Over the last 6 months I created a wonderful bond with one of the kitties that hangs around in our car park. She was always so affectionate and loving towards me and I couldn't help but fall in love with her. I asked as many neighbours as I could if they knew whether she had an owner or not-no one knew and most were worried about her being a stray as she always seemed to be hanging around outside (with another few cats too).

Finally, I called cats protection (who were brilliant by the way) to ask how I could find out if she had a home-they told me to try the paper collar (this did not work!) so I then took her to the vets to check for a microchip to see if I could locate an owner-but she didn't have one. So my partner and I took her in (after leaving my details with the vets/cats protection) and made sure she had food, a bed and lots of love.

She was with us for 4 nights, then on the fifth day, I was scraping the snow off my car and a woman came over to me who I didn't recognise and asked if I'd seen a tabby cat. I asked her more about the cat to make sure she really was the owner and asked if she knew that the cat was pregnant (I'd been doing a lot of research and was now 100% sure that she was)-she seemed surprised but in a nonplussed way. It took her a long time scrolling through her phone to find even one picture of her (if you have a pet yourself, isn't the whole camera roll just photos of them?!) then I found out that this was in fact the cats third litter in a short time (the vet told me she was probably around 1.5 years old, but according to the owner, she was 3-4).

I quickly began to realise what was going on, plus she also told me that the other black and white male cat (who wasn't neutered either) was also hers. I asked if she was going to spay the cat and she came up with a very poor reason for not doing it (blaming her children for leaving the window open on the day that the cat was booked to be spayed).

I feel that this topic is even more important to discuss at present due to the demand of kittens (and puppies) as we go through our third lockdown-where people have now resorted to stealing animals to sell on so they can make a quick buck.

It's understandable about the kitten/puppy appeal-the cute factor is very high, but the fact remains that a) these are real lives we're talking about, b) there are plenty of animals who are still looking for homes and c) there are plenty of animals who (if they could use their voice to say) probably don't wish to keep being pregnant and having to go through that ordeal multiple times every year, just to earn a breeder an easy income.

It was devastating to hand this adorable, funny, wonderful little cat (who I named Lady Marmalade because of her gorgeous orange eyes) over to someone who clearly only wanted her for breeding purposes, when what she really deserved was so much endless love and care.

There are so many cats in need of homes that to constantly breed more is unnecessary and selfish. This is an issue very close to my heart and I couldn't just stand by and not do anything else, because if Lady Marmalade could talk, I'm certain she would ask me to help her.

I propose that the need for a cat breeding license and regulations for breeding should be brought in to make sure the people who are continuing to breed, have to undergo background checks and adhere to health and safety rules to make sure that the cats' welfare is being taken care of as the main priority. I would love to see charities like Cats Protection being solely in charge of breeding as their aim is to always help and protect cats, rather than people making money from doing it. If the licensing fees were substantial, then only people who could provide a suitable environment/loved animals (like cat charities) and wanted to care for them could do this. Let's remember that we do not own animals and therefore, should not be making money from them.

Please support this petition and lets put a stop to unregulated breeding. Thank you.

Emily (and Lady Marmalade)