Crawley’s Cat Protection shop is back up and running with a new facelift

The shop has been closed for the past 18 months because of the pandemic, but it’s now back in operation and ready to welcome back the people of Crawley.

A testament to the reopening is that the store has recorded it’s best ever sales figures this January.

The store has been revisualised, and from customer feedback it looks like people are enjoying the change to the layout.

Cat Protection stores offer a range of products from fashion to merchandise, which helps raise money for cats and kittens in need nationwide.

The charity helps provide the cats in need with veterinary care, neutering and rehoming. They also lobby for changes in law to help protect cats, such as regulating air rifle ownership.

The shops themselves aren't just retail outlets, but provide a hub for local communities and people can often be seen coming into their shops everyday just for a chat.

Interim Retail Business Manager Ian Trotter said: “We are the largest feline animal charity in Great Britain.

“We undertake a lot of charitable work, but what people will know us for is rehoming cats and kittens. We provide support through rehousing, vets and neutering.

“Other activities that the public might not be familiar with which includes lobbying the government for changes to the law, which includes lobbying for air rifles to be regulated and licenced.

“Covid has had an impact on our fundraising as shops had to shut and events had to go online, which aren’t the same as in person. We are out of the other end now, so we can get back to what we do best.

“The shop in Crawley is going to look a bit different to what people expect. We used the shop’s closure as an opportunity to refresh the layout. It’s changed completely, but still maintains the same product ranges- we don’t want to detract from our core customers.

“We can see from January sales that we’ve been extremely successful and feedback from customers say that they love the visual element. Good to see it bounce back as well as it has done.

“We would love to host events again, but we want the public to be more comfortable with attending events.

“Crawley shop is open again, record breaking January which is delightful. We are over the moon. Long may it continue.

“From a retail perspective, we are open to donations from fashion, bric-a-brac, books, CDs and DVDs- anything we can resell.

“We only really function because of our team of volunteers. Covid has hit our volunteers hard but our team in Crawley is still strong.

“Come and grab yourself a bargain.”

If you want to know more about Cats Protection, please visit their website: https://www.cats.org.uk/