Cats Protection is to make 80 of its 500 staff redundant, blaming the prospect of only very limited growth in key income streams going forward.

In a statement released yesterday, a spokesman said that while Cats Protection’s income had not fallen massively, it has seen an increase in expenditure caused by inflation, leading to operating deficits over the last three years.

Cats Protection had an income of £36m in 2011. It hopes to save £2m through the redundancies and is undergoing a 30-day consultation on its plans.

Cats Protection is also working to develop new income streams, including a number of corporate partnerships.