AMHERST - Thirteen kittens from three litters and their mothers were found abandoned in plastic totes outside a local business Wednesday morning.
Wendy and Barry Blake came across the three storage bins as they entered Moneys Worth Liquidators at 7:30 a.m.
"When my husband and I came to work, we saw the three big totes all taped up. There was a hole in each one on the side for air and there was a bag of kitten food on top," Wendy said.
"Then we heard meowing."
Unsure of what to do, the couple waited for their other employees, including their daughter, to arrive before opening the bins.
"I wasn't sure what was going on," said Wendy, adding she wasn't there when they opened the containers.
"I didn't have the heart."
Inside each of the bins was one mother cat and a litter.
"The kittens weren't old enough to be taken away from their mother yet," added Wendy.
"It was very upsetting."
Not sure of what to do, the Blakes were eventually told they could take the cats to the Tantramar Veterinary Hospital in nearby Sackville, N.B., and would be seen by Dr. Gina Bradette.
"It was an unexpected surprise," the veterinarian said after checking the animals out.
"There were three females, the mothers, that were at the most a year old."
Bradette said two of the mothers were black cats. The other was grey.
"The first black mother had a litter of five kittens, that are only about seven to eight-days-old. I had to cut the umbilical cord on one of the kittens."
She said the second black mother cat had a litter of four kittens, roughly 14-days-old.
The grey mother had a litter of four as well, which were roughly four-weeks-old.
"They all seem to be in good shape," she said, noting one bin barely had enough air inside.
When contacted by the clinic, neither the LA Animal Shelter in Nappan nor the SPCA in Moncton had room for the animals. Bradette said the chances of the SPCA keeping kittens as young as the youngest litter was low.
"It just killed my heart," said Bradette of when she first knew of the cats being abandoned.
"My big worry is that whoever did this has taken no responsibility. You just don't do this."
Bradette said the three mother cats are totally tame, "very cuddly and social."
She and Wendy think whoever dropped the animals off, knew the Blakes, and felt they would look after the situation.
"They were right at the front door. I just don't understand why someone would leave them here," said Wendy.
She also can't understand why someone would have three unfixed females with three litters at the same time.
"I can understand their frustration, but I can't understand for the life of me why they would have three of them and leave them here. It doesn't make sense."
One reasoning, said Wendy, could be because it was a business and there would be someone to find the abandoned cats the next day.
Bradette also said someone in the community may know of who dropped them off.
"Whoever did it should be ashamed of themselves. To me, a life is a life, regardless of whether it's an animal.
"It's very upsetting."
rtetanish@amherstdaily.com
Good points Douglas. I only pointed out the error for people who might want to visit that specific vet because of her caring effort with the strays. The paper makes way to many mistakes. Dr. Bradet should be respected specially because of her good will, that's all.