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Cats Abandoned on Coldest Night |
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by Maggie Thomas
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Friday, 08 January 2010 |
 Steve Zimmerman arrived home from his job at Gimme! Coffee about 10:00 Saturday night. The temperature was a frigid 7°. He noticed a large plastic container near the road in front of his Linn Street home. The container's top had blown off and was resting nearby. Realizing that trash and recycling pick-up was not scheduled for the next day, he investigated.
He was dismayed to find three adult cats, alive but half-frozen. He called the police and then called his friend Helen Clark - who works at the SPCA and is an experienced cat foster mom - for help. Zimmerman's neighbor, Robert Weaver, was willing to house the cats for the weekend, but worried how they would react to his dog - and vice versa.
Clark contacted the SPCA's Executive Director Abigail Smith
immediately and two of the cats spent the weekend thawing out in her
bathroom. The third, a pale orange cat, took flight when his rescuers
approached and has not yet been found. Zimmerman and Clark are setting
out food for this cat and have set a humane trap in hopes they will
be able to save him, too.
The container had no food or
blankets. Zimmerman says that it was not at his house when he left
seven hours earlier, but it was clear the cats had been trapped in the
container for some time. Clark reported that the cats were covered in
snow and frozen urine.
Zimmerman says he is "disappointed
that someone would do this." Clark says one of the cats is very
friendly (Josephine, pictured above with Clark), while the other is
still getting used to being at the shelter.
Abandonment
of a companion animal is an act of cruelty. Anyone with information
about this case is encouraged to contact the SPCA's Humane Investigator
This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it
or by calling the SPCA at (607)
257-1822.
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