbury #kittensoftiktok #charity ♬ Aesthetic - Tollan Kim
Marnie rescued her first cat in August 2019 after she was called to a home in Laverstock where she found a mother and six kittens living under garden decking.
Cats Protection was full at the time but said they could return in October to trap, neuter and return the cats but Marnie did not want to wait this long.
She successfully trapped the semi-feral cats but vets told her that the mother had intestinal lymphoma and she had to be euthanised.
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Marnie was determined to care for the kittens and set up a small holding in her garden while raising money to open her own cat rescue shelter while working full time.
More than four years on, an extension to her shelter was built and it offers large, personalised spaces to keep cats safe and entertained while volunteers take care of them.
Each of the six new enclosures can care for up to six adult cats comfortably, offering places for 36 cats at a time.
All cats are vaccinated, treated for fleas and neutered before being put up for adoption or, if they are feral, released back where they were found.
Marnie is urging people to contact Cats Protection to take part in its campaign which is offering free, £5 or £10 neutering offers to pet owners.
To register your interest in any of the cats currently being looked after in Cat Watch Rescue Shelter, visit cwwrescue.org/adoption-process.
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