ANIMAL organisations in West?Devon have seen a sharp rise in the number of cats being abandoned and left at rescue sanctuaries as their owners have been hit by the economic downturn.

Okehampton and District Cats Protection is seeing at least one incidence a month of cats being abandoned in the area. The demand for places in the branch's sanctuary has also increased dramatically.

This is in parallel with the charity's national figures, which has seen reports of stray cats or calls from people wanting to give up their cats increase by a third since 2009.

The steep rise has been blamed on the hard times being felt by people across the nation.

Pat Sawyer, branch co-ordinator for Okehampton and District Cats Protection said: 'We are inundated with people getting rid of their cats at the moment. Just this morning I had a man ring up to find out if we had space to take his cat, which he can no longer afford to look after.

'We've no space. We have around 16 to 18 cats on a waiting list to come in to us, but we only have 12 pens, all of which are full. That tells you exactly what we are up against.

'On top of that, it seems nobody is homing any cats, which makes things doubly difficult because we have no homes for the cats here.

'A lot of the problem seems to be that people don't think far enough ahead. For example, people will get a cat, then move house and at the last minute, realise that their new home doesn't allow pets on the lease. This means we have "queue jumpers" who urgently need our help, and we have to do what we can.

'Other people sometimes move house, and their cat is micro-chipped, but then they don't change the old contact and address details on the chip. This means we have to do some detective work to track them down, and we can't always get hold of the cat's owner.'

Elaine Hill, who volunteers with Okehampton Cats Protection and works at Okeford Veterinary Centre, said there had definitely been a big rise in the number of abandoned cats.

'We have had cats left in boxes, and carrier cases, abandoned on doorsteps, and it is not nice to see at all. We have had cases where people have just moved house and left their cats behind.

'One incidence like that saw someone bring the cat into the vet.

'Thankfully, we have not really had any where their condition has really concerned us, but leaving a cat abandoned is not good at all.

'I have been working with Cats Protection for a long number of years now, and I can honestly say I have never seen it as bad as this.'

In 2011, the number of calls received by the RSPCA about abandoned animals increased for the fifth year running.

Jo Barr from the RSPCA said: 'Sadly, the economic crisis has led to an increase in animals being abandoned across the country.

'With the increase in abandonments, as well as the impact of rises in fuel, energy and veterinary costs, the RSPCA's operational costs are increasing faster than new income is being generated from traditional sources such as legacies.

'All the work we do to help animals in need is reliant on public donations, and we remain extremely grateful for every penny given at what is for many supporters a very difficult time.'

If you would like to contact Okehampton and District Cats Protection — which also covers Hatherleigh and the surorunding area — call 0845 3712751 or e-mail [email protected]">[email protected] For more information visit http://www.okehampton.cats.org.uk">www.okehampton.cats.org.uk For more information on the work of the RSPCA, visit www,rspca.org.uk