Kitten Rescue

Yesterday, June 28th, the Toronto Humane Society received a call at about 4:00pm. An employee from the Toronto District School Board called in saying she heard meowing from one of the dumpsters behind the school. Two of our staff were immediately dispatched to the site.

When we arrived, we started digging through the dumpster and removing garbage bags to eventually find a white plastic bag tied up at the bottom of the dumpster. This bag was underneath all kinds of debris which raised further concern in case the garbage collapsed and crushed the kittens inside the bag. There were four black and white kittens in the bag (soaking wet and umbilical cords still in tact) but they were all still alive! The kittens are now recovering in the Toronto Humane Society Veterinary Hospital.

IRENE THOMAIDIS SUN MEDIA Jun 30, 2009

The fate of five newborn kittens was described as "touch and go" by a humane society official yesterday after the felines were rescued from the bottom of a dumpster over the weekend.

A Toronto District School Board employee called the humane society Sunday after she heard meowing coming from a dumpster at Central Technical School, on Bathurst St., near Bloor St.

Toronto Humane Society staffers went to the scene and found the kittens in a white, plastic bag at the bottom of the dumpster.

"It's horrific, absolutely deplorable that someone could do this," THS spokesman Ian McConachie said. "They were found soaking wet, with their umbilical cords attached under piles of debris."

The kittens are no more than a few days old.

(--Continued from home page--) 'BRING THEM IN'

"If you're that desperate to get rid of them, bring them in to us," McConachie said.

He advised people to keep kittens with their mother for the first seven to eight weeks, but stressed owners should "never resort to abandoning them in a dumpster."

The humane society is "cross-fostering" the newborns with a mature cat which is nursing them in addition to her own litter.

While they appear to be recovering and are moving around a lot, their condition is still "touch and go," McConachie said.

They will be up for adoption mid-August. Meanwhile, the THS will be holding its Canada Day Kitten Adoption Blitz, from July 1 to 5.

"Many of the other kittens that have been raised through our nursery are now ready for adoption and we want to find these lovable little creatures a forever home," McConachie said.

There are more than 400 cats up for grabs. There are no adoption fees, but donations are requested.

Click here to read the entire story online at torontosun.com