Animals in Need: The Dangers of ‘Free to Good Homes’ adverts

Despite recent clampdowns on ‘free to good homes’ adverts for animals on social media, some are still appearing.

There are so many horror stories attributed to these adverts, it really is unwise to give away animals to strangers that respond to them.

Unfortunately, there are people out there who are looking for free animals for illegal practices, including using kittens for the ‘blooding’ of hunting dogs or using dogs as ‘bait-dogs’ for training dogs in dog fighting rings.

Even if the person taking a free animal is genuine, the animals are not always what they seem.

Skinny, dirty kitten found on the roadside

This week Animals In Need (AIN) rescued three kittens who were spotted on a social media site advertised as ‘free to good homes’.

The post stated that they were healthy six week old kittens, all ready for rehoming.

The reality was that the kittens were much younger and were in no way old enough to leave their mother.

They also had the worst flea infestation their rescuers had ever come across in such small kittens. They had cat flu, were underweight and were riddled with worms.

These kittens are the lucky ones. They are receiving all the treatment and care they need at their foster home.

Kittens were advertised as free to good homes

They are so young, the smallest one is being bottle-fed and all are having special kitten food to build them up.

If you are looking for a kitten and want to save one from a free adverts site, you also need to be prepared to start their healthcare from scratch.

AIN asks for a €40-50 adoption fee for kittens and cats, which is a contribution to the amount the charity has spent on the cat, which can be upwards of €185 even without extra veterinary treatment for injured or sick animals.

This includes their vaccinations, worming treatments, flea treatments, vet checks and microchipping plus neutering if the cat is over 6 months of age.

Meanwhile, the five sickly kittens found in a nest near a playground by some kind children last week are mostly doing well in their AIN foster home.

Only one kitten, Mojo, has not fully responded to treatment and still has an eye infection but otherwise is gaining weight and has taken to the bottle as eagerly as his siblings.

A dirty, fluffy kitten was found at the roadside on Monday. Underneath his dusty fur, he is skin and bone and was delighted to tuck in to a hearty meal and to be cleaned up.

Some of our feathered friends have been in trouble this week.

A budgie was spotted in the Leghowney area at the weekend. Her owner has been traced but the bird flew away before her finder could catch her.

If you have any sightings of this bird, please contact AIN so that she can be reunited with her owner.

Sadly, a sick gannet was found too late and died on their way to the rescue.

The dog fosterers are currently overwhelmed by the volume of calls they are receiving from people wanting to surrender their dogs.

The majority of the dogs are collies, many of them ‘failed sheepdogs’ who are around a year old and are now unwanted as they have not made the grade as working dogs.

AIN has very few dog fosterers dealing with a huge number of dogs and would therefore ask that people who want to give up their dog be patient. All the foster places are full and the list of dogs waiting to come in is now getting to the point where no more dogs can be added to it.

The charity is urgently looking for more fosterers to join their ranks. If you would be interested in helping save the lives of dogs in Donegal, please contact the main helpline for further information.

Finally, AIN would like to say a big thank you to the Donegal Volunteer Centre, who surprised the volunteers in AIN’s Donegal Town Charity Shop with a tray of delicious cakes to acknowledge their hard work, which was much appreciated.

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 last 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.