An animal welfare charity in western Canada is scrambling to secure the resources needed to care for about 300 cats – all of them seemingly in good condition – after a call came in from a man who described himself as being “overwhelmed” by the sheer number of cats and kittens in his home.

Bruce Robinson told the British Columbia SPCA that he had taken in cats that had been abandoned during the Covid-19 pandemic but that the cost of caring for them had become a herculean task after he lost his job.

The charity had sent staff to his home in the small town of Houston to assess the situation, said Eileen Drever of the BC SPCA. “When asked how many cats he had, I think he said it was like counting bubbles in boiling water.”