Celebrity Paws Auction Launches Today!

HAYWARDS HEATH, England, September 27 /PRNewswire/ --

- With Photo

An auction of 'paw prints' designed by cat loving celebrities
has launched today (27 September) in a bid to raise money for the UK's
leading cat welfare charity, Cats Protection.

Ricky Gervais, Gary Lineker, Joanna Lumley, Sir Michael Caine,
William Roache and even Prime Minister Gordon Brown are among 28 celebrities
who have lent their support to the charity's Celebrity Paws auction, which
will run for 10 days until 6 October.

Each celebrity was asked to draw round their hand, decorate it and then
sign it to create a unique item. All the drawings are being auctioned online
to raise vital funds for Cats Protection during its 80th year.

Janet Wickens, the charity's Head of Fundraising and Communications,
said: "We wanted to do something extra special to mark Cats Protection's 80th
birthday and we are delighted that Celebrity Paws has attracted such support
from cat lovers in the public eye. Admittedly some hands are wackier than
others but each one has been signed by the celebrity and is completely
authentic so we hope these one-of-a-kind creations will get people bidding!"

The auction is being run through Ebay and everyone is
encouraged to log on via http://www.cats.org.uk/celebritypaws to view the
full list of paw prints available.

The drawings will be on display at Cats Protection's National
Cat Centre in Sussex throughout September and will be exhibited at the
charity's biggest fundraising event of the year, The Aristocats Ball, which
will be held at The Grand Hotel in Brighton on Saturday 6 October.

Notes to Editors:

1. Photos of the paw prints are available on request. Please
contact the Media Office.

2. The full list of Celebrity Paws are as follows: Rt. Hon
Gordon Brown MP, Prime Minister, Rt. Hon David Cameron MP, Leader of the
Conservative Party, Sammy Lee, Manager of Bolton Wanderers Football Club,
Steve Coppell, Manager of Reading Football Club, Gareth Southgate, Manager of
Middlesbrough Football Club, David Moyes, Manager of Everton Football Club,
Sir Patrick Moore, Tamzin Outhwaite, Ricky Gervais, Gary Lineker OBE, Fay
Weldon CBE, James Herbert, Ian Rankin OBE, Roger McGough CBE, Richard Briers
CBE, Joanna Lumley OBE, Prunella Scales CBE, Fiona Phillips, Richard McCourt,
Robert Rankin, Dave Rowntree, Graham Coxon, William Roache MBE, Maureen
Lipman CBE, June Whitfield OBE, Jilly Cooper OBE, Sir Derek Jacobi and Sir
Michael Caine.

3. Cats Protection is the UK's leading cat charity, helping
around 142,000 cats and kittens per year through a national network of 29
Adoption Centres and 252 volunteer-run Branches.

4. Cats Protection's registered charity number is 203644. The
charity's vision is to ensure that every cat is given the chance of a life
where it will be treated with kindness and understanding of its needs.

5. Founded as the Cats Protection League in 1927, the charity
adopted the name Cats Protection in 1998. We ask that you use the name Cats
Protection when referring to the charity in all published material.

6. For more information about the work of the charity, please
log on to http://www.cats.org.uk/

Note to Editors:

Pictures accompanying this release are available through the PA
Photowire. They can be viewed at http://www.mediapoint.press.net/ or 
http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/.

For more information about the auction, please call Cats Protection's 
national Helpline on +44-(0)8702-099-099.