Fantastic new Donegal home and remarkable recovery for kitten who suffered burns

Many people have been following the recovery journey of a black and white kitten called Phoenix, who was accidentally badly burnt in a garden waste bin last month.

The worst of the burns were to his face, paws and stomach and by the time he was caught a week after the accident, his wounds were badly infected and infested with maggots.

Thanks to the perseverance of his Animals In Need (AIN) fosterer, and against the odds, Phoenix began a miraculous recovery, his gentle nature shining through as he calmly underwent various treatments.

Phoenix was then transferred to a foster home that specialises in offering permanent homes to cats and kittens with special needs. Once there, Phoenix soon settled in and forged a strong bond with another ex-AIN rescue kitten called Leo, who had sustained mild brain damage in an accident before he was found.

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It now five weeks since Phoenix was brought to AIN, and the charity is delighted to announce that Phoenix has found his forever home.

He will stay with his best friend Leo and the other special needs cats he has befriended. His exploits can be followed, along with those of the other resident cats, on his new family's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/4Poshpaws.

This is such a fantastic outcome for Phoenix, AIN wish him a long and happy life with all his companions, human and feline.

AIN currently has a number of cats and kittens ready for adoption. Their details can be found in the Rehoming Album on the charity’s Facebook page.

Small kittens are still being found around the county, including a litter of newborn kittens who were rejected by their mother two weeks ago.

Of the original six kittens, one kitten had passed away before arriving at AIN and another three kittens also sadly died.

The two remaining tabby kittens seem to be doing well. They are in good hands, being bottle-fed around the clock by an experienced fosterer, so fingers crossed for them.

AIN is being inundated with calls regarding cats and kittens. Unfortunately, rehoming is slow and the spaces available are limited to emergency cases, such as injured or sick cats.

Of this week’s arrivals, one cat was too badly injured to save, and another cat has had to have his jaw wired. He will recover in the cattery once the wire is removed.

An injured kitten called Morty was found in a remote area on Monday. He was brought to a vet immediately, where x-rays revealed that Morty has a broken front leg.

Morty is now on strict cage rest and hopefully his leg will heal.

AIN would like to issue a warning for cat owners in the Main Street, Letterkenny area. Recently Rolo, the cat, had been missing for 14 days with his distraught owner looking everywhere for him until late one night, a skinny and limping Rolo returned home.

A vet found that Rolo had suffered several leg fractures, and it is suspected that someone had kicked him multiple times, which resulted in 3 broken bones and Rolo had to have his leg amputated.

Please be vigilant for anything suspicious and keep your pets safe. AIN wish Rolo a speedy recovery.

Meanwhile, due to the overbreeding of dogs in Ireland and a lack of homes for them to go to, rescues such as AIN are struggling to find space to accommodate all the dogs whose owners want to surrender them.

To help to ease the pressure, AIN can advertise dogs for private rehoming on social media.

This will consist of a description and photo of the dog on AIN’s social media without giving out the owner’s personal information. Any home offers will be passed on to the owner for them to rehome the dog at their discretion.

Rehoming through AIN's private rehoming will provide reassurance that the dog is microchipped, neutered and has received a minimum of their first vaccine.

For further information, please contact AIN.

Finally, AIN would like to say a huge thank you to PetsRUs in Donegal Town for their large donation of pet food. This support is much appreciated and will help to feed many hungry cats and dogs.

For further information on adoption, fostering, volunteering etc., please contact the main helpline on 087 1356188. For cat/kitten enquiries please call 087 7644420. Animals In Need Donegal is also on Facebook and has a website at http://www.animalsinneeddonegal.com.

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