Cat Crisis - UK

The Campaign Behind the Cat Crisis

What started as a simple concern about the growing number of cats needing help has grown into a campaign calling for real change across the UK.

The Cat Crisis - UK campaign was created to raise awareness of the growing pressure on cat rescues, the number of unwanted and abandoned cats, unaffordable neutering, irresponsible breeding and the lack of long-term national planning to tackle the problem.

At the heart of the campaign is a simple belief: cats deserve better, and the people working tirelessly to save them deserve better support.

From concern to action

After seeing first-hand how overwhelmed rescue organisations can become, the campaign was started to give the issue a louder voice.

Rescues across the country are dealing with cats arriving faster than they can find homes for them. Many are relying on donations, volunteers and foster carers while facing rising veterinary, food and housing costs.

Behind every statistic is an individual cat.

A cat abandoned on the streets.

A litter born because a mother wasn’t neutered.

A rescue space that isn’t available because another cat has nowhere else to go.

A volunteer trying to save an animal while already stretched to their limit.

The campaign wants those stories to be heard.

The petition

On 23 July 2026, the campaign launched a UK Parliament petition calling for:

“Introduce a national strategy to tackle the cat overpopulation and rescue crisis.”

Sign the petition here

The proposed strategy would seek to expand affordable neutering, support overwhelmed rescue centres, strengthen responsible pet ownership education, and review measures to reduce irresponsible breeding and cat abandonment.

The response has been incredible.

Within days, thousands of people had signed the petition. What began as one person’s attempt to raise awareness quickly became a much larger movement, with cat lovers, rescue supporters and members of the public coming together behind the cause.

More than a number

Every signature represents somebody saying that they believe something needs to change.

The campaign isn’t simply about reaching a target. It’s about demonstrating that the public cares about the future of cats in the UK and wants meaningful action.

The goal is to make sure the cat crisis cannot simply be ignored.

Giving rescues a voice

A major part of the campaign is highlighting the reality faced by rescue centres and foster carers.

Many people see a rescued cat arriving at its new home and don’t see everything that happened beforehand — the emergency call, the veterinary treatment, the fundraising, the foster placement, the sleepless nights and the people who made it possible.

The campaign wants to help bring that reality into the public conversation.

Rescues shouldn’t have to constantly fight to keep their heads above water while the number of cats needing help continues to grow.

What happens next?

The campaign is continuing to build momentum, gather experiences from the public, rescues and veterinary professionals, raise awareness and encourage decision-makers to take the issue seriously.

This isn’t about blaming cat owners or rescues.

It’s about looking at the bigger picture and asking:

How do we stop so many cats reaching crisis point in the first place?

We believe the answer requires prevention, education, affordable neutering, responsible breeding and proper support for the rescue sector.

Join the movement

The cat crisis affects all of us.

Whether you’re a cat owner, rescue volunteer, foster carer, veterinary professional or simply someone who believes cats deserve a better future, your voice matters.

You can support the campaign by signing and sharing the petition, talking about the issue, supporting your local rescue and helping spread awareness.

Together, we can turn thousands of individual voices into one clear message:

The UK has a cat crisis — and it’s time to act.