A new £750,000 cattery has opened at animal shelter in Fareham to find cats loving homes across Hampshire.

The RSPCA Solent branch’s Stubbington Ark is a rescue centre that, before now, was desperate for an updated homing facility for its rescue cats.

On Wednesday, an opening ceremony was held and Chairman of the RSPCA Solent Board of Trustees, Derek Lott, gave a speech thanking those involved in the building of the cattery.

A new plaque was also unveiled outside the cattery by RSPCA Solent Branch patron and ITV Meridian news reader, Amanda Piper.

With room to house 36 cats, the new cattery is kitted out with indoor and outdoor enclosures, an air ventilation system and rain-detecting sky lights.

The now-outdated cattery building only had capacity for 24 cats, but will still be able to assist the Stubbington Ark cattery team in their preliminary assessments.

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Marketing and fund-raising manager at Stubbington Ark, Becci Denizhan, said: “The new cattery is an upgrade we have been working towards for more than two years.

“This will give these cats a state-of-the-art facility while they await a loving family or owner to take them home.

“A lot of these cats have come from nasty circumstances; we have even had animals that have been used in fighting rings – it’s really not pleasant.

“Some of them also go through court cases so this provides a brilliant place for them to stay – as these can often be lengthy.

“We want to say a huge heart-felt thank you to the donators who have made this new facility possible for our cats.”

The new cattery cost £750,000 to build and was funded mostly through donations from residents.

Stubbington Ark is an independent branch of the RSPCA and completely self-funded. It also houses a range of dogs, rabbits and rats.

Becci added: “The RSPCA National decommissioned our last cattery as it was no longer not fit for purpose – being years old. We are so grateful to donators to be able to open the new cattery.”