Five kittens in Donegal looking for a home

The latest arrivals at AIN are five cute 10-week-old kittens that were brought to AIN after being born to a stray mum.

There are three black kittens and two tabbies, and all are girls apart from one tabby brother.

Dumped and abandoned kittens continue to be found around the county, with two tiny kittens recently found on a riverbank near Gortahork. The kittens are only a fortnight old and how they survived being exposed to the elements at this time of year is a miracle. Sadly, a third sibling was not as lucky and had already passed away when the kittens were discovered. One of the two surviving kittens is sick, but their fosterer is doing everything possible to save them.

It has been a tough week for a white kitten called Wren, who was rescued from inside a derelict house where she was trapped alongside the bodies of her deceased mother and three siblings. Wren was near death, suffering from malnutrition, dehydration and cat flu when she was rescued and brought to Animals In Need (AIN).

This little kitten was rushed to the vets for emergency treatment and then released to an AIN foster home. Unfortunately, after only two days, Wren was struggling to overcome cat flu as her immune system was weakened and she had to return to the vets. Wren is being hand-fed and is on a medicated drip whilst she remains at the vets. Hopefully no long-term organ damage was caused when she was starving.

Meanwhile, ginger and white kitten Polly, who was also rescued last week, is making marvellous progress. When Polly was found, she was suffering from cat flu, with her eyes so badly infected that they were sealed shut. Polly has responded well to treatment, and her eyes have opened. Unfortunately, her eyes have been damaged by the infection, and she has reduced vision, but that is not holding her back in the slightest. Polly is a lively, energetic kitten who just wants to play. A stunning young cat called Miss Lily generated a lot of interest on social media when a new home was sought for her. The silver British Shorthair-cross has been booked to go to a lovely inside home already.

Meanwhile, a lucky rescue dog received their Pet Passport and was able to travel to a new home in Sweden last week, where they arrived safely. As there are not enough homes locally for all the unwanted dogs in Donegal, AIN works with several rehoming centres in the UK and in Scandinavia, where the dog overpopulation is not such a problem as it is here and the dogs can find fantastic homes as family pets. It is easier to rehome small dogs in Ireland and AIN has a long waiting list of people who want to adopt little dogs.

However, most of the dogs that AIN rescues are medium- to large-sized, in particular collie dogs. Sadly, collies are not much in demand locally as pets and finding them homes further afield is the only solution. When rehoming a dog, AIN tries to pair up a dog with the home that would be the best fit for it, but it does not always work out and in such cases, AIN will always take an animal back into their care. This week AIN saw the return of Finn, who had been adopted but sadly his new home did not work out for him. Finn is now back with AIN, who will continue to seek his perfect home.

The generosity of the people of Donegal and beyond continues to support the rescued animals, and this week a kind lady has donated a fantastic hamper to raise funds for AIN via a raffle. Tickets can be purchased online and in the AIN Charity Shop in Donegal Town. Please see AIN’s social media pages for further information.

AIN also received a huge pet food donation from the wonderful people of Jollyes the Pet People in Derry. The generosity and support of the in-store staff and the customers who donated are overwhelming. Thank you to everyone who contributed; it will be much appreciated by the cats and dogs over the coming months.

Finally, AIN can offer pet food support. If you need help with feeding your pets or a neutered colony of community cats, please contact AIN. All contacts are completely confidential. For further information on adoption, fostering, volunteering, etc., please contact the main helpline on 087 1356188. For cat/kitten enquiries, please call 087 7644420.