Mo Chara Animal Rescue: Little kitten Star is looking for her owner!

Star

On Friday night, January 4th, we received a report of a cat that had been involved in an RTA on Slievenamon Road in Thurles. She was taken to the vets to be treated and was found to be suffering from head trauma. We do believe this beautiful girl has an owner as her long coat is well-kept and she is very affectionate. We are making an appeal to find her owner as no one has come forward to claim her yet. We have christened her Star, as she was found outside The Stars of India. She is safe and receiving medication at the rescues cattery. We think she will make a complete recovery once her injuries heal. If this is your lady, please contact us on 087 2577182.

Kitten Season

As the weather is milder than usual we will soon be coming into “Kitten season” which in Ireland runs from approximately March-October. Kitten season occurs each year because the female cat has evolved into a “seasonally polyestrous” creature, meaning she comes into heat only during a particular time of year— during this time she is capable of having multiple pregnancies.

DID YOU KNOW:

* Over 300,000 kittens are born in Ireland every year. Of those, 180,000 kittens die before they are 4 months old.

* An unspayed female cat, her unneutered mate and all of their offspring, producing 2 litters with 2.8 surviving kittens per year, can total 11,606,077 cats in only 9 years.

What the terms “neutering” and “spaying” mean and when should it be done:

“Spaying” and “Neutering” are surgical procedures used to prevent pets from reproducing. In a female animal, “spaying” consists of removing the uterus and ovaries. The technical term is ovario-hysterectomy. For a male animal, “neutering” involves the removal of the testicles, and this is known as castration. Cats and kittens can be neutered as early as 4 – 5 months of age. Since cats can become reproductively active at this age, it does make sense to get the operation done sooner rather than later, to minimise the risk of unwanted kittens.

WHAT TO DO WITH STRAY/FERAL CATS IN YOR AREA

Get involved with Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) in your area. TNR is a program that involves the capture of stray and feral cats. After being spayed or neutered and vaccinated, the captured cat is released back to where he or she was found. The cats may also be released into a managed feral cat colony where the cat will be provided food and rudimentary shelter by a human caretaker.

Leave newborn kittens with their mothers. Survival rates for newborn kittens without their mothers – even in a shelter environment – top out at about 50%. If you cannot capture the mother along with the kittens, wait until the kittens are at least 5 weeks of age before bringing them inside or to an animal shelter.

Upcoming Events

February 3rd - Bake Sale - Thurles Cathedral – 10am-1pm

There will be no Bake Sale in January but the first Sunday of February will see our ever-popular bake sale return to Thurles Cathedral with a delicious range of home-made, freshly baked goods! Why not spoil yourself, your family or your friends by stopping by for a tasty treat?!