Scottish wildcat fundraiser smashes target following death of rare kitten

An online fundraiser set up following the death of a wildcat kitten in the Cairngorms on Friday has earned well above its £1,000 target.

The rare breed of cat was found half-buried in the snow on Wednesday by two walkers near Huntly’s Cave on the outskirts of Grantown-on-Spey.

One of the walkers, Peter Macnab, had initially mistaken it for a domestic cat but after taking it to a local vet, it was confirmed the animal was in fact a female wildcat.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The kitten, which he called “Huntleigh”, died from pneumonia on Friday prompting Mr Macnab to set up a fundraiser to help the rare species which has already exceeded its target in less than a day.

Within hours of posting the gofundme page he said: "Wow! So we have absolutely smashed our target within the first day.

"A massive thank-you to everyone involved, especially those who donated.

"This truly is an awesome story, raising funds for an excellent cause - local to everyone here in the heart of the Cairngorms.”

The fundraiser is currently sitting on £1,665 of its £1,000 target.

The rare animal was found half-buried in the snow on Wednesday by two walkers near Huntly’s Cave on the outskirts of Grantown-on-Spey.The rare animal was found half-buried in the snow on Wednesday by two walkers near Huntly’s Cave on the outskirts of Grantown-on-Spey.
The rare animal was found half-buried in the snow on Wednesday by two walkers near Huntly’s Cave on the outskirts of Grantown-on-Spey.

Mr Macnab, who is general manager at the Garth Hotel in Grantown, has chosen to support the charity Saving Wildcats, a project dedicated to “Scottish wildcat conservation and recovery.”

It aims to prevent the extinction of the endangered animals by breeding and releasing them into the wild.

"Hopefully this can be of some help in the consolidation of our Scottish wildcat colony,” he added.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"They really are beautiful animals, and they deserve a fighting chance.

"I hope we have raised some awareness of the species, and hopefully one day their numbers rebuild to a stable, and thriving population. I plan to leave this fundraiser open for 14 days to see what we can achieve with the help of the media, before we call it a day and officially donate the funds to our local Saving Wildcats charity.

"I thank them for sponsoring the veterinary bill for Huntleigh the highland tiger, and have no doubt their efforts will make a massive impact in moving the campaign forward.

"All monies are kept remote by this site and shall remain untouched until the handover.”

Conservation research suggests that there are fewer than 300 Scottish wildcats left in the wild.

Donations to Saving Wildcats can be made here.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.

Related topics: