The charity has seen a 58 per cent increase in arrivals.

Scottish SPCA has appealed for more homes for cats as their centres across Scotland near capacity.

The centres have seen an increase of cats, with 58 per cent more cats arriving in their centres in 2023 than in 2022.

This means that the animal rescue charity has received 465 more cats than they did last year.

Scottish SPCA’s appeal comes after the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) revealed that they have been forced to pay £8,287 per week to keep nearly 300 cats in private boarding, as their rescue centres are too full.

The RSPCA stated that they had seen an increase in the number of cats arriving at the centres, and a drop in the number of people looking to adopt a cat.

Scottish SPCA is urging potential cat owners to rescue a cat from one of their shelters, rather than buying a kitten from low-welfare kitten breeders.

The charity says that they are seeing an increase in low-welfare kitten breeding, where the kittens are raised in a low-welfare environment. They say that kittens from these environments are likely to have more medical and behavioural problems due to the conditions they had been kept in.

Anna O’Donnell, Scottish SPCA rehoming and fostering lead, said: “We have such a variation of breeds, temperaments and ages that we’re confident we have a cat to suit most families!

“We’d also like to encourage anyone thinking about buying a kitten to consider adopting a young adult cat instead. They are just as playful and fun as a kitten but a little easier to take care of in a lot of ways.”

She continued: “As anyone who has rescued an animal will tell you, these cats will be so grateful for a second chance at a loving home. We’d love to see them all happy and settled with new families as soon as possible.”

Anyone interested in a cat can view and apply for available animals here.

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