NINE kittens that were dumped behind an industrial estate in Whitchurch have been rescued by an animal-lover who is nursing them back to health and plans to rehome them.
Josie Simpson spent two days (June 17 and 18) carefully catching the kittens in the fields between the Ardglen Industrial Estate and the A34 by luring them with food and playing sounds of a mother cat on her phone.
The kittens were very weak from hunger and dehydration. Each weighed between just 400g and 1kg, and they all had diarrhoea, fleas and worms. It’s estimated they’re about six to eight weeks old and appear to come from two litters.
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Josie said: “Someone mentioned some stray kittens on Facebook in an area I know is popular with dog walkers. I thought I’d have a look because lots of dogs have a natural instinct to chase and I was worried the kittens might get hurt.
“When I got there, I found four. They were so hungry and came over as soon as they saw some food. I kept searching for the mother but I’m pretty sure she wasn’t there. The kittens certainly knew what my cat food was, and they weren’t aggressive. They were friendly but scared, which all suggests they weren’t feral.
“I had to feed them every two hours the first night because they were so weak and dehydrated. And when I got up on Sunday, I saw another Facebook post saying someone had just seen another kitten. I went back to roughly the same spot, assisted by the gentleman who saw them, and ended up finding another five nearby.
“It’s total chaos in the house right now. My partner is not exactly thrilled. But when are we ever going to have two litters of tiny kittens roaming around our living room ever again? I love it!”
Animal-lover Josie, who’s 30 and lives in Whitchurch with her partner Greg Evans has several pets of her own including cats, two dogs, a bearded dragon and a python.
Last year she founded her business Alternative Pet Services providing everything from dog walking and cat sitting to caring for hamsters and mucking out horses.
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The kittens have all now been to the vet for general check-up, and one needed additional emergency treatment last week.
They’re receiving flea and worming treatments, as well as a probiotic paste to soothe diarrhoea. They will soon be microchipped, and when they are old enough, or weigh enough, each kitten will be neutered or spayed.
The charity Cats Protection is covering the cost of the spaying and neutering, but Josie is covering all other costs herself, which are running into hundreds of pounds.
Josie has started a GoFundMe page (https://www.gofundme.com/f/Thewhitchurch9) for donations towards veterinary care, medication, food and anything else the kittens need.
More than £650 has already been donated. She has also created an Amazon Wishlist if people prefer to buy specific items.
Josie plans to re-home all the kittens when they are strong enough except the smallest one, which she plans to keep. She’s named him Grogu because he looks like the Baby Yoda in Star Wars spin-off The Mandalorian.
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