Volunteers in a cat sanctuary that houses 40 sick and abandoned felines have sounded alarm bells after they were given a few days to evacuate a room in Senglea where they have been based for the past five years.

“It’s not that we don’t want to move. We need more time. You cannot expect us to undo the work of five years in 11 days,” said Anna Abela from the Carers for Stray and Abandoned Felines.

She explained that the owners of the historic building, known as the Maċina, had allowed the NGO to use a room there to care for abandoned and sick cats. Throughout the past five years the cat colony had grown.

On January 4, the owners, Maċina Development Company Ltd Consortium, ordered them to vacate the room by January 16.

The volunteers are asking for more time to be able to find alternative premises from where they can care for the cats.

“We have been denied a reasonable timeframe to move safely... We appeal to the consortium to honour our rights as an NGO and to recognise our role in maintaining public health and animal welfare in Senglea,” Ms Abela said.

The Maċina is part of the shipping history of the Knights in Malta and also formerly hosted the Labour Party headquarters.