An animal rescue group believes it's been approached by people seeking kittens who want to use them as bait in dog fights.
Kingdom Cat & Dog Rescue, which is based in Kerry, claims dog fights, which are illegal, are taking place around the country.
Sabine Batternay is with the group.
She says the people behind such approaches usually claim to be such animal lovers they want to take all the kittens or that they need lots of cats to kill rodents.
"'We have a farm or we have vermin' - they make up some excuses.
"And my next comment then is 'oh but we have to bring the kittens out to you, to do a home check'.
"And then we also charge an adoption fee, to make sure the kittens will be neutered and we will be looking for something towards that to relieve the cost.
"And then they usually pull out straight away, saying 'oh I'll ring you back, I'll think about it''.
