Eight cats rescued in Donegal in the first five days of 2026

Animals In Need (AIN) would like to wish a Happy New Year to all their supporters, fosterers and volunteers.

It has been a busy start to the year for the volunteers at AIN, with eight cats rescued in the first five days of 2026.

There have also been calls from people who wish to rehome their dogs, a number of visits to veterinary surgeries with injured and sick animals, and requests to assist the gardaí.

The recent snow and icy conditions have hampered rehoming of a number of rescued animals, with five cats and kittens booked to go to new homes, but unfortunately their collection has been delayed due to the weather.

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A home check at a potential new home for a foster dog has also had to be postponed. On top of this, dog transport, booked to take a number of dogs to new homes in the UK, has had to be cancelled twice so far, but hopefully the weather will improve soon, and rehoming can start moving again.

AIN volunteers continued to work throughout the Christmas season, caring for rescued animals in foster homes, responding to emergency cases and as usual, they made the trip to the Letterkenny Dog Shelter (Pound) just before Christmas, to collect the dogs left in there so that no dog had to spend the festive season alone in the Pound.

Amongst the dogs spending Christmas with AIN was Pluck, a little terrier who had been found in an extremely dishevelled, dirty, frightened and defeated state, a couple of weeks before Christmas.

Pluck was bathed and groomed, given plenty of good food and a cosy, warm bed, and has transformed into a delightful, happy little dog. Just a few simple comforts have worked wonders, and Pluck will soon be ready for rehoming.

AIN was delighted to have an update on a Jack Russell Terrier called Chester, who was rehomed at the beginning of 2025. Chester is now a much-loved member of his new family and spent his first Christmas in his forever home.

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The first rescued cats of the year arrived on New Year’s Day, when two black kittens were found the night before, freezing cold and lethargic. They were brought to AIN and are responding well to warmth and good food.

Young kittens such as these can die quickly on a wet winter’s night and they were very lucky to be found in time.

Tragically, rescue came too late for a three-month-old kitten called Tilly, who was found in Carndonagh with a severely broken and dislocated jaw, meaning she was unable to close her mouth.

Tilly’s jaw had been broken for some time and had become seriously infected. Sadly, Tilly was beyond help at this point and the kindest thing to do was to end her suffering.

Meanwhile, AIN’s Charity Shop has reopened after the break.

The AIN Committee would like to say a huge thank you to Maggie, who has retired from the position of Shop Manager after four years, during which time she did a fantastic job of running the Charity Shop in Donegal Town.

Going forward, Susan and Julie are taking over as joint managers and they have been busy getting the shop ready. Good luck ladies!

Finally, AIN would like to thank everyone who donated to AIN’s Santa Paws appeal, which ensured that all the cats and dogs in AIN foster homes had a present or treat to open on Christmas Day.

Thank you also to Mackle Petfood, who made a generous pet food donation during the holidays.

A big thank you also goes to Gary's Pet World in Letterkenny for their generous donation of toys, leads, harnesses, collars, food, and cat litter. 

The support from you all is very much appreciated.

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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