Fifty animals, including 20 pedigree British Shorthair cats, have been rescued from a “very unpleasant” kitten and puppy farm. Volunteers from Woodlands Animal Sanctuary in Ormskirk were contacted by another charity on December 30 to assist with the rescue of the animals, which were being recklessly bred for profit.
Fifty animals, including 20 pedigree British Shorthair cats, have been rescued from a “very unpleasant” kitten and puppy farm. Volunteers from Woodlands Animal Sanctuary in Ormskirk were contacted by another charity on December 30 to assist with the rescue of the animals, which were being recklessly bred for profit.
A total of 20 British Shorthair cats, worth up to £1,600 each, and 30 shi tzu dogs were seized from the property in Manchester and distributed across several sanctuaries in the North West.
Woodlands Animal Sanctuary volunteer Sally McDerby said: “They were all in tiny cages inside the house. Another rescue had been contacted but they were a much smaller volunteer-run charity who couldn’t cope with the capacity. We had the capacity to take some of the cats.
“We sent an animal care manage and another carer went to the house and we took six of the cats in. It was very unpleasant. The cages were too small, not clean, basic health needs weren’t being met. Their quality of life was not satisfactory
“One of the cats had be euthanised because it was paralysed and had no use of its back legs. There was one six months old, there were two adults who are utterly terrified of life because they’ve never been handled, so they will have to stay with us a long time before they’re socialised enough to be rehomed.
“They all needed neutering, and we’ve got one that’s pregnant as well.”
It was the second animal hoarding situation Woodlands Animal Sanctuary was called to in just one month, as volunteers attended another cat-infested property in Leyland on December 16.
They found “over 20 cats of all ages, emaciated, flea ridden and living in absolute filth”. Three of the cats went in for immediate and urgent veterinary care. The rest were brought into Woodlands where they were placed in emergency isolation procedures.
Sally said: “We have come across them throughout our 25-year history. Since December 16, we’ve come across two. The first house was the worst house that our founding trustee has been to. Just the poor hygiene was the worst that she’d ever been in. When you see TV shows of hoarder houses, it’s like that but with animals involved.
“It’s something that we have always come across. Overall the health of the cats that are coming into us are the worst they’ve ever been, mainly due to financial hardships. Even the animals we are taking in not from hoarder houses have got progressively worse over the years.
“Dental issues, malnutrition, fleas, worms, ticks. Sometimes they have deformities or infections that haven’t been treated. We’ve had some come in blind because they had infections in their eyes. They’re malnourished, they’re emaciated. And the trauma of being in those situations means they can be very tricky to handle and very fearful.
“The flu that you don’t see as much in cats up to date with their vaccinations, some of those diseases we felt we were getting rid of. The risk of rescue cats having those is much higher.
“It’s not nice for our animal carers to see the animals like that, and sometimes the people as well. We’re doing what we can, being as strict with our biosecurity measures as we can and working with other rescues, so even if we can’t admit anything ourselves we can still organise a rescue.
“It is an uphill battle. Education is a key thing. While neutering is relatively expensive to some people, it will reduce costs in the long run. Sometimes people don’t believe they should be neutered or they’re breeding them for profit, so it is difficult.
“These British blues are pedigree breeds and they were being bred for profit. Most pedigree animals will have more problems, often due to the selective breeding, it doesn’t always create the healthiest animal. So that’s another challenge.”
Woodlands Animal Sanctuary has launched its 2026 event calendar, offering multiple ways for the community to get involved:
- Tea and Tours Experience – Every Saturday in January, join guided tours of the sanctuary while enjoying refreshments and meeting the animals.
- Quiz Night – Saturday, March 7 at Tarleton Bowling Club. A fun-filled evening of trivia to raise vital funds
