Animal charities are bracing themselves for a cat-astrophe as Croydon could be hit by an explosion of furry felines.

According to the RSPCA and The Cats Protection League (CPL), unless thousands of cats are neutered before next month's start to the breeding season, the borough could be plagued by cats.

"One female cat can be responsible for 20,000 descendants within five years," said Eleanor Walls, CPL's Croydon branch co-ordinator.

"Croydon has a very big problem and with the stray population growing, we can have up to 200 cats in our care.

"It's getting harder and harder to find them homes. There is a population explosion going on."

RSPCA's Croydon branch secretary Rosemary Hosking agrees. She told the Guardian: "It is getting worse year by year.

People have this stupid notion that you should let pets have litters but cats are not maternal creatures.

"We must do something about this dreadful cat problem."

Responding to the kitty-crisis, animal charities in the borough are now offering special neutering services at knock-down prices.

"The lack of neutering is the real problem," said Eleanor Walls.

"This causes too many kittens and the spread of awful diseases."

Without neutering, cat disease FIV, the feline version of the AIDS virus, is taking a stranglehold on the borough's stray population.

In some Croydon suburbs the fatal disease is present in 90 per cent of strays.

Feline Leukaemia, FeLV, is also claiming more cat lives than ever. Neither disease can be passed onto humans.

"It's terrible," added Eleanor Walls. "If an unneutered tom attacks or mates with someone's pet cat they too can be infected with the fatal disease. The cats suffer dreadfully."

For details on neutering cats, call the CPL on 0181 657 0768 or the RSPCA on 0181 771 9040.

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