On Sunday, an animal control officer in Muncie, Indiana, came across a heartbreaking sight.
Abandoned next to a local river stood a wire crate, covered in blankets, according to photos shared on a GoFundMe. And inside that crate, the officer found 15 cats of various ages crammed together.
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The entire bottom of the cage was covered with cats, some of them just a week old. There was no food, no water, no way for the animals to save themselves and no chance of survival if someone hadn’t come along at just the right time.
The sad find prompted Muncie Animal Care and Services to post about the discovery to encourage people to do the right thing and to ask the public for help.
“SEEKING INFORMATION,” MACS shared the day the cats were found. “One of our Animal Control Officers just found 15 cats/kittens (some as young as 1 week-old) dumped in a crate by the river near Reynard Rd. This is unacceptable!!
“The shelter is already over capacity by 100 cats (we have 400 cats in our care!!!) We have been waiving reclaim fees, and our adoption fees are $5 currently. We are doing all we can to help every animal, but the community also has to do its part! Please get your pets spayed and neutered. There are resources out there.
“Dumping ANY animal in a cage with absolutely nothing is cruel, inhumane, and anyone who does it needs held accountable.
“We are urging anyone with information to come to the shelter during business hours and fill out a witness statement.”
Along with being over capacity, the group expressed its dire need for basics such as cat and kitten food, toys, food bowls and blankets, as well as volunteers to help with care. With the influx of the 15 newbies, they also created a GoFundMe to help with their costs.
So far, people across the United States have heard the call and responded, with the fundraiser receiving $11,000 so far out of its original $1,500 goal.
The cash will certainly help, but Ethan Browning, the director of MACS, stressed that the issue is a local one, and only the community will be able to make the ultimate difference needed.
“This is not a shelter or rescue problem; this is a community problem,” he told WXIN-TV. “The community has got to step up and do the right thing. Stop irresponsible breeding accidents and backyard breeding as a source of income. Spay and neuter your animals.
“Do your research if you are planning to take on a pet, know what you need and how to train them and understand that it is a commitment, not a temporary novelty.”
Browning added that stronger action must be taken against people who find themselves in possession of too many animals.
“Hoarders need professional help to prevent the situation from happening again, and if that takes pressing charges to get court-ordered therapy, then that is what we need to do,” he said.
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On the MACS original post, people have offered to adopt some of the cats and kittens once they’re ready for new homes. Hopefully the post will reach the people who need to see it, and more will help the cause by spaying and neutering their pets.
“These animals deserve better, and we as a community MUST do better,” the MACS post concluded. “Please share!!”
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
