A CAT shelter says the warmest year in Oxfordshire for two centuries has led to it having its busiest ever year.

The Blue Cross centre near Burford said it has had more kittens brought in this year than ever before.

Staff believe it is down to cats breeding throughout the year because the weather has been so warm. Oxford University statistics show 2014 was the warmest year in the city since records began in 1815.

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Blue Cross small animal unit manager Laura Crofts said: “It’s just been relentless, we’ve been having kittens all year round.

“We’ve been hand-rearing three kittens that were abandoned in a plastic bag in Wales that came to us when they were 10 days old.

“We were up in the middle of the night feeding them.”

In previous years she said kittens had only come in during the spring and summer when cats normally breed.

But she said: “Because the weather has been so mild they’ve been breeding year-round.”

She said the centre had been at capacity, up to 90 cars and kittens, but had a sudden spate of adoptions in December.

She added: “It’s that time of year when people are thinking about maybe making an addition to the family.”

By May, the centre had taken in a record 40 kittens, three times as many as the same time last year.

The Burford centre is always looking for new foster carers for its kittens – call 01993 825567.

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