Luton and Dunstable cats get their very own foodbank!

The tragic tale of a kitten has led to a Luton cat charity helping moggie owners with their very own foodbank.

Feline Rescue, which has helped rescue thousands of cats in the Luton and Dunstable areas for more than 20 years, received a windfall from an Instagram influencer the charity helped after she bought a kitten from an unscrupulous dealer.

The kitten, Taco, sadly died, but the charity helped her owner contact the RSPCA to shut down the dealer.

"She was so grateful for the support that she wanted to help back and set up a Christmas raffle which raised £3k," said charity trustee Amanda Courtney.

The charity used the money to buy cat food and now run three sessions a week, providing a food bank for those in need struggling to feed their felines.

"Last week was our first week and we had about 25-30 people turn up," said Amanda. "And we are trying to put the word out there as much as possible to help as many people as possible.

"We have had people who are so grateful for helping them and that's a nice feeling."

The foodbanks are open in three locations in Luton for collection, the charity is unable to deliver the food and people need to contact the charity for the full address. All the charity asks is that the food is for your own cats and not to sell or pass on to others. They also ask that when people are back on their feet they consider donating a little back to help others. You also need to bring your own bag and they cannot guarantee specific food for fussy moggies.

The charity continued its work during lockdown, holding video calls instead of home visits. Amanda said it had been a quieter time as people were not moving home as much and they found people had been rebonding with their pets during lockdown.

But one trend cat charities everywhere have noted is a kitten boom, as moggies have been going out again when their owners went back to work!

The collection points, which will be open on bank holidays, are:

MONDAYS Lewsey Farm off Poynters Rd.

WEDNESDAYS Biscot Road area near Luton town.

THURSDAY Leagrave near Marsh Rd.

To contact the group go to Feline Food Bank on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/477540513788357, or call 015827 32347.