About $5000 has been raised to boost security at an animal rescue after a dog broke in and killed three cats in a “frenzied” attack.

The killer canine, however, has yet to be caught or identified.

Ōpōtiki Society for the Care of Animals centre manager Kathleen Young previously told the Ōpōtiki News she found two outdoor cages had been broken into by a “frenzied and midsize dog” when she arrived at the centre on April 21.

Three cats - Flo Jo, Sage and Freddie - had been killed.

She told the Rotorua Daily Post today she did not have a description of the dog but suspected it was medium-sized, based on the paw prints it left.

“We suspect that we’re not going to get a revisit because if it’s an owned dog, then possibly it’s been tied up from all the publicity that’s gone on.”

Young said there was a dog trap at the centre, provided by Ōpōtiki District Council, but acknowledged any dog it caught may not be the same one that killed the cats.

Young said if it trapped a dog, it would be taken to the pound.

She said the centre was raising money to build two fences, one 28-metres long and the other 13m, to prevent a similar incident from happening again.

It held a fundraising day on Saturday on the main street of Ōpōtiki, selling cakes, biscuits, slices, preserves and relishes, which raised $1000, she said.

She said people had been “generous” with their money, which had made “a huge difference”.

The Ōpōtiki Society for the Care of Animals centre typically held two markets every month. Photo / Supplied

The centre also received a “lovely donation” of some iron, which would likely cover the 28m fence. It still needed 13m of iron for the front, she said.

It was also looking at running a concrete strip underneath the fence to prevent a determined dog from digging under the fence, “now that we have this problem”.

“I would say that we would probably soak that $5000 up quite well.”

She hoped the fence would be finished in the next month.

“We’re very grateful for all the donations - we live in a small area and we fundraise within our own community and I think some of the donations have come further afield, so that’s pretty awesome.

“We don’t have to use our own cash flow to fund [the fences] that so it enables us to keep on going with our day-to-day work.”

She said it was the responsibility of the owner to keep their dog contained.

“We keep our cats contained and it was their animal that came on to our property.”

Ōpōtiki District Council has also been approached for comment today.