A CAT RESCUE home is experiencing an unprecedented number of new arrivals after a sharp increase in the number of abandoned moggies due to the economic downturn.

Fran Meyer, who runs re-homing charity “Cat and Kitten Care” from her Walthamstow home, has seen an influx of abandoned feline friends since the start of the credit crunch and she is now having to turn cats away.

One pet seeking a loving home has been named “Kane” after the boy who rescued him from the jaws of two Staffordshire-bull terriers which were chasing it down Prospect Hill in Walthamstow.

Another tabby and white cat named “Sparkle” was found dumped in a cardboard box in a churchyard in Leytonstone on Guy Fawkes’ night.

Mrs Meyer said: “We have been hit by the credit crunch. Rather than having people wanting to adopt, all we seem to get are calls from people wanting to get rid of them. People should be more responsible before they take them on.”

Mrs Meyer who runs the charity with her colleague, Mary Farrington, and other volunteers, attributes the problem to owners being “ignorant” about the cost involved in caring for a cat and the need to get them neutered.

“People are not getting them neuteured, which is a major problem. A lot of it is down to ignorance because they don’t understand that a cat will breed without being neutered,” the 47-year-old said.

“We have had people saying they don’t want to get them neutered for religious reasons. And some simply don’t realise they can get help, such as from the RSPCA, which offers free neuturing for pets belonging to owners on benefits.”

The volunteers, who often work 18-hour days to look after the abandoned moggies, say they have been saddened by the number of callers with unwanted pets.

“We have had to turn many people down with unwanted cats. We took a call from a man asking the quickest way to kill a cat, and whether he should put it in the bath to electrocute it. It is not very pleasant some of the calls we take,” she said.

The charity is working tirelessly around the clock to re-home cats, get strays neutured, and tend to those which have been mis-treated. They rely on money from fund-raising events, donations and animal sponsors.

To make a donation, or contact the charity about adopting a cat, call Fran Meyer on: 8531 3469. Before a cat is re-homed, an home inspection will be made by Cat and Kitten Care to ensure that the accommodation is suitable.