Two kittens that were at death’s door when they were found abandoned in Ballinasloe are now thriving in their new adoptive home in Galway City after they were nursed back to life by a local charity.

Galway County Council workers discovered the two five-week-old kittens last August at a local authority skip yard in Ballinasloe.

It was unclear whether they were dumped or stray, or how they got there, but the Council crew rang GSPCA for guidance.

The animal welfare charity sent a team of three to the rescue – Tara Croke, GSPCA cattery and small animal manager, her son Joe Frain, and GSPCA worker Clodagh Walsh – who located the emaciated animals under Council machinery.

Named Yuri and Yara by GSPCA, the black and white and tabby and white kittens were in a desperate state, weighing just 300g each, said Tara Croke.

“They were covered in lice, and fleas, and they were skinny, full of worms. They were quite sickly. It was fifty-fifty whether they would survive,” she said.

The pair were nursed back to life after several months at GSPCA cattery in Briarhill.

“They were in such a poor condition and super tiny. It took us a good five months to get them ready to even start their vaccinations. Normally, if you got a sturdy kitten, you’d have them two weeks and then start vaccinations, but these were just too sick and not thriving. One would gain weight and the other would lose weight,” recalled Ms Croke.

CAPTION: Rescue kittens Mina and Lynch are settled into their new home in Knocknacarra after they were rescued in Ballinasloe and nursed back to health by GSPCA. Photo: Joe O’Shaughnessy.

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