Over the last year we've lost an estimated £80,000. This hasn't just jeopardised our plans to grow the Shelter and help even more cats, it has forced us to severely cut costs and focus on survival.

As a second lockdown threatens to close our shops, costing us hundreds more daily, we are preparing to survive a much longer lean period than we had first hoped.

We need your help.

With your support alone we rescue an average of 300 cats a year, and prior to the current crisis this number was only growing.

We also help protect dozens of cats with long-term conditions. Diabetes, respiratory problems, long-term injuries: all of them depend on us, and your support, to cover their vet bills.

And it is your support that keeps us going. As an animal charity there is little funding available to us from the Government, which means our future is where it has always been: in the hands of cat lovers everywhere.

Unlike other charities, almost all our cats are sheltered in rooms, not cages, which means that they are much happier during their stay and their true personalities flourish. Hundreds of cats every year come to us timid and wary but leave confident and ready to take on the world.

We stand by our policies of protection including the neutering, vaccinating, and microchipping every cat that comes through our door, as well as our policy of never putting a cat down if it can lead a happy life - a policy not every charity shares with us.

Such strong (but necessary) measures mean that our annual expenses are very high, with last months vet bills alone exceeding £7000.

But it is so important that we do what we do.

Cats like Rush and Dale were born with severe deformities in their front paws that made it difficult for them to move. Almost no one could have paid the thousands it would have cost for their surgeries, and so we stepped in to give them all the help they needed.

Years later they're living happy lives that few believed they'd ever have, all thanks to our support. Thanks to you.

We want to make sure that the Shelter can continue to be a home away from home for cats and humans alike, with our volunteering scheme providing a space for many to learn new skills, meet new people, or just help with mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression. Few things can bring a sense of calm and happiness quite like a loving cat.

This is one of the biggest crises we've faced in our 123 years. We need your help.