There’s a better way than just “dumping kittens in the night.” Ugh.

I have a major problem with people who mistreat animals. Major problem. And “mistreatment” also includes hoarding situations, where unspayed pets are allowed to breed and overbreed to the point where a household gets completely overwhelmed.

That being said … I also have a major problem with what this person did with a litter of kittens.

And for this, I’ll just link to the Facebook post of the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society, my local animal shelter. This is the same animal shelter where I donate my bags of 5c deposit bottles and cans, where they can redeem them for 8c a bottle and help feed and maintain the animals in their care.

Here’s a link to the post. You can see the pictures of the kittens as they arrived at that link, and in what conditions they were found.

And here’s the text of the post.

“Last night at 7:00 pm, after the shelter was closed, three women pulled up to the shelter and began unloading box after box, even an entire dog crate, at the front door. They were filled with frightened cats and sickly kittens. When we reviewed the surveillance video, we saw these women throw additional loose cats from the back of their SUV, cats scattering across our property.

“An observant neighbor saw it unfold and got in touch with us. On the heels of an eleven hour day, shelter staff hurried back to the shelter to bring the cats in to safety.

“Our staff spent their Saturday evening cleaning ears, eyes, and worrying over the cats lost to the fields outside the shelter. It was too cold to safely trap them overnight. Staff arrived early to set traps away from our dog walking paths, to avoid any dangerous encounters as the morning routine began.

“All told, there are 20 cats now recovering in our shelter.

“This all could have been avoided by reaching out to the shelter ahead of time.

“If you find yourself in over your head with cats and kittens, call or email us. We will make an appointment for you to bring them in. We offer low cost, sometimes free, spay/neuter and vaccinations. admitting@mohawkhumane.org.

“Yes, they are cute kittens, but what happened last night was a violation of law. It was selfish and it was inhumane.

We are searching our surveillance footage to identify these individuals. Thank you to all of you who go out of your way to protect and support animals. And a special shout out to our staff members who work tirelessly for animals like these everyday.”

Ugh.

This is sick. These women could have made one phone call. One simple phone call. They could have surrendered the animals during shelter operating hours. This could have been done safely, and the kittens would have been cared for and treated and given new homes with loving adoptive humans.

But no. They had to be so fucking selfish and dump these poor kittens off in the middle of the night, leaving them without food or shelter or warmth. And some of the kittens weren’t even in boxes or carriers; they were just left to fend for themselves in unfamiliar surroundings, leaving them at the whims of predators or hypothermia. What, did they think that one night in the outdoors would make these kittens suddenly survival experts?

What those three women did was animal abuse, plain and simple. They had a choice to do this the right way. They not only chose the WRONG way, but they did it in the most cruel, inhumane and shameful way possible.

And cheers to the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society, who came back after hours to rescue as many kittens as they could. I don’t think the kittens are ready or available for adoption yet, but if you want to help with the cost of care for these little treasures – as well a for all the dogs, cats and other pets that are looking for their “forever home” at the Humane Society, please visit their homepage at this link, and donate whatever you can.

And as I said before … bring them your bottles and cans. They raised over $190,000 in bottle and can redemption in 2021 alone. That pays for a lot of food and medicine and care.

A shelter pet is just as loyal and loving as a store-bought pet.

And they’ll love you as much as you love them.