Shelters have been damaged by the blizzard, and volunteers are unable to bring food to feral cat colonies

Madrid associations and animal rights groups are braving the snow and the ice to provide care for thousands of animals affected by the extreme weather conditions in the Spanish capital this week.

Animals are also suffering the effects of Storm Filomena and the cold snap that followed on its heels: there are feral cat colonies going without food, shelters where structures have crumbled, and birds that are starving to death. But public officials admit that, given the general chaos, their priorities lie elsewhere right now.