Starving stray dog found in Donegal and cat who gave birth in bush are recovering

It is now officially spring, which means Kitten Season has begun in earnest across Donegal.

The Animals In Need (AIN) volunteers have been busy carrying out Trap/Neuter/Return (T/N/R) programmes on two feral cat colonies in Letterkenny this week. This involves catching the cats in humane cat traps, bringing them to a vet to be neutered, then returning them to where they came from after a sufficient recovery time.

Many thanks to the local lady who managed to catch the five cats she had set out to T/N/R. Unfortunately, two of the cats were in very bad condition and were beyond help.

Sometimes, despite pulling out all the stops, nature must take its course.

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This was the case when an older, semi-feral cat called Fluffy was rescued, heavily pregnant. Fluffy gave birth to four kittens at her AIN foster home, but two of the kittens were stillborn.

The two surviving kittens seemed to be strong, but a few days later, they were found in their crate cold and barely breathing.One of the kittens stopped breathing completely, and his fosterer had to carry out CPR to bring him back.

Once warmed up, the kittens were then bottle-fed around the clock to give them the best chance of survival. Named Alfie and Arlo, sadly it was not to be, and both kittens passed away at the weekend.

It had become clear that they had deformities and internal problems, including curled up, swollen paws, and they were passing blood. It was a traumatic, sad ending for both Fluffy and her AIN fosterer, but this will be Fluffy’s last litter as she will be spayed.

In better news, a mum cat called Meadow was found with her litter of newborn kittens living under a bush. The family is now in AIN’s care where all are thriving, and Meadow is a fantastic mother.

Not every rescue can have a happy ending, but when a black and white cat called Suki was found sick and emaciated and brought to AIN, it was hoped that she would recover with good food and medical treatment.

Sadly, help had come too late for Suki, and she continued to deteriorate until the stage was reached where the kindest thing to do was to humanely end her suffering. RIP Suki.

Meanwhile, the dog rescuers have also been busy.

Mum dog Nora and her seven pups are doing extremely well in their foster home.

Nora had been straying for a couple of weeks in Buncrana, before giving birth and hiding her pups in a giant log pile, from which the pups had to be dug out. One pup had already passed away, but the seven survivors are all growing rapidly, have reached a month old and are healthy, chunky pups.

Nora is a fantastic mum, coping well with the demands of her big litter, and AIN would like to say a huge thank you to their fosterer. Looking after so many pups is no easy task, and they are getting through a lot of puppy pads, but seeing such a happy bunch of pups makes it all worthwhile.

An emaciated dog was found in Inishowen at the weekend, standing in the middle of the road with a broken rope hanging around their neck. 

The dog is in good health apart from being clearly starving, with all their ribs protruding. The dog is now safe and is receiving appropriate care and food.

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AIN is receiving numerous calls about stray, lost and found dogs and cats.

If you find an animal, the first step is to have them checked for a microchip at a vets. There is no charge for this or appointment needed.

Also post the details on social media and contact your local rescues.

Found dogs then have to go to Letterkenny Dog Shelter (Pound) for five days to give their owner a chance to collect them. If they remain unclaimed after this period, they can be adopted or will be taken in by an animal rescue for rehoming.

Finally, AIN would like to say a big thank you to Jollyes in Derry, and to their kind customers for the generous donation of cat and dog food this week. This support is 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 .