Four kittens who were rescued from a dirty rabbit hutch are now ready for a fresh start and are looking for new homes.
RSPCA officers rescued the four kittens after members of the public raised concern that they’d been abandoned inside a rabbit hutch in the garden of a property in Bradford, West Yorkshire.
Inspectors tried to trace owners and monitored the kittens to see if anyone was tending to them before they were rescued, in October, having been classified as abandoned.
Inspector Natalie Taylor said: “The kittens were being kept in completely unsuitable conditions, inside a filthy rabbit hutch which was covered in urine and faeces. An old paint pot was being used to shut them inside the wooden hutch with no food or water.
“We tried to make contact with their owners but the kittens were never claimed so they were brought into our care where they’ve really blossomed and thrived.”
RSPCA Rochdale & District Branch, in Littleborough, Greater Manchester, took in the four kittens – now 14-weeks-old and named Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Basil and Pepper – to give them the care they needed and three of them are now looking for new homes.
Cinnamon has a heart murmur so is currently having tests with the vet and isn’t yet available. However, her three siblings are all on the hunt for a new home.
Ruth Vaughan, from RSPCA Hollingworth Lake Animal Centre, run by the Rochdale branch, said: “The kittens are doing really well and are very playful and sweet.
We’d love to find them homes in pairs or they could go individually if they’ll get socialisation in the home with an existing cat.
“Basil, Nutmeg, Cinnamon and Pepper haven’t had the best start in life, but we’ve shown them what love and care is over the last month, and now we really want them to have a fresh start in wonderful new homes – just in time for Christmas!”
The RSPCA has launched its Join the Christmas Rescue campaign to help bring joy and safety to other animals like these kittens this winter.
For thousands of terrified and injured animals, the charity will turn the worst suffering into the best Christmas yet – because it will be the one where their lives change forever, and the start of many happier Christmases to come.
Animal rescue crisis
The appeal to find the kittens a new home comes as the RSPCA reveals it is facing a rehoming crisis across England and Wales. New figures show that in 2023, 42% more animals arrived at the RSPCA than were adopted.
Rehoming centres across England and Wales are at near or full capacity, with pets either waiting to be adopted, or being assessed for adoption – leaving countless dogs, cats and other animals still in emergency boarding waiting for a place at a rehoming centre.
Last year, while the RSPCA’s 14 rehoming centres and 135 independently-run branches found new homes for an incredible 28,208 dogs, cats, rabbits and other pets, that was far fewer than the 40,118 animals that arrived at the shelters across England and Wales.
And many animals are staying in its rescue centres for longer while staff try to find them the right homes in the run-up to Christmas.
Contact the Rochdale branch on 01706 861897 or [email protected] to find out more.
