Athlone volunteers rescue eight abandoned kittens

Hats off this week to the Athlone Society for the Protection of Animals who rescued eight kittens dumped in Ballygar forest.

The Society were alerted to the case on Thursday evening last when they got a phonecall from a concerned member of the public who had heard cried from the trees in Ballygar forest. The caller could not see anything because the undergrowth of brambles and ferns was so thick so they decided to ring the SPCA for help.

Despite the fact that Ballygar is an hour from Athlone and is in neighbouring Galway, the dedicated volunteers in the local SPCA decided they had to investigate the case, so they drove all the way to Galway, walked two miles into Ballygar forest and came upon seven soaking wet kittens, who were scared witness and starving.

The volunteers walked two miles back to the car with the seven kittens in tow, and embarked on the hour long drive from Ballygar to Athlone where the kittens were dried off and fed.

Not content with their hard work, the volunteers returned again to Ballygar forest where they found an eight kitten in the thick undergrowth, who was also brought back to their sanctuary in Athlone to be dried off and fed.

All kittens have since been rehomed, and the Society have again reiterated their appeal for members of the public to be vigilent and to report any cases of animal neglect or cruelty to one of their volunteers.