FERGUS -- Half a dozen kittens who were left in a recycling bin at a Tim Horton’s parking lot were rescued just in time.
The assistant manager of the Fergus, Ont. chain location found the six kittens last week.
“They just looked desperate,” said Samantha Bushey. “Like their eyes, they didn’t meow or anything, they just kept looking up at me.
“I’m just disgusted and upset. “I have not been able to get it out of my mind.”
Other staff members and a passerby also helped to get the kittens out.
Bushey says she is grateful for the timing of when they were found on the Tuesday, as the recycling bins are emptied every Thursday.
“They had been there for a little bit and were covered in their own urine,” she said.
A local charity shelter called Cats Anonymous Rescue and Adoption was able to pick up the kittens and clean them up.
“A couple of the smaller ones were dehydrated as well,” said Tish Walshe with the shelter. “They ate very happily and really calmed right down and cuddled together.”
Both the shelter and the Tim Horton’s staff say they are hoping to find out who left them there. If caught, the suspects could be charged with animal cruelty.
“They had no way of getting out [of the recycling bin], no way of trying to survive if they could,” said Walshe. “I understand that people do desperate things during desperate times, but there are rescue groups like ourselves.”
The shelter believes the kittens range in age from three to five weeks old and are from different litters. Now, they’re settling in well in two separate foster homes.
The names Hashbrown, Sprinkle, Blueberry, and Timmy were given to the cats due to the store they were found behind.
Cats Anonymous says the kittens will be available for adoption in the upcoming months.
