Anxious cat pals Luke and Leia need a home – can you help?

Luke and Leia are thriving after being placed in foster care (Picture: RSPCA)

May the paws be with them.

Two anxious moggies at RSPCA Stapeley Grange are hoping you’ll give them a lifelong home.

Luke (black and white) and Leia (black and brown) have come on in leaps and bounds after spending time with foster carers following a stay at the Cheshire centre’s cattery.

They were rescued after being found huddled together under floorboards after their former owner passed away at a property.

It was a harrowing experience for the two felines, who are aged around two to three, and they were very anxious on their arrival at the RSPCA centre.

The duo, named after the Star Wars characters Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia, were wary of being approached and preferred to stay on the other side of their enclosure when staff were around.

The cattery felt that placing the pair in foster care would get them used to living in a home and help build up trust in people.

Luke and Leia are coming on leaps and bounds since moving to foster care (Picture: RSPCA)

In their new surroundings, they’ve learnt to socialise with their carer and are enjoying playing with their toys and cardboard scratching boxes and scratch posts.

Such has been their progress that they are now ready to make their next move to a permanent forever home.

Their progress demonstrates the important role foster carers play in helping the RSPCA rehome animals.

The charity urgently needs more carers to help free up spaces in its animal centres as shocking new statistics reveal 700 rescued animals are waiting for a space.

The charity currently spends £26,000 a week on private boarding fees for the temporary care of hundreds of rescued animals as its 59 rehoming centres are ‘full to bursting’.

In response, the RSPCA has launched an urgent new drive to recruit more fosterers – who care for animals temporarily in their own home, while supported by the RSPCA – to help ease the pressure.

The kitties like nose boops and taking treats from you (Picture: RSPCA)

Anyone interested in becoming a foster carer can find more information on the RSPCA’s online volunteering portal.

The drive for new fosterers is part of the charity’s Adoptober campaign, launched this month to raise awareness of some of the animals in its care who are desperately in need of a forever home and a chance for a new life.

RSPCA Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre and Cattery manager Lee Stewart said: ‘Fostering is a great way to give our cats the chance to settle into a more domestic environment.

‘As our staff and volunteers can only spend a limited amount of time with each cat in the confines of their quarters, we thought we could best help Luke and Leia by placing them in foster care.

‘They were clearly comfortable with each other’s company, but less so with us, especially when they needed examination or treatment.

‘They would sometimes take treats from our hands, but they didn’t know how to interact with people – when they saw a big hand looming towards them they would back away.

Can you give them the home they need (Picture: RSPCA)

‘Now they’re both becoming more interactive. Although they are still wary, they have learnt to greet people with nose-pokes and they enjoy having their noses rubbed.

‘They are still quite nervous of sudden movement, so we think they’re best suited to a calm household without young children or other animals.

‘They will take time to learn to trust people, but they have made tremendous progress since they arrived at Stapeley Grange.’

Their current foster carer, who lives in the Northwich area, said: ‘When Luke and Leia arrived at their foster home, they were extremely nervous and quickly found hidey holes to disappear into.

‘Gradually they’ve spent more time out in the open, but they still like to know there is the safe space of a bed or a coffee table to retreat under.

They love each others company (Picture: RSPCA)

‘They’re not vocal cats, but sometimes the lovely sound of spontaneous purring is heard when they’re together.

‘They like to play together with a stick toy and sometimes an outstretched hand hidden under an envelope – they love trying to discover what’s hidden underneath, especially when it crinkles and moves.’

If you think you could offer these sweet little cats a home go to Stapeley’s rehoming page.

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