Kitten Cuddlers Wanted: Form An Orderly Queue

If you live in the north of England and are bereft of kitty love, all your prayers are about to be answered.

A cat home in Newcastle has opened its doors to animal lovers, asking volunteers to come forward to spend a few hours playing with its kittens to help them get used to human contact before being rehomed.

All the cats at Westgate Ark have been abandoned, found or rescued and are looking for new homes. The centre opened in April and has seen an influx of feral cats in the past few months, says Paul Black, who runs the place.

“Many of the feral cats either come in with kittens or are pregnant. To re-home them we have to socialise them and this is easier if they are kittens," he told local newspaper The Chronicle.

And that's where we come in.

The public can visit the centre for a few hours to meet the cats and give them some attention, or you can become a regular volunteer and pop in every few days for guaranteed kitty love.

“We have a lot of lovely volunteers here who really do help out,” said Paul. “I am planning on holding an open weekend on December 27 and 28 where people can come and join us, for free, and have a glass of sherry or mulled wine and a mince pie and get to see the centre and meet the cats.

“They are also welcome to bring the cats little Christmas presents like treats, food, or litter.”

Paul also explains that with the feral cats that are found in the local area, the plan is to neuter them and return them to where they were found, because they're too old to socialise.

But spending time with the kittens should enable them to be rehomed as normal cuddly domestic cats.

If you don't live in Tyneside, you could enquire at your local cat shelter to find out if they require similar help, though in most cases be prepared to do plenty of cat cleaning out - a vital kitty care task.

Or you could think about fostering a pregnant cat. Several charities and cat homes in the UK (including Battersea Dogs And Cats Home) ask for volunteers to give a home to pregnant cats during their pregnancy and for the weeks after they give birth and are nurturing their kittens.

This gives the cats a safe home environment to bring up their young and the fosterers have the important job of socialising the cats. i.e. stroking, playing with and cuddling the adorable little things.

So get off the viral cat videos online and make your way to Newcastle for some IRL cat-based fun.

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