Two rescued kittens arrived at new home via helicopter

In what turned out to be a rehoming first for Animals In Need (AIN), two rescued kittens called Fi and Lexie arrived at their new home via helicopter.

The kittens had been booked to go to a home on Tory Island, but due to stormy weather last week, all ferry crossings had been cancelled.

However, Fi and Lexi took off at the weekend and even had a local dog as a flight companion, and they soon arrived safely at their home.

Not many cats can say they have flown in a helicopter and AIN wish them long and happy lives with their new family.

There is also good news for a ginger kitten called Sprite, who was rescued before Christmas with a badly injured front leg.

Unfortunately, his leg was beyond repair and had to be surgically removed by a vet.

Sprite has since made a good recovery and quickly adjusted to life on three legs, and he has now been adopted.

A lovely cat called Daisy has also found home and will be going to live in Limerick this week.

Sadly, there is not always a happy ending when an animal is rescued.

ABOVE: Little Kiwi could not be saved

A young, ginger kitten called Kiwi was amongst a colony of around twenty-five cats that were rescued by AIN when their owner became ill and had to go overseas for treatment.

Kiwi was the smallest kitten in the colony and was emaciated when he arrived at his foster home as the larger cats had been pushing him out of the way at feeding times.

He was given plenty of good food by his fosterer and initially he started to put on weight but sadly he suddenly began to lose it again and his breathing became laboured.

Kiwi was taken to the vets where x-rays revealed that his lungs were permanently damaged, and nothing could be done to help him.

Tragically, Kiwi had to be put to sleep, a heartbreaking decision for his fosterer, but it was the kindest thing to do, following veterinary advice.

In better news, all the other cats from the colony have now been rehomed.

Another six semi-feral cats are looking for homes from a separate colony.

Their owner had moved into a nursing home and the cats were left behind.

These cats are used to living outside but are comfortable interacting with people, and therefore would suit an outdoor home with shelter and food provided, although they may settle enough to come indoors in time.

All six cats have been neutered, treated for parasites and vet checked.

AIN are rehoming the cats in pairs so that they have company.

If you can offer any of the cats a home, please contact the cat helpline or send a message to AIN via Facebook for further information.

The volunteers at AIN have rescued and reunited several stray dogs during the week and would once again appeal to people to keep their dogs under control at all times, especially at this time of year with the arrival of lambing season.

This includes keeping your dog on a lead if you are going for a walk in the countryside.

It only takes a minute for a dog to run into a field full of sheep and cause damage.

Even if the dog does not attack the sheep, the trauma of being chased can cause sheep to abort their lambs.

In urban areas, roads are still being gritted and it is worth remembering that the salt used to melt snow and ice is extremely toxic to dogs and also to cats.

If you have walked your dog in a gritted area, always wash their paws when you get home as ingesting even a small amount of the salt can cause vomiting, lethargy, and in severe cases, kidney damage.

ABOVE: Outdoor homes needed for semi-feral cats

Finally, ‘Kitten Season 2024’ will soon be upon us, and AIN are appealing to people to neuter their pet cats and to get involved in Trap/Neuter/Return (TNR) of any stray and feral cats in their community.

AIN has humane cat traps that can be borrowed, and further advice is available by contacting the charity.

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.

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.