A GROUP of ten volunteers who have taken more than 150 stray cats off Barnsley’s streets over the last year - spending thousands of pounds in the process - are appealing for donations to help keep their mission alive.
Lynnsey Pumford, Rachel Dunning, Sian Evans, Sarah Wilson, Bethany Manterfield, Shannon Angela, Claire Skidmore, Ania Roman, Marcis Sarguns and Deborah Hall have been working under the guise of South Yorkshire Street Cats for over a year on a voluntary basis.
Over the last nine months they’ve taken more than 150 stray cats off of the streets, while also paying their vet bills - and any money to support those who are fostering the pets.
Lynnsey told the Chronicle: “There’s a group of us that cover Barnsley and Sheffield on a voluntary basis.
“We help to get stray cats off of the streets - we take them in, go to the vets and then rehome them.
“We don’t get any help with anything we do.”
But Lynnsey admits that it’s getting harder and harder to keep up with the sheer amount of requests they’re receiving.
“We get messages from people asking for help all day and night,” she said.
“There’s a cat crisis across the country but we just aren’t getting any help from any of the bigger charities.
“There’s a cat colony in Barnsley which we are trying to help out - there’s about 40 cats there but it will cost at least £5,000 to help them.
“It costs a lot of money - it’s getting frustrating because the larger charities who bring in a lot of money aren’t helping.”
Between February and April this year, the volunteers spent a total of £8,000 on just vet bills - not including the thousands of pounds they have spent to help those fostering.
“People do regularly donate to what we’re doing but it just doesn’t cover what we’re spending,” she added.
“We have neutered rehomed more than a hundred cats in the last nine months and our vet bills have been over £18,000 in this time.
“We also provide food and beds to feral cats.
“It’s getting to the point now where we’re struggling to take any more in but we don’t turn anyone away.
“We just need some help with funding.”
Rachel has set up an online fundraising page which has already accumulated more than £900, but the group are hoping to raise even more so they can continue the work they are doing.
She said: “There’s now a team of us working hard to stop cats and kittens breeding.
“Kitten season has given us a big bashing and we just can’t keep up with the cost - it’s impossible.
“Although it’s a pleasure to know none of these cats will ever breed again, we can’t sustain the cost.
“I’m at a loss on how we can get by.
“My initial target of £3,000 may seem a lot, but it really isn’t when there’s vet fees for each one.
“Also lots of unneutered cats need extra care of antibiotics as quite often they’ve fought so badly.
“If anyone can please donate even £1, it all adds up.”
You can donate here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/rachelss35cats?utm—campaign=p—lico%20share-sheet-first-launch&utm—medium=social&utm—source=facebook&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR05PGCYOs6joEAxmjbwRON03N5WqF0JLT9LayH0ohUba1L7beQm1sB4q—Y—aem—Aar5zykCAd0LZBUXy0gwUmQinTNKH1TWkSkKmuLRAvze—hk1jTtyC0VvqlujfVBD-S-izCL96JnOMvGA-vWNgykg
