How Did Jonah Rescued Kitten End Up With The Man Who Threw Him Into The River?

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Jonah kitten was rescued when a Derry, Ireland man jumped into a river and saved him from an intentional drowning.  A woman has come forward to say that Jonah was her kitten before she gave him away to a man who answered an ad.

Jonah was saved from drowning last Thursday by sheer luck, when a Good Samaritan came along at the right moment. See Man Dives In: Rescues Jonah Kitten From Drowning for details. A woman has now come forward with some disturbing information on what may have transpired beforehand.

Eileen Kelly says she recognized Jonah from his news photo as a kitten who recently lived with her. She tells her story:

Frighteningly I fear this incident could actually be more sinister than it initially appears. You see Jonah was not part of the litter that was thrown into the river. He was my kitten!!! I had him re-homed only 2 weeks ago to a man from Drumahoe by the name of “Dessie” who told me he wanted a kitten for his daughter.

We met in Claudy so he could collect the kitten. I was sad to part with him as I had grown quite attached to him but I was also relieved that someone could give him a new home.

A few days later I texted him to enquire about how the kitten was getting on and he told me his 5 year old daughter and her mother had taken the kitten to live with them in Scotland! I was not happy about this but by then there wasn’t really much I could do and at least he had a home.

Then Sunday morning I was reading the Derry Journal when I saw the article about the kittens who where drowned in the river and was horrified when I saw the photo of the kitten who was rescued was of MY kitten!!! I rushed straight down to the Rainbow Shelter in a panic. I was so relieved to see how well they are taking care of him and that so many people have offered him a good home.

Luckily I still had the mobile number of the man I gave the kitten to. He may be the person responsible! So at least I have been able to help in some way.

I’d just like to warn other people who are thinking of re-homing animals on sites like Gumtree (as I did) to be very careful who they give their pets to. Though I can’t be sure, I now fear that this man may have been going around collecting kittens for the sole purpose of killing them, which is the most wicked and evil thing imaginable!!!

I feel sick to the stomach when I think of what my wee kitty went through. I’m just so grateful to that kind man who risked his own life to rescue him. I wish there were more people like you in this world! Thank you xxx

We do not have substantiation for Eileen’s story, nor do we have any particular reason to doubt it. If Jonah really is her former kitty and she has been able to provide the man’s cell number, perhaps we will see an arrest.
The Rainbow Rehoming Centre, where Jonah is staying cautions everyone not to post animals on Gumtree, and Eileen says she will not do so again.
For US readers who are not familiar with Gumtree, think Craigslist. It is similar, and we have all heard the cautions about listing our cats and dogs at Craigslist,

Karen Harrison Binette

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0 thoughts on “How Did Jonah Rescued Kitten End Up With The Man Who Threw Him Into The River?”

  1. Oh how awful. What a stomach-churning turn of events. I hope that the phone number leads to an arrest.

  2. too upsetting for me to read, HOWEVER, as always thanx for the warning and I will pray for justice and an end to all this animal abuse. It’s EVERYWHERE and it just sickens me……….. literally….

  4. There are only 4 question one gets asked when they get to the pearly gates. How did you treaty the earth, your fellow man, yourself, and the ANIMALS. They can not speak up and defend themselves. I hope the hell reserved for animal abusers in on the bottom plane and worse than my imagination can conjure.

  7. I can’t read this stuff because it gets me so upset, the first few lines were enough for me however ANYONE that can hurt a defenseless animal is SCUM and doesn’t deserve to live. A complete waste of life.

  8. Team Jonah!!! I cannot imagine the guilt that Eileen is feeling after giving Jonah to what she thought would be a good home. What kind of animal cruelty laws are in place in Ireland?

  10. Also here in the states they find people who bring their kids to get animals to put the owners at ease and then they either sell them to companies who test on animal or they go to hoarders or they torture them. I have made a page for Davis Monthan AFB lost and found animals here in Tucson,Az and I remind anyone that is looking for a home for their animals to beware of people on Craigslist. I also shared this story.

  11. There are tons of psychos out there! Don’t give animals away or sell them to people you don’t know! !!!!

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