A cat welfare charity said it has been “inundated” with calls from the public to rehome 140 cats rescued from an Irish animal testing facility, which is now closed.

The cats were recovered by the ISPCA and transferred to Cat Protection’s Belfast adoption centre for rehoming.

Many of the cats have never been outdoors, confined to the horror facility for years, where they were used to test flea and worm treatments.

Last Wednesday, Cats Protection announced they have successfully rehomed 24 of the 140 felines and were appealing for the public’s help to house the remaining 116.

On Saturday, Belfast Live joined in the campaign and today Cats Protection revealed that 10 of the cats which were ready for adoption this week have already found new homes.

Speaking to Belfast Live , Cat Protection’s Siobhan McHaffie said the response from the public was “heart-warming”.

She added: “We have been inundated with calls and enquiries since we announced that we were looking for homes for these cats.

“As a result of this, the 10 cats from the former animal testing facility that were looking for new homes this week have all been rehomed, and we now have a waiting list for the next group of eight cats that will be coming into our care this Thursday 2 November.

“Our appeal this week for new homes for these cats, has led to all of the cats that were looking for new homes in our Belfast Adoption Centre to have found them and we are so grateful for all the offers of help from the public and the hard work of our Adoption Centre staff in making all this possible.

“It’s heart-warming to know that so many people have been touched by our appeal, and we know there will soon be many more cats in our care ready to be adopted.”

Siobhan said the response to the appeal has been going so well they are hoping to speed up the process.

She added: “The ISPCA hold the agreement with the former testing facility in the Republic of Ireland and we are assisting the ISPCA in rehoming the cats.

“With the positive feedback we have received from new owners that the cats make wonderful family pets, and the amazing response to our appeal for new homes, we have asked the ISPCA to speed up the transfer process and plan for a group of eight cats to come into our care each week, until we have successfully rehomed all 140.”