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Owners sought for remaining rehab kittens
DESPITE the worst possible start in life, only three little kittens who were abandoned at the Rainbow Rehoming Centre a month ago are now hoping for a loving new home.
Full of beans and bouncing with life, the little bundles of fur have been given a clean bill of health and are now up for adoption.
Just a few short weeks ago Sentinel readers were horrified to read how the little scraps were among two sackfuls of tiny kittens and cats which were dumped at the perimeter fence of the Rainbow Centre and subsequently mauled by a Japanese Akita dog.
A number of the kittens had to be put to sleep by vets while one kitten and one mother cat were found dead from multiple wounds they sustained. Another kitten needed emergency treatment for puncture wounds from dog bites.
Recalling the sorry state the kittens and cats were in, Rainbow volunteer Louise Graham, said staff had managed to rehome quite a few of the young cats, with some going to homes locally and others being taken by animal lovers in Bushmills, Ballymoney, Coleraine and Ballyarnett Village in the past week or two.
"There are only three left. To have rehomed so many of the kittens has been fantastic. There were a couple which were very sick and died but there is a positive story in this in that the others came round - they all could have so easily died. it is very hard for centres to rehabilitate animals and medicate them. The girls here worked very hard to get them back to a healthy state," she said, adding: "It would be a real plus for the centre to get these three kittens rehomed, not to mention rewarding for the staff who put so much effort into their welfare, and proof that there are more kindhearted people out there than there are those who are cruel or neglectful to animals. That's the reason the centre is going - if we didn't believe that we would not be there."
Louise said the centre saw a lot of cruelty cases every year, and she attributed much of what occurred to ignorance of the needs of animals.
"Really what we are trying to promote is responsible pet ownership and for people to neuter their cats, because a kitten can have its own litter of kittens when it is only six months old, so people really need to get their animals neutered."
Anyone who can offer the kittens a good, loving home, can telephone 028 7181 2882 between 11am and 1pm and 7pm and 9pm daily, or look up the Rainbow Rehoming Centre on the Internet.
Apart from the kittens, the shelter also has a collection of mature cats and dogs, puppies and other kittens all desperate for a new home.
However, those who do not have time for a pet, but who would like to help fundraise can help the staff by donating to or taking part in a sponsored walk which is being planned for Sunday, September 7, leaving from St Columb's Park at 2.30pm. Sponsorship forms are available from the Centre, from the animal charity shop at Waterloo Place in the city, or from all local vets as well as well-known high street pet shops.
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Sunday 27 May 2012
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