Epidemic of abandoned kitten litters
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THE kittens were cold, wet, sick and injured – one so badly she had chewed off her own tail to stop the pain.
The first litter was dumped by a busy road in Salford. Their mum, who has been named Gemma, was huddled with her young, Unka and Fernando.
The second was in Priory Wood in Sale. Three kittens, named Ash, Rowan and Hazel, were abandoned, flea-bitten, worm-infested. Rowan had chewed through his tail to the bone in a desperate bid to rid himself of an injury.
Later, his tail would need to be amputated.
The third was found in Levenshulme. Two kittens, yet to be named, were left on a doorstep in a cardboard box.
A note said ‘sorry I can’t take care of them.’ Their owner, claiming to be too sick to care for them, had knocked on the door then run away.
Dawn Robertson, founder of Rescue Kitties in South Manchester, says this is just a snapshot of a few weeks in the job. And the epidemic of abandoned kittens, she warns, is getting worse.
Her rescue charity is currently housing 45 kittens across 20 foster homes in south Manchester. The latest batch of kittens are now all in new homes, except two which are still being treated by a vet.
Dawn, from Reddish, said: “Unfortunately these latest three litters aren’t unusual. I would say it’s become an epidemic of abandonment. “People will get in touch having found these kittens. The RSPCA are so overloaded they can’t help.
“It’s just so sad to see these vulnerable tiny little things. Kittens can die very quickly. They come to us and they are fragile, with low body weight. They have parasites and fleas, ear mites. They’re dehydrated, anaemic. “They have stomach problems.” Dawn says the problem stems from over-population because owners are not getting their cats neutered - even though it costs as little as £5, as part of a campaign across the borough to promote sterilisation and battle over-population. She added: “People are breeding kittens, churning out litters, and then when they can’t sell them or when they get sick and they can’t afford the vet bill they just dump them.”
Dawn is calling for breeding to be regulated. And the Government has begun to take action. Under new proposals, pet shops and dealers in England will be banned from selling puppies and kittens. It will mean those wanting to buy or adopt a pet less than six months old will have to go to a breeder or a rescue centre. Dawn Robertson, founder of Rescue Kitties