Furreal Cat Rescue Burnley: Meet the feline rescue group tackling cat overbreeding

The founder of Furreal Cat Rescue Burnley says there is a "high demand" for neutering feral cats in the town. Neutering is a simple operation known as "spaying" for females and "the snip" for males, which Carla Jade Binns receives daily messages about.

Furreal faces heart-breaking situations, like "kittens dumped on main roads", adds 30-year-old Carla, who calls on people to neuter and microchip their pets to help stop "the cycle of breeding". By law, you can be fined up to £500 if your cat is not microchipped and registered by the time they’re 20-weeks-old.

"We're in kitten season and have 28 kittens coming in over the next two weeks and so many strays on our waiting list. Breeding is adding to the problem all the time. We get messages every day to neuter cats. It's a big ongoing problem. It's just non-stop," said Carla.

"When we first started in October, it was supposed to be a quiet few months, training up volunteers on how to use the trapping equipment before kitten season started but it’s been crazy since day one."

Carla runs Furreal on top of her business, CJ's Dog Walking, and even volunteers for the Lancashire Lost Dog Network, saying: "I have always had a passion for helping animals. All my spare time is dedicated to them."

With the help of her "brilliant" voluntary team of foster carers, she has taken 62 stray cats and kittens off the street and reunited 11 missing moggies with their owners. They sometimes handle welfare emergencies, like taking in four cats surrendered from a Nelson home.

The team also catches stray males to prevent road accidents or fighting among cats, giving them health checks, and taking them to the vets to be neutered, before releasing them back into the area. "During kitten season, stray males chase female cats who haven't been spayed, and they run out onto the road. Every year, we get messages that a cat has been run over. It's usually up to us to pick its body up and take it to the vet. Nine times out of 10, it hasn't been neutered or chipped."

As Furreal relies on fundraisers and donations to survive, Carla hopes to turn it into a charity. This would mean it could access government funding to help pay for specialist equipment like traps, plus neutering and microchipping, which costs £160 per cat.

Talking about the workload, Carla said: "Once you're in it, you have to carry on. Some days I think, 'Oh my god,' but the next day, you get on with it.

"Towns like Burnley struggle. A lot of people are aware of the problems. You have those willing to help and those who turn a blind eye. Cats aren't as popular as dogs so they struggle. It's not nice seeing them injured and struggling to survive. You have to act on it and do what you can.

"I want to concentrate on Burnley and make a difference. We're hoping to one day become a charity, get government funding, and grow bigger and bigger."

To donate food or litter to the group, please search for Furreal Cat Rescue Burnley on Facebook.