There is no more room at the inn this Christmas, a Fife animal charity has warned.
Rhona Gordon, the coordinator of Fife Cat Shelter in Kelty, said she can no longer take new admissions after being inundated with homeless animals.
She claims she is already spending £1,800 a month in housing abandoned and lost cats at the Causeway Cottage Cattery in Scotlandwell and is desperate to rehome as many as possible during what is normally a busy period.
However, with the festive season often seeing a rise in the number of animals handed over to the shelter, Rhona said she could not look after any more animals.
“We have a huge number of cats,” she told The Courier. “We’re having to put them in a private cattery to board the overspill.
“We try to help where we can but we’ve just run out of space.
“The cats come first but all of the pens have been full since July.”
Rhona has around 30 cats in her care, many of which are at the cattery due to the sheer numbers that have been handed in.
She is unable to take in any more strays until homes are found for those in her care.
However, Rhona is well aware of the risk of families wishing to take a on a pet at Christmas time and therefore is unwilling to rehome cats too close to Christmas Day.
“When we are full we are full,” she added.
“I will always try to squeeze them in and we do have two going away soon.
“But sometimes it’s not just one cat we’re being asked to take in but two or three.
“I would only ever give cats to sensible owners and we don’t give cats to be given away on Christmas Day. If they really want a cat then they will wait until after Christmas.”