Woman spends £40,000 neutering other people's cats as feline population 'booms'

A woman who runs a cat rescue sanctuary from her home has said she has spent thousands of pounds neutering other people's cats, as charities describe a surge in the number of pets needing help.

Anna Mason, who runs the charity Anna's Rescue Centre in Cardiff, said the majority of calls she received were from people who could not afford to keep their cats.

"I personally have spent £40,000 neutering other people's cats," she said. "They pay me £50 and I pay the vet the rest of the money to try and help to control the numbers of cats wandering around in south Wales."

The RSPCA described the number of cats in its care as a "crisis", reporting a 72% rise across England and Wales since 2021.

Anna, a 58-year-old mum of three, started rescuing cats in 2017.

"I was a veterinary nurse for eight years before starting my family," she said.

"Most of the main issues are cats giving birth outside and turning into feral cats and people having to deal with them.

"It's an absolutely massive circle. One pair can produce so many kittens over that year and if they're not picked up, that street has 40 or 50 stray cats all of a sudden."

Anna said she had spent about £40,000 on neutering bills since October 2025, funded with the help of donations to the charity and topped up with her own income.

The RSPCA said more than 1,400 cats were in its care across England and Wales at the end of 2025 - an increase of 72% from the 832 it was caring for four years earlier.

The charity has pleaded with cat owners to neuter their pets to help stem an ongoing "capacity and welfare crisis".

Another cat sanctuary in Cymmer, Neath Port Talbot, said it had made the "heart-breaking" decision to close its doors to new animals amid a huge increase in demand.

Ty-Nant Cat Sanctuary, which is run by volunteers, looks after and supports more than 100 cats with another 100 on its waiting list.

Jo, who has volunteered at Ty-Nant for nine years, said there had been a "massive increase" in cat owners needing help in recent months, leaving the sanctuary at breaking point.

She said Ty-Nant had seen its vet bills triple in recent years, adding: "It's too many cats, not enough money and not enough volunteers."

She expected the year to get even busier, especially as kitten season has just begun.

"We've got to turn down some cats knowing that we'll be having to prioritise calls about kittens found."

Animal welfare charities have previously raised concerns about cats being abandoned due to the cost of living crisis, warning of the increasing cost of pet food and the fear of unexpected vets' bills.

The Covid pandemic also had an impact, when people adopted cats but were unable to get them neutered due to lockdown restrictions.

Jo said this created a "massive boom in the cat population" that many rescue services had failed to recover from.

Despite this, Jo said Ty-Nant was determined to reopen its doors to any cat needing its help as soon as they could.

RSPCA Cymru said: "Sadly, we are seeing record numbers of cats entering our care. We began 2026 with a higher number of cats than in each of the previous five years - 1,280 cats across England and Wales."

"As well as urging potential owners to adopt a rescue cat instead of shopping for one, we urge cat owners to neuter their pets to help stop unwanted breeding, as this exacerbates the problem amid the ongoing capacity and welfare crisis."