A MUM and daughter who started a cat rescue sanctuary from their Powys home a few years ago, now say their house is being overrun and they are struggling to cope.

Cat lovers Karen Smy and daughter Lauren Sheldrick started Karen's Cat Community in 2017, initially by helping locals and providing advice. They then progressed onto trapping, neutering, releasing and rehoming kittens in the area.

Karen says the family has always had multiple cats. But now, the animal-loving duo are sharing their Nantmel bungalow with more than 70 cats, taking over every room in the house.

Karen says rehoming the rescued felines is now feeling futile, with their bills sky-rocketing. Earlier this year they even opened a cat café, and estimate they are spending more than £100 a day on food and litter, while veterinary costs are in the thousands.

“Over the past two years we have grown to an overwhelming size and 2023 has been the hardest year yet,” said Karen, who said the continuous arrival of cats in 2023 has hampered their plans to become a registered charity.

“We have over 70 cats in our care and are now struggling, along with all other rescues, after Covid and the cost-of-living crisis.

“People either cannot afford to neuter their cat, are not aware of the neutering schemes larger charities provide or are not educated on how quickly cats can reproduce.

“Since opening in 2017 we have successfully helped 230 cats; this year alone we have helped 70 cats and kittens.

“We separate them the best we can to avoid overcrowding but this year has pushed us to our limit, and they are in every room of the house, so we have had to start to say no.

“However, this does not stop people from ringing or contacting us at least twice a day about owner surrenders and abandoned kittens.”

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On average, Karen says they spend around £108.78 a day doing what they love.

“To feed 76 cats 3 times a day on Whiskas (the cheapest food we use) costs £82.50,” she said.

“We use around 12 bags of litter a day which roughly works out to be £26.28, using Tesco litter.

“However, this does not factor in specialist food. Some of our cats require a specialist diet, this food can be incredibly pricey. The kittens are also on a higher quality food, so they have the best start to life.”

The caring pair still need to castrate 20 male cats, at roughly £45 per procedure (which would amount to £900) and 18 females, at £78 (£1,404).

County Times: Karen and Lauren say they now have more than 70 cats living with them in their home Karen and Lauren say they now have more than 70 cats living with them in their home (Image: None)

“We also double vaccinate all of our cats and kittens which is £62.40 per cat (£4,742.40 in total). We are still looking at paying out £3,712.80 minimum in veterinary bills to cover this.”

Karen and Lauren are also trying to raise money for Jess, a ginger cat who had a piece of her skull lodged in her nasal cavity. They have been quoted £2,000 for a biopsy and £4,000 for the surgery she may need.

Karen’s Cat Community currently have 34 kittens and 10 adult cats who are looking for their forever homes – Karen says this has tripled since last year when they only had 13 kittens to rehome.

“We have very little interest in our cats and kittens at the moment,” she says. “This means we are struggling to cover costs, as adoption fees usually help us with this.”

Anyone interested in adopting a cat from Karen and Lauren can email them at adoptions@karenscatcommunity.co.uk to start the process.

They ask people to complete an adoption form so they can be best matched with a cat. A home check is then carried out and the potential owners are invited to meet the cats (both of these processes can be done online).

Once everything is confirmed there is an adoption fee (£125 per kitten, £150 per cat) to pay in order to get your favourite feline.

County Times: Karen's Cat Community

Finally, a rehoming day is arranged, where Karen and Lauren bring the cat to you. They recently made the 264-mile trip, 5-hour to Newcastle to complete a rehoming.

To find out more, or to contact Karen or Lauren, visit Karen's Cat Community - Animal Rescue and Sanctuary on Facebook. Alternatively, visit the website at linktr.ee/KarensCatCommunity.

You can check out their TikTok page and meet the cats at https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMFVCbMry/.

You can also find out more about Jess’ story at https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/KKC-funds-for-jess.