CONNIE the kitten was found alone and separated from her mother when she was just a week old.But today, thanks to a helping hand from an Ipswich cat charity, the now four-week-old is being hand-reared and re-homed.

CONNIE the kitten was found alone and separated from her mother when she was just a week old.

But today, thanks to a helping hand from an Ipswich cat charity, the now four-week-old is being hand-reared and re-homed.

A Cats Protection League charity shop opened in Bramford Lane on Saturday after relocating from Chantry.

It now runs from premises on the corner of Richmond Road, after an official opening by Evening Star editor Nigel Pickover.

The shop had run from the Stoke Park Shopping Centre for the last six years but closed last month due to a new development.

Connie's story is just one example of how the charity helps animals in the area.

Judy Mills, area coordinator, said: “Over the course of a year we probably re-home about 350 cats in Ipswich, Felixstowe, Hadleigh, Shotley and the surrounding areas.

“Connie was found in a garden in Ipswich and we think her mother may have left her momentarily while she moved the rest of the litter.

“However, a woman found her and assumed she had been abandoned and took her to a vet.

“We know where the mother is now, she is a stray, but she won't take to Connie again because she smells like fabric conditioner to her now, not a cat.

“We are waiting to see if the mother has any other kittens and if there isn't we can help re-home her.

“I'm now hand-rearing Connie. I've had her since she was two weeks old and am bottle feeding her.”

The new shop sells a range of kitchen and household goods, clothes, toys and puzzles.

N More volunteers are needed to help run the shop and anyone who is interested should contact shop manager Sheila Smith on 01473 680210.

n Do have a story about an animal rescue? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk

WEBLINK: www.cats.org.uk