Honey Loop, Toast, Egg McMuffin, Scrambled Egg, Shreddie and Crunchy Nut Cornflake may not have a mum, but they've got a team of dedicated surrogates working around the clock to make sure they'll soon be well enough to be released back into the wild.

The grey seal pups are among almost 70 that have been brought in to the RSPCA's East Winch Wildlife Centre in West Norfolk following the devastating tidal surges that caused havoc along the county's coastline and left dozens of pups separated from their mothers.

The centre was already caring for 50 other grey seal pups and had to work quickly in order to house the orphans who were brought in by RSPCA inspectors, with help from local authority seal wardens and members of the Seal and Bird Rescue Trust, on the weekend following the surge.

Most pups, which were found on the east Norfolk coast between Great Yarmouth and Cromer, are housed in the centre's isolation unit, others are in rooms usually populated by hedgehogs.

Injured or sick swans were moved to the centre's surgical theatre – others are outdoors – and the 100 hedgehogs being cared for are now in hastily erected pens in what is normally the Visitor Centre, but which is now a makeshift Hedgehog Hospital.

'I don't think we really had any idea how bad the flooding would be so we weren't expecting the number of seal pups that came to us,' said centre administrator Sue Levings ('or at the moment you could just put 'seal feeder',' she laughed), who started as an RSPCA volunteer and has worked at East Winch for 14 years.

The tidal surge arrived when most seal pups were around three weeks old and living on the county's beaches, being fed their mother's protein-rich milk. Separated from their mothers by the tide, the pups would die without the tender care of the RSPCA staff and volunteers.

Initially tube-fed with fish soup – liquidised herring with added water – four times a day, it took up to three hours to complete each feeding cycle with extra feeds for more sickly pups at midnight. Pups are now beginning to eat fish, but must still be hand-fed.

'It's definitely the most pups we've had to look after at one time and they all came over one weekend, so it was quite an operation. We've never had to deal with anything like it,' said Sue.

'Feeding seals is quite difficult and it can take years before you can feed efficiently. Seals look sweet, but they have quite sharp teeth and have to be restrained using a towel before you can try to feed them. They don't like it because it doesn't feel normal to them and they try to resist.'

Volunteers are unable to feed the pups, but are helping by cleaning the enclosures and preparing feeds.

With wildlife moved to unfamiliar parts of the building, it will be several months before normality is restored – pups can be released into the wild when females weigh 40kg and males 45kg (at present, an average weight of a pup is around 14kg).

'We had planned to have our Christmas party in the Visitor Centre but it had to be cancelled because we didn't think the hedgehogs would enjoy it much!' said Sue.

The centre has also had to bear the brunt of the increased cost of treating an influx of seal pups – each one costs £22.50 in food per week and it is estimated that most will need at least five months of rehabilitation.

'People have been very generous with donations and we'd like to thank everyone for their support. People have brought money to the door, sent it through the post and one woman even brought us a brand new fridge with washing up bowls to put the fish in,' said Sue. 'We've been given tea, biscuits, coffee and mince pies – it makes you realise that people are thinking about us and that they appreciate what we're doing for the seals. We do get tired and hungry and these little things mean a lot to us.'

In the isolation unit, the almost-human cry of the pups is insistent – it's nearly feeding time and there are 100 hungry mouths to feed, including Pop Tart, Coddled Egg and Tea Van. Each year, staff vote on a theme to name the pups and this year's is breakfast cereals and foods for grey seals and teas and coffees for common seals.

'Because we had so many seals come in at once, we quickly ran out of cereal names!' said Sue. 'You tend to remember the seals who are a bit naughty – Weetabix is a bit of a pain when it comes to feeding…'

When the seals are ready to leave the centre, they will be released into the river at Sutton Bridge, each one with a distinctive orange tag so they can be recognised in the future.

Sue added: 'It's the best part of the job because it means that all that hard work, all those hours spent feeding and looking after the pups was all worthwhile.'

The RSPCA has launched an Emergency Seal Appeal and hopes to raise £50,000 to fund the rescue operation. You can donate cash at http://choices.rspca.org.uk/Appeal/seal-appeal#, to donate by text, text SEAL01 followed by how much you would like to donate to 70070 (eg SEAL01 £10). Texts cost the donation amount plus your standard network rate. You can also send donations to East Winch Wildlife Centre, Station Road, East Winch, King's Lynn, PE32 1NR, call 0300 1230709.