Cats Protection Dereham Adoption Centre is appealing for volunteers to come forward and help trap neuter and return cats living in the wild.

We have on our records around 50 adults and 55 kittens plus 11 colonies of cats that we need help with catching to have them neutered.

We are looking for volunteers to visit farms, homes or anywhere there is a stray or feral needing neutering, then to catch and take them to the vet and then release them back once they have been neutered.

Feral cats are those either born wild or that have lived so long away from humans that they can no longer be found new homes as pets. They are the same species as our pets and are equally protected in law.

An uncontrolled feral colony will grow quickly; the cats will be susceptible to disease and may also become a nuisance. Simply removing the cats is not a long-term solution, as a new colony will soon move in.

The best option, therefore, is to neuter all of the resident feral cats within as short a time frame as possible. Over a period of years this will reduce the size of the colony. A controlled, healthy and manageable colony will deter other ferals from moving in and will keep vermin levels down.