Cat found in dogging hotspot near Darwen looking for forever home

Chantelle Farrow, a volunteer at Kitty Rescue Bury, says her cameras were stolen and she was nearly attacked while trying to rescue the cat, called Avril, from Stones Bank Road near Cadshaw Village.

Avril was rescued from the hotspot last April but now needs to be rehomed once again after being returned to the pet rescue.

Avril is looking for his forever home (Image: Chantelle Farrow)

Chantelle said: “Avril was found on the border of Bolton and Darwen on a lane that is notorious for dogging.

“It was a very odd place to be for three months, trying to trap a cat. However, the doggers were usually nice and left us alone.

“Usually they would drive slowly, look in the car, see I was a female and drive away.”

Chantelle laid out food and set up cameras in the area to spot the cat.

Before catching a cat the team has to determine if it is a male or female, as it could have kittens somewhere that may also need rescuing.

She said: “Obviously, it’s not ideal to set up cameras on a lane where these kind of activities are taking place.

“Those who are dogging don’t want them there.”

Avril is looking for his forever home (Image: Chantelle Farrow,)

Over the course of the three months three cameras were stolen, with prices ranging from £40 to £80.

She said: “Once we discovered Avril was a male that’s when we decided to go and trap him and take him to the rescue.”

Chantelle’s problems didn’t end there after she was reportedly attacked by two ‘anti dogging protestors’ when she went to trap Avril.

She said: “On the night we decided to rescue him a car kept driving up and down and we felt uneasy.

Stones Bank Road (Image: Google Maps)

“We drove down into the wood to see where they were going and they jumped out at us with a big stick to tried and hit the car.

“We caught the two guys on camera and called the police to report this.

“We saw the same people days later and we asked them what their problem was. They said they were anti-dogging people and said we shouldn’t be dogging in this area.

“We had to explain why we were actually there.”

Despite the danger Chantelle, from Radcliffe, said the three months of hard work was worth it as she potentially saved a cat’s life.

She said: “It was concerning to put yourself in danger for this cat but then you remember that nobody else is going to help this cat.

“At the end of the day we saved a life and if we didn’t try he would probably be dead – it was worth it.

Chantelle Farrow (Image: Chantelle Farrow)

“It was an unusual experience but we catch a lot of cats in weird places, including a swinger’s place, that was home to a cat colony, as well as a brothel in Manchester.”

Chantelle is now hoping to rehome Avril, who has been returned to the rescue’s care after failing to get along with the previous owner’s existing pet cat.

Chantelle said: “When we rescued him we realised he wasn’t feral and was actually a lovely cat.

"He was neutered so meant he must have been owned at some point, we presume he had been dumped there.

“We want to rehome him urgently. We don’t want him to have to come back into the rescue and distress him even further.

“He’s a really nice and friendly boy. He loves attention and will cuddle you.

“He also loves his freedom and going outside when he wants to.

“He needs a home with no other cats and ideally with older children, who are 13 or over. He is still traumatised from his experience and is scared of loud noises.

“It would be great for someone to adopt him and give him another chance at life.”

To find out more about Avril and how to rehome him visit the Kitty Rescue Bury Facebook page.

Lancashire Police has been approached for comment.