A week ago, a tiny little kitten who was just eight weeks old was found abandoned in a litterbin in Haverfordwest town centre.

Miraculously the tiny little bundle survived her terrifying ordeal and was taken to the local vet by her finder.

“She was absolutely burdened with fleas and worms,” said Mikey Lawlor, founder and director of the Greenacres Animal Rescue Centre near Haverfordwest.

“She was taken into the vets on Thursday but because of her dreadful flea infestation, she was kept in over the weekend as there was concern that she may have been anaemic.”

But the little one, who has been christened Dusty by the Greenacres staff, made steady progress and was allowed to be released to the Greenacres animal rescue centre on Monday.

“It’s obvious that she’s spent some time in a home setting and has been handled since birth as she’s tame and affectionate," said Mikey.

“Having been involved in animal rescue for so many years I’ve grown a thick skin to most of the cases I see, but when you come across such a vulnerable little kitten as Dusty who's been found in such a terrible way, it’s still hurtful."

2023 is proving to be one of the toughest years for Greenacres as the number of animals seeking rescue has shot off the scale.

“A lot of this is the aftermath of covid as people were unable to have their kittens neutered because the vets were closed,” he explained.

“And also, during the lockdowns, ordinary kittens were being sold for up to £300 as everyone wanted a pet. But those cats are now unwanted.

“And the number of stray dogs that are arriving here on a daily basis is rising too. We’re currently receiving about ten requests a day [to take dogs in], the majority being local dogs, but we’re only able to rehome about two a week, if we’re lucky.

“Our vet bill in June hit £20,000 which is only the fourth time in our entire history that this has happened.”

Mikey and his time are now trying to ensure that more people take advantage of the cat neutering schemes that are currently available after they recently visited a property where they discovered seven un-neutered females.

“An un-neutered cat can have two litters a year, sometimes three, which means up to six kittens being born each time. So that’s a lot of cats.

“If we reduce the number of unwanted kittens that we receive, then our bills will reduce dramatically.

"People are under the mistaken impression that they won’t be eligible for financial assistance to neuter or microchip their cat. But the low incomes extend right up to £25,000. And the cost of neutering a cat is just £10.

“We’ve made Dusty a promise that her future is going to be brighter, and we’ve every confidence that it will be. Goodness knows, she deserves it.”

If anyone would like to find out more about the Greenacres adoption system or would like to make a donation towards its running costs, they should click on the link.