Saving two little lives
Frightened and cold kittens found in red duffel bag on roadside
The P.E.I. Humane Society is launching an investigation into the abandonment of two kittens left in a duffle bag on the side of a Summerside street.
The female kittens were discovered Saturday morning on Johnson Street and taken to a local kitten adoption organization, Keeping Cats Homed.
Now the P.E.I. Humane Society is making a public appeal for information about the possible owner of the bag and if someone recognizes the kittens.
Lori Burnell, founder and president of Keeping Cats Homed, has been nursing the kittens, who she thinks are about five months old.
“We did take them to the vet on Saturday, and they did a quick check and said they are healthy. But we don’t know how long they were out on the road,” she said.
“The finder thinks they were dumped probably some time in the night or early morning because the kittens were hungry and thirsty and needed to use the litter quite badly.”
Burnell will foster the kittens to help socialize and prepare them for eventual adoption.
Jennifer Harkness, the development co-ordinator at the Humane Society, says the
organization is aware of the situation and has been in contact with the person who found the kittens, as well as with Burnell. She said it’s unfortunate the kittens were left abandoned.
“We do see abandonment on a regular basis, although it’s hard to prove. But, when you think about the amount of stray animals that come into the shelter or that animal protection picks up for a different reason, they were clearly owned by somebody at some point. But some are animals that got lost and are never claimed, but it’s very possible they were abandoned.”
Burnell hopes the cats were left on the road out of desperation and not cruelty.
“We hope the kittens were left in the duffel bag as a way to keep them warm and be found easily. However, it’s not the right way to do it because there is so much help available out there,” she said.
“Had these people contacted us, we would have taken these cats in with no doubt and without judgment. To throw them in a duffel bag on the side of the road is just not necessary.” Harkness agrees.
“I don’t see any reason why animals should be abandoned when there is so much help out there. And we’re not here to judge. We just want to help. We want people to know there is nothing to be ashamed of if you have to surrender your animal. That’s why the P.E.I. Humane Society exists – to protect and serve those animals.”
To contact an animal protection officer call, 902-892-1191 or email apo@peihumanesociety.com.
“Any calls or emails to our animal protection officers are confidential,” Harkness said.
The kittens were to have a second check with the veterinarian to get a clean bill of health on Monday and will then return to Burnell to settle in through the program. When they are ready for adoption, they will be vaccinated.
Burnell says helping abandoned kittens find loving new homes is why she founded Keeping Cats Homed.
“I can’t even tell you how much joy it brings me.”