Woman with 21 cats spends £400 a month on her pampered pets

Kamila first took in a single stray before starting her own cat sanctuary at home (Picture: Jam Press/Sonja Horsman)

A woman who lives with 21 cats has revealed she’s spent £40,000 on her feline friends, forking out £400 every month to keep them fed and comfortable.

Kamila Kawlowska, 41, who is originally from Poland but now lives in London, works as an office manager in the day but runs a cat sanctuary at home in her free time.

After moving into her house in 2014, the animal lover discovered a stray in her garden and decided to take it in, gaining 20 new cats over the next eight years.

‘I always grew up with animals,’ Kamila said. ‘They remind me so much of my family home, my dad always loved cats.’

She continued: ‘How could you not love them? They give you love on their terms, you have to earn their love, they are quite interesting creatures to be around.’

Despite enjoying sharing space with her four-legged housemates, Kamila says she can find it ‘challenging’ at times to make sure the brood is all taken care of.

Each cat has its own special heated bed to keep warm during winter (Picture: Jam Press/Sonja Horsman)

She added: ‘They’re like children, I can’t compare because I have never had children but it’s a lot of work to do around them.

‘You need to make sure they have their food every day, as well as their treatments, fleaing, worming and if they are sick, to take them to the vets.

‘But apart from that it’s lots of fun and I’m happy that they chose me.’

Committed to looking after her cats, Kamila has built a shed for them to stay in when they are not in the house, and has even installed a wishing-well-style litter tray.

Each stray has its own bed – insulated with styrofoam and wool – and the bunks even have small heaters for the winter months.

Kamila doesn’t mind spending thousands on her feline family (Picture: Jam Press/Sonja Horsman)

But looking after nearly two dozen cats is no mean feat – and it’s expensive too, with twice daily feeds.

In fact, Kamila spends roughly £400 a month on caring for her pets out of her own pocket, which adds up to around £40,000 over the years.

‘I gave up smoking so I could afford to take care of them all,’ she said. ‘l don’t feel guilty buying food for the cats anymore, and it’s been good for my health too.’

She uses a bell to signal mealtimes, and loves when the cats all come running to get fed – whatever the cost.

Taking care of all the cats’ treatments and needs can be a ‘challenge’ (Picture: Jam Press/Sonja Horsman)

Kamila also sees the specialist heated beds as a necessity, as the rescue kitties could freeze to death during the damp, cold winters.

The cats spend their time in their human’s house and the shed, as being strays makes them less likely to become domesticated, therefore the freedom of choice is best for them.

Thankfully, Kamila’s neighbours are understanding about the sanctuary, and the only issues so far have been when new people move in and the cats use their garden as a litter tray.

‘However, l always try to keep the area clean and go round cleaning up after the cats so I make sure all the surrounding gardens to make it nice for everyone,’ added the 41-year-old.

Kamila keeps a storecupboard full of essentials for her brood (Picture: Jam Press/Sonja Horsman)

Kamila’s youngest feline is seven-year-old male, Gingi, while her eldest are 13, Mr Black and Mrs Black, believed to have been born in 2009.

She said: ‘They’re all known by their names but my favourite is Queen Linda, she was left behind by the ex-owner of the house and was the first one here.

‘Every cat has a different personality, they hang out with different mates, just like humans.

‘They like different toys, food, just different likes and dislikes, some like to be inside the warm some outside in the garden or go even further to explore.’

Kamila has even gone to the lengths of purchasing an Amazon chip checker machine for £25 so she can scan all the cats that come into her garden and see if they’re someone’s pet.

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‘People have knocked on my door asking if they could take a cat from me but I have explained how being strayed leaves them unable to be re-housed,’ she explained.

The cat lover takes it upon herself to return strays to their families when she can, claiming to have reunited thousands through scouring cat-dedicated Facebook pages, charities and online networks.

Kamila also works closely with the Celia Hammond Animal Trust Charity to neuter and spay all strays – and to get them chipped to hopefully bring stray numbers down.

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The rescued strays sleep in cosy heated cat beds.