Dog rehoming at a standstill and surge in kitten arrivals - Animals in Need

Living a hard life on the streets takes its toll on a homeless cat, especially when they are pregnant.

One such cat is Phoebe, a young black stray cat who was born last summer but then found herself with five kittens.

Struggling to survive took its toll and Phoebe became so run down that her body started to give up.

Despite being rescued by Animals In Need (AIN), Phoebe is still not well even after veterinary tests and treatment and she is being fed supplements.

Sadly, this has had a knock-on effect on her kittens, who are very weak and small, including little Noah who weighs 171g, which is half the weight he should be at three-weeks-old.

Their fosterer will be helping Phoebe with the care of her kittens by providing additional feeding and toileting for the five young ones to give Phoebe a rest and time to build up her strength.

It was a difficult weekend for AIN’s cat fosterers, with the heartbreaking loss of three of rescued cat Freja’s kittens.

The kittens developed a serious virus and even with veterinary visits and around the clock care, little Fern, Fallon and Finn passed away.

AIN has several pregnant cats in their care, including Leia, who was found as a stray and transferred to AIN from Carndonagh Vets.

Leia is on maternity watch as she should have her kittens any day now.

A small, skinny kitten was found alone on the Donegal Town Bypass during the week and was brought to AIN, where he is doing well.

There was good news for several adult cats this week, who were adopted.

It is usually harder to find homes for adult cats, especially during ‘Kitten Season’ when so many young felines are available, but Max, Helena and Boo have all gone to live in fantastic forever homes.

Meanwhile, AIN’s dog rescuers are working hard behind the scenes.

They currently have 14 collie and collie-cross dogs in their care.

Many of the dogs will find new homes through the approved rehoming sanctuaries that AIN works with the UK, but the dogs need a Pet Passport in order to travel.

A Pet Passport is obtained through a vet and requires that the dog is microchipped, fully vaccinated, including receiving a rabies vaccination, wormed and then given a final bill of good health by the vet shortly before travelling.

ABOVE: Kitten Noah is only half the size he should be

The process now requires the dogs to stay in their foster homes for a minimum of 30 days, an increase from the previous requirement of 21 days, which means the dogs are taking up scarce foster places for longer.

With all the paperwork involved and then arranging transportation for the dogs, this can be a lengthy process.

Unfortunately, AIN are currently unable to take in any more dogs until the current fostered dogs are rehomed.

AIN is appealing to people who want to rehome their own dogs to be patient. AIN will help if they can, but the dogs who are left in the Letterkenny Pound must remain the priority as they have only five statutory days in which to be claimed or rehomed or they could be at risk.

AIN would like to say a huge thank you to the people at Salthill Cabin who donated €100 to help AIN’s rescued animals, funds they had raised from their recent poultry sale. Your support is much appreciated.

The charity was also delighted to receive a large donation of Royal Canin Pet food from Cuddles Pet Store, which will be a great help, so thank you.

Finally, the Animals In Need Charity Shop in Donegal Town is looking for volunteers, especially for the afternoon shifts (1.30-4.30pm) and for Saturdays.

The volunteers perform shop duties such as unpacking and displaying donations, general tidying, manning the till, and dealing with customers.

If you have spare time and can join AIN’s volunteers, please contact the helplines or send a message to the charity through their Facebook page.

ABOVE: Phoebe and her kittens are struggling

To help AIN’s animals, please donate €2 to AIN’s ‘Help Us To Help Them’ fundraising appeal via your phone by texting the word ‘KITTEN’ to 50300. Every cent goes directly to the rescued animals for their food, bedding, vet bills, worming treatment, and vaccinations.

Animals In Need Donegal is also on Facebook and has a website at http://www.animalsinneeddonegal.com.

For further information on adoption, fostering, volunteering etc, please contact the main helpline on 087 1356188. Call  087 7644420 for cat/kitten enquiries please,