A cat-lover from Honiton is facing a 10km challenge to raise money for Honiton's cats protection.

Honiton local Bob Carter will take part in the Taunton Trail Run on May 28 to raise funds for Cats Protection’s Honiton Branch where he is the coordinator. Bob will tackle the run as part of the charity’s Miles for Moggies campaign, a countrywide initiative which sees participants from across the UK run, jog or walk their preferred distance of a 5k, 10k, half marathon or marathon to raise money for Cats Protection.

Bob has volunteered for the Branch for over 20 years and will have turned 68 the weekend before the race.

He said: “This will be quite a challenge, as it is a competitive race over the course of 10km off road and there will around 200 people taking part.”

Bob has been training to build up to the 10km distance for the last couple of months but first began running in 2018 to get fitter and meet more people in the local area. Bob now gets involved with his local Park Run every week, either as a runner or a marshal.

He adds: “My last run for Cats Protection was in 2019 which inspired me to join the Axe Valley Runners and I now feel I’m part of a real community of fellow runners.

“As well as the Park Runs, I have been doing between 10 and 15km a week divided into two or three runs and have been doing off-road practice including a race last week which was eight kilometres, so hopefully the 10k will feel like a natural step-up. Going off road is technically more challenging, but knowing I’ll be raising money for the cats in our care will of course spur me on.”

Just a few of the cats who will benefit from Bob’s run are the seven-week-old kittens Twix, Toffee, Snickers and Wispa, who arrived in the branch’s care with their mother BonBon after their owner was unable to care for the unexpected litter.

The three boys and a girl are in good health and, like all cats in Cats Protection’s care, will be neutered along with their mother when they are old enough. Once ready to move into their new homes they will have been vet-checked, will be up-to-date with their flea and worm treatments, microchipped and their new owners will have four weeks of free pet insurance available to them.

To help Bob beat his £350 target and benefit local cats and kittens like Twix, Toffee, Snickers and Wispa, visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/honiton-branch-cats-protection 

Further information about the work of Cats Protection’s Honiton Branch can be found by 01404 45241,