A store owner was passing by a thrift shop near his own store and saw something sitting outside. The shop was still closed and didn’t open for another two hours. The store owner was about to walk past — until he realized it was a crate full of tiny babies.
The babies were kittens, somewhere between 6 and 8 weeks old. They were hungry, sick and curled up in a dirty crate, waiting for someone to notice them. The thrift shop actually belonged to the RSPCA, so the store owner contacted them immediately.
“How they got there and what their story is prior, we don’t know yet,” Natalie Archer, branch manager at RSPCA Canterbury and District Branch, said in a press release.
The kittens were transferred into the care of RSPCA Canterbury and District Branch and named Captain Pugwash, Mako, Pebble, Minnow Coral and Sailor. The two boys and four girls are doing well, and everyone is grateful the nearby store owner found them when he did.
“These kittens could have had a very different outcome if they had not been spotted early in the morning by a shopkeeper,” Archer said. “They are now safe in our care, but we would like to hear from anyone who has information about how they came to be at the shop.”
Kitten season was especially hectic for many shelters this year, and incidents like this highlight that, despite the arrival of fall, it’s not over yet.
“Kitten season doesn’t have a season anymore, and we are at full capacity all the time,” Archer said. “We urge anyone struggling to care for their animals to reach out to charities for help and support, rather than leaving animals in situations where they could come to harm.”
Thankfully, the kittens are safe now and will be put up for adoption when they’ve fully recovered from their ordeal.
