IT all began when Yvonne Garner rescued a group of kittens that were destined to be destroyed.

She looked after them for a few weeks and then found good homes for them.

Five years later her charity, Feline Friends, has offered similar lifelines to litterally thousands of sick and abandoned animals all over Halton.

Feline Friends is now well-established in the Halton area and their patron is Joan O'Neill - mother of Sporty Spice Melanie Chisholm - who is in a Tina Turner tribute band, River Deep, along with Yvonne's husband, Paul.

Now with a small group of volunteers, Feline Friends has its own charity shop in Runcorn old town and has just acquired a piece of land where they hope a sanctuary can be built to accommodate the animals they rescue.

"It's been a very exhausting five years - but an extremely rewarding one as well," explained Yvonne.

"It all started out of our love for animals, particularly cats, and it is unbelievable the amount of animals we have had to deal with since then.

"It makes you wonder what on earth happened to all these creatures before we were around to help."

While the group mainly deal with the feline variety, they have rushed to the aid of other animals over the years and have often been called out in the middle of the night by the police when they have had reports of injured animals.

"We have had to deal with swans and ducks and I had to rescue a fox once that was trapped in wire meshing on Windmill Hill. We've also come across injured squirrels and owls," said Yvonne.

"These are wild animals though. What really gets to me is when you are called out to find week-out kittens dumped in a plastic bag somewhere, just left to die, or dogs are found in a terrible state after being mistreated by their owners. I can't believe people can be so cruel to their pets.

"We've had stray cats handed in to us that have lost an eye or broken a leg and have just been left.

"It is the vet bills that take up most of our money. Asda in Widnes and Tesco in Runcorn very kindly put a food basket in their stores for us and people generously donate pet food and that is a tremendous help."

Feline Friends has also done a lot of work in the borough with the many colonies of feral cats.

From one cat there are as many as 40,000 descendants and, once a mother has her litter outside, the colony can escalate at an amazing rate.

Yvonne explained: "Most colonies have started because an irresponsible owner has abandoned their cat. A female cat has her litter, within months those kittens have litters and before you know it there is a huge problem. Many die awful deaths or starve to death. Eventually interbreeding starts and then kittens are born with deformities.

"It is expensive to neuter a colony but those that have grown around factories, the owners of the factory have helped financially."

Feline Friends is busy all year round and has foster carers who look after the animals.

But there are such a large number of kittens been handed in recently that they have had to refuse to take any more until September.

"We just haven't got enough foster carers to cope at the moment," said Yvonne.

"It is vicious circle really. We're delighted when good homes are found for the cats but as soon as you home one another comes in to us.

"There is only one way to help curb the problem of unwanted cats and kittens and that is for owners to become more responsible and have their cats - male and female - neutered.

"Some owners can put it off and, before they know it, they have the problem of six or seven kittens running around their homes.

"And there is absolutely no excuse for dumping unwanted litters. Animals charities, and there are many of us these days, will always take them in as opposed to seeing them abandoned somewhere. Some of the larger animal charities also help towards the neutering costs."

BUILDING work on the new sanctuary but many more building materials are needed as well as labourers who are willing to give up some of their spare time to help.

"We would be extremely grateful if any local firms have anything going spare they could give us, such as sand, cement, bricks, flags etc," said Yvonne. "And if labourers can spare us some of their time, even if its only a couple of hours, we would be grateful."

FELINE Friends charity shop at 2 Market Place, Runcorn old town is open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The shop always welcomes any unwanted saleable items, particularly furniture.

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer for Feline Friends - even for just a couple of hours a week - or a foster carer, or would like to offer a good home to a cat or kitten, you can call them on 01928-578040 on the opening days or call in in person.

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