One of Canberra's largest and most well-known cat rescue organisations will cease operations from next year.
Flossie's Kitten Rescue has announced it will close its doors at the conclusion of the upcoming kitten season in mid-2022, more than 10 years after it first rescued and rehomed abandoned or stray cats.
Its owner and manager Kath Crawford said the decision to step away was partly due to the rapidly increasing number of cats that were being brought in.
"It's amazing work to be doing, with tangible outcomes when we get these kittens that are often unwell and we get them back to health and adopted," Ms Crawford said.
"But it's also relentless, it's absolutely relentless. It's not one particular factor but every year is difficult. There is a never-ending supply of kittens that have been born in people's garden sheds or in the streets."
The owner said the number of cats that been rescued had surged in recent years, which had impacted on how many cats Flossie's was able to rehome.
"It has been getting worse. We have had to say no to taking more cats in than we have said yes to," Ms Crawford said.
"Sometimes if we get a mother cat in and she delivers a couple of kittens, then we could have close to 50 cats at home at any given time."
Ms Crawford told The Canberra Times a decision has been made to ensure all cats currently being cared for by Flossie's will be rehomed when the organisation stops work after the next kitten season.
The owner said as many as seven adult cats that were unlikely to be adoptable due to their circumstances will remain in care at Ms Crawford's home permanently.
It's expected Flossie's will stop running in either June or July in 2022.
"We'll be winding back operations for the upcoming kitten season, so we will aim to get as many adults adopted as we can," Ms Crawford said.
"I do envision that we'll be doing kitten season a little more quietly next year, because this one has been crazy."
Kitten season usually starts in the spring and ends just after autumn.
The owner first helped to rehome cats from her Flynn home in 2009, with Flossie's formally established five years later.
Ms Crawford said she started Flossie's from her home after leaving the public service due to health reasons.
"It started off as a hobby and the demand and growth for cats in need just grew," she said.
"Part of the decision to start it in my home was because we only had six cats to start with, and as my adult children grew up and moved out of home, more rooms became available, and then we then used it for cat rescue."
Volunteers as part of Flossie's were told about Ms Crawford's decision to stop running the service two weeks ago.
"The response from the public has been one of shock, because lots of people in Canberra see Flossie's as a bit of an institution," she said.
She said despite the impending closure of Flossie's there would still be other cat-rescue organisations such as the RSPCA or the Canberra Street Cat Alliance doing similar work in the capital.
