Cats and kittens abandoned in plastic containers on side of Alberta highway
CBC News | Posted: November 23, 2018 6:30 PM | Last Updated: November 24, 2018
'Other options out there for rehoming cats other than dumping them like garbage'
Update Nov. 24: The man who said he found the five cats and 10 kittens on the side a highway recanted his statement and now says he'd actually rescued the animals from a neglectful relative. Read the latest on this story here:
The original story appears below.
Animal rescue groups are looking to track down the owners of five cats and 10 kittens that were found on the side of a central Alberta highway this week.
The felines were rescued from plastic containers sealed with duct tape.
The two containers, which had air holes punctured in the plastic, were discovered by a passerby along the stretch of Highway 11 east of Red Deer between Stettler and Erskine, by the railroad tracks.
Saving Grace Animal Society rescued the animals and transferred them to the care of the Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society (AARCS) in Calgary.
According to a Facebook post by Saving Grace, the kittens were sitting in an inch of feces and urine when they were rescued.
Deanna Thompson, executive director for AARCS, said the animals are doing OK and the kittens are being treated for some respiratory illnesses.
"The adults actually look very healthy. They seem like they were someone's pet at some point. They're not underweight. They're very friendly," she said.
Thompson said they aren't sure exactly how long the cats were in the containers, but a note was sent to the organization saying someone in the area noticed those containers in the ditch on Monday but didn't take a closer look.
"We hear often of animals being abandoned, let loose on the side of the road, that sort of thing. But for someone to go to the extent of putting them in containers and then dropping them on the side of the road, we've never seen anything like this before," Thompson said.
"There are a lot of other options out there for rehoming cats other than dumping them like garbage."
Thompson said the cats will be held until they can determine whether or not the cats are owned by someone, then they will likely go up for adoption.
The Alberta SPCA is investigating.
- MORE CALGARY NEWS | Victim says she was gang raped as teens laughed, egged each other on
- MORE CALGARY NEWS | CP train conductor killed in workplace accident in downtown Calgary
- Read more articles by CBC Calgary, like us on Facebook for updates and subscribe to our CBC Calgary newsletter for the day's news at a glance