Wednesday May 28th A mid-morning phone call from a caring person in Nimbin: two very young kittens found in ‘an Aldi type’ bag on a quiet country road in the Nimbin area. A quick networking and arranging for kittens to be brought to a Lismore Vet Clinic and then picked up/transported to cat carer in Alstonville.
The kittens (two healthy, friendly tiny 4-5 week-old boys) are obviously not feral/wild, but the unwanted product of someone not desexing their pet and then ‘getting rid’ of the kittens. The fact that the two kittens were found on a quiet country road is of major concern; the bag not being tied up also means the strong possibility of other kittens getting out and wandering away. If there were other kittens in that bag let’s hope they were found, or have died quickly and are not dying a painful, lingering death of starvation.
Aside from the legal issues of dumping/abandonment, there are the ethical and moral issues of dumped kittens/cats becoming feral and decimating wildlife; and the trauma of young kittens being wrenched away from their mother and left to die a potentially slow and cruel death (starvation). Who on earth would inflict this on a living creature?
I was extremely upset when collecting these two kittens, because of their very young age and vulnerability. Why do such a callous, cold-blooded thing? Were there other kittens, are they still alive? Why not call a vet for advice, or a local animal rescue group, or council?
Do the human ‘caregivers’ of mum cat even care? Kittens should not leave mum before eight weeks minimum – let alone at five weeks and in a bag! There are lots of avenues for advice and help with unwanted litters of kittens and puppies, and help with desexing of cats and dogs.
I am a ‘glass half full’ person most of the time, but today I felt some people really don’t give a damn, and I feel not just half empty but very empty.
Michela Brown, Alstonville, volunteer with Northern Rivers Animal Services
