A CAT and her kitten found abandoned in bushes in a pet carrier were just two of the seven incidents of cat abuse reported to the RSPCA every day over the last six years.

The black mother cat, and her tortoiseshell kitten, who was about 12-weeks-old at the time, were placed in RSPCA foster care before being rehomed.

The RSPCA has now warned the number of cases of cruelty to cats is likely to increase during the summer months.

Over the last six years (2016-2021), there were 16,212 incidents of deliberate cruelty towards cats reported to the animal welfare charity - which equals seven cats a day suffering at the hands of humans.

In 2021 alone, there were 1,387 reports of intentional harm to cats, and this peaked during the months of July and August.

Overall, there were 17,804 complaints made to the charity regarding cats in 2021 from abandonments, poisonings, mutilations, shootings, beatings and neglect.

This includes 1,049 reports in Wales.

The RSPCA also fears that new figures showing a recent boom in the kitten trade could see a worrying rise in unscrupulous breeders putting profits before welfare and could spell further cruelty to cats.

In the last five years, there were 825 reports made to Trading Standards across England and Wales involving kitten related complaints.

Compared with 2017 figures there was a 185 per cent increase in 2021 regarding the buying and selling of kittens.

David Bowles, head of public affairs at the RSPCA, said: “The demand for pets soared during the pandemic meaning backstreet kitten breeders have been able to make more money out of flogging pets online.”

To help prevent suffering the RSPCA has launched its Cancel Out Cruelty campaign which aims to raise funds to keep its rescue teams on the frontline saving animals in desperate need.

Sam Watson, cat welfare expert at the RSPCA, said: “Cats are one of the most popular pets in the UK with an estimated 10.5 million pet cats in UK homes but sadly they are the second most abused pet - after dogs. 

“Tragically, we see hundreds of animals that come through our doors every year who have been subjected to unimaginable cruelty - being beaten, thrown across the room, had bones broken, been shot at, poisoned and drowned.

“As well as being hurt by their owners, cats are also more vulnerable as they tend to be out and about on their own which can leave them vulnerable to airgun attacks and other forms of cruelty by complete strangers.”

The RSPCA is calling for tighter controls with better education and explanation of the law when buying an air gun and that everyone must receive basic safety training before being allowed to walk out of the shop.

The RSPCA receives around 90,000 calls to its cruelty line every month and investigates 6,000 reports of deliberate animal cruelty, including animal fighting and hunting.

In the summer calls rise to 134,000 a month - three every minute and reports of cruelty soar to 7,600 each month - 245 every day. 

To help support the RSPCA, visit: rspca.org.uk/stopcruelty