A fundraiser for a rescue centre has raised thousands of pounds and a company has donated a catio following the death of a cat which was brutally killed.

Manager of Oldham Cats Rescue, Davina Hanes, said the donations received are close to £10,000, including private donations.

The appeal was set up after Poppy, a 13-year-old tabby cat at the centre, was found decapitated close to the site on Saxon Street in Middleton on March 21.

The volunteers at the centre wanted to raise money to build a catio, a closed structure to keep the cats locked away and safe at night.

Davina said: “We would like to give a heartfelt thank you to anybody who’s offered their support and donated and made this possible.

“Our supporters are just unbelievable, they literally do pull together as a community.”

ProtectaPet, a company which produces cat enclosures, has kindly donated a catio structure, worth £1,500, to the rescue.

“It’s humbling to be honest, it really is,” Davina said.

Davina said they are just waiting for the building foundations to be completed before putting the structure up.

One of the volunteers has made a memorial plaque in Poppy’s honour for the catio.

Davina said: “We will be calling it ‘Poppy’s Palace’.

“We have a little memorial area where she used to sleep in the admissions room - it’s become somewhat of a shrine dedicated to Poppy.”

With the money raised, the rescue have been able to buy a cleaning shed, to support the large number of cats that they house.

Davina said she is still heartbroken about losing Poppy in such a horrific way.

“She wouldn’t have needed bribing, she would have gone to someone, she was trusting,” she said.

“The heartbreaking thing about it is that she had that love there to give and somebody’s just abused it.

“It’s horrific.”

The rescue centre is also building a campaign to demand a change in the law that would see cats enshrined with equal rights to that of other animals.