Kittens look up from their box.
Animal Foster Care Cat Shelter | Facebook“The indifference, callousness and contempt that so many people exhibit toward animals is evil first because it results in great suffering in animals, and second because it results in an incalculably great impoverishment of the human spirit.”
-Albert Einstein
On Saturday, someone left a banana box containing seven adorable kittens on the steps of the building next to the Animal Foster Care Cat Shelter.
The babies were left in the rain and cold on, of all days, National Pet Adoption Day.
Judging from the pictures posted by the volunteer-run shelter on social media, the people who left the kittens did it in a premeditated manner. The box’s top, which had a gap large enough for a kitten to crawl through – some other animal to crawl in – was covered with wire mesh fencing.
“They were cold and wet, but our volunteers found them and warmed them up,” said the shelter post.
The seven kittens were lucky. Cruel as it is to abandon a box of kittens, some felines – and canines – fare far worse. Unwanted animals have been dumped on country roads, left loose outside the shelter to fend for themselves, abandoned when someone moves - and worse.
Last year, Animal Foster Care took in 1,360 cats and kittens. It adopted out 176 felines and transferred 1,000 more to other, more urban shelters where, the volunteers hope, there’s a better chance of them being adopted.
A little quick math reveals the shelter is taking in far more cats and kittens than it’s adopting out or transferring. Along with the shelter southwest of Okanogan, Animal Foster Care operates The Cat House – a facility for long-term residents or those needing socialization – and also relies on foster care provided by volunteers in their homes.
The ones in volunteers’ homes – 51 of them during 2021 – have health issues, injuries requiring medical care or are mother cats with kittens.
Animal Foster Care and its partner, Okanogan Regional Humane, offer shelter, spay and neuter programs, transfers and help with feral colonies.
Both are run by volunteers – big-hearted people from our community who hate to see animals suffer and are doing something about it.
Taking care of all those cats and kittens comes at a cost. Both organizations welcome monetary donations and maintain wish lists for donated items such as food, cleaning supplies litter and so on.
“Please remember we are here to help and don’t be afraid to bring kittens/cats to the main door,” said Animal Foster Care Cat Shelter. “Finding cold, wet or overheated animals can make it hard for us to save them.”
If you find yourself with unwanted cats or kittens, please be responsible and do the right thing for them.
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(1) comment
The people at this cat shelter are incredible and very dedicated. We saved a mother with 3 kittens and they found a home for two of the kittens quickly - and we kept the others. They deserve all the help we can give them.
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