Cat sanctuary raises £12,000 to restore a ‘demolished’ pen after Storm Darragh

A cat sanctuary has raised more than £12,500 after a fallen tree branch “demolished” a newly-built pen housing rescued cats, during Storm Darragh.

Rosemary Spicer, a trustee of the Avon Cat Rescue near Stratford-upon-Avon in the West Midlands, said some of the cats have “vanished” from the destroyed pen, which was damaged after the fourth named storm of the year battered parts of the country over the weekend.

She hopes to raise money for the cat sanctuary, which houses more than 60 cats, and rebuild the destroyed pen.

“A huge branch of a very old tree fell right on the top of one of our cat pens and completely demolished it. There were five cats in situ, and they’ve all vanished,” Ms Spicer told the PA news agency.

“We have seen them, but we can’t get them back. They’re semi-feral so they won’t go far, but we can’t get them in at the moment.”

She said some of the other cats “couldn’t move with fear” after being spooked by the loud noise of gale-force winds.

“I think the noise upset a lot of them,” she said.

“There was one cat that we found that was still in there, he couldn’t move with fear, I think, but he’s OK.

“It was very terrifying for them. Now we’re going to have to have tree surgeons and chainsaws and all sorts to clear up, so that will be more scary for them as well.”

Ms Spicer posted a picture of a fallen tree which had smashed into the pen leaving bark and twigs in its wake.

She began a fundraiser on Facebook asking for donations to help restore the pen.

“Unfortunately, it’s one of our newer pens, so it’s major PVC (polyvinyl chloride),” she said.

“It was state-of-the-art everything involved with electrics and lighting and linings and everything. It costs quite a few thousand to build, and it will take a few thousand to rebuild.

“The only thing that’s good left is the flooring. Basically, everything else is gone.”

She said people have been “so kind” after local businesses offered their services free to repair any damages.

“We thought, ‘shall we put a photo on (Facebook) or not?’ We thought we’ll give it a go, and it’s gone up to £11,000 since yesterday morning which is amazing.

“People have offered to help. Builders have offered help, tree surgeons have offered free help. People have offered to take the cats temporarily, so everyone’s been so kind.”

The independent cat charity has been running for 61 years, taking in cats for rehoming or keeping them safe if they are not rehomed.