Cat in Mid-Labor Dumped, Only One Kitten Survives (WARNING: Graphic Content)
July 5th. Monday noon. Someone brought in a pregnant cat. Our front admin volunteer explained we could not take in the cat and gave the person information about other shelters/rescues who could help. When the admin volunteer was further informed that the cat was having birthing issues, she redirected said person to the clinic. The person left and the admin volunteer continued doing her administrative work.
“I should’ve kept my eye on them as they left,” the admin volunteer said, “but I had incoming calls and work I needed to get done.”
The pregnant cat was abandoned in a carrier outside our lobby doors. She was still in mid-labor in almost 100 degree Fahrenheit temperatures. As one of our staff members was leaving early for the day, they noticed the carrier and immediately brought it inside. We estimate the carrier had been outside for at least an hour.
Dumping an animal is an illegal act.
The pregnant cat has been named Pie, and we were not sure of her survival. When we opened her carrier, we were greeted with a foul stench. Pie had given birth to one kitten who is alive but there was a still born kitten coated in blood and tissue.
As we transferred Pie and her kittens from the carrier to a clean towel, we realized there were roaches in the carrier.
Our vets were on lunch but we knew that emergency care was needed. However, we all knew she was bleeding more than was normal. Even if emergency surgery was performed, we wondered if Pie would survive. She was tired.
The kitten that survived looked just like Pie; the kitten kept mewling and crawling to its mother, looking for warmth. Like the strong mother she is, Pie nestled and hugged her kitten to her, even as she continued to weaken. We have named the surviving kitten, Cool Whip.
Pie and Cool Whip, a strong mother-daughter duo.
“We’ll do our best to help this family,” Maritza Lopez, our Cat Care Supervisor, said, “but we’re already at max capacity. This didn’t need to happen.”
With kitten season in full force, shelters in general are reaching capacity or over capacity just from the sheer numbers of orphaned kittens being brought in or rescued. If we could, we would help every animal that needed us.
However, we’re also limited to how many animals we can safely and healthily house in our facilities. With kitten season now upon us, we receive so many calls informing us about orphaned or injured kittens being found and believe us when we say we would help everyone if we could.
When we tell someone we cannot help them, their pet, or the animals they found, it’s not because we don’t want to help you! Our resources and funds are not unlimited, as much as we wish that were the case.
Currently, Pie is recovering well, and so is her kitten Cool Whip. Such an affectionate cat, Pie loves to be petted and her little dollop of Cool Whip is being well taken care of by this momma. To stay updated on their recovery journey, please follow us on social media.
We do not condone illegal dumping of animals. If you don’t have the ability to care for a cat, whether it’s yours or strays you’ve found, please look to the community for resources! Although shelters may be spread thin due to kitten season, you never know when someone in the community will have the resources to assist.
To help us care for Pie and Cool Whip, please consider making a donation, monetary or in-kind. Your donation goes to help us be able to care for cats and kittens in these situations. Any funds we receive means we have more funds for emergency cases that arrive at our front doors.