Can you help feed a cat over the festive period? Inverness Cat Rescue's plea

A Christmas plea has gone out for donations of cat food to help Inverness Cat Rescue over the festive period.

The problem is that Christmas is not a good time for a cat to be re-homed, as often the new home would be in upheaval with preparations for the holiday and not conducive to a cat settling in happily.

Another reason is that cat protection groups believe that Christmas can often be a time when spur of the moment decisions are made by people to give a cat or kitten as a gift for a child, with the recipients not having time to assess the commitment with potentially poor results for the pet when the novelty wears off in the New Year.

As in previous years, the charity is therefore appealing for a small donation of cat food for the cats who find themselves having a prolonged stay in its care at Christmas and beyond.

Anyone wishing to give packaged food to Inverness Cat Rescue, can drop donations off at MacLellan Vets Eastgate opposite Morrisons supermarket, or at the rescue centre at 37 Creag Dhubh Terrace, Scorguie, Inverness.

Heather Raven, director of Inverness Cat Rescue, said they do not have too many cats under their care at any one time, usually up to four, but they make the appeal for food to avoid the additional expenditure that would be better spent on vet bills to get the cats healthy.

She said: "People have been brilliant at helping out over Christmas in the past, and already we have had some donations to help us until we resume re-homing cats in January.

"A cat's new home has to be as peaceful as possible to help them settle, and not full of visitors and other excitement."

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