13 November 2015

Dumped kittens survive tip trip

| Canfan
Join the conversation
8
kittens

Two kittens have been found alive and well at the Materials Recovery Facility in Hume after being dumped in a kerbside recycling bin in Canberra, Minister for Territory and Municipal Services, Shane Rattenbury, said today.

“Staff at the Materials Recovery Facility spotted the kittens inside a box yesterday afternoon as it was making its way through the recycling process. Luckily they were found and removed from the facility before they were seriously hurt or killed,” Mr Rattenbury said.

kitten

“It is hard to believe that the two kittens have survived the journey from a kerbside recycling bin all the way to the facility in Hume as all garbage and recycling materials are compressed inside the collection vehicles.

“Despite the distressing journey these kittens have endured, they are both unharmed and are being cared for appropriately. It is horrible to think someone has intentionally put the kittens in their bin. Unwanted cats and kittens may be surrendered to the RSPCA where they can be re-homed to a new family who will love and care for them.

kittens 2

“Acts of violence towards animals, animal neglect and even psychological harm are all forms of animal cruelty. People with information or who have witnessed animal cruelty cases should report it to Access Canberra on 13 22 81 or RSPCA-ACT on 6287 8100.”

Mr Rattenbury reminded the community that pet owners are responsible for the health and wellbeing of their companion animals including ensuring they are desexed and microchipped.

“Desexing your cat is essential in the ACT to reduce the number of neglected and abandoned cats,”
Mr Rattenbury said.

“In the ACT it is compulsory to desex your cat unless it is under three months old, was born prior to June 2001 or you have a special permit.

“In addition to desexing, all cats in the ACT must be microchipped. Microchipping is an effective way for animal shelters and vets to identify lost dogs and cats for quick return to their owners. Cats can be microchipped by the RSPCA or any veterinarian.”

RSPCA ACT Chief Executive Tammy Ven Dange echoed the call for responsible pet ownership.

“Last financial year, we had 335 unwanted puppies and 1159 unwanted kittens enter the Shelter. And at the moment, we are completely full of unwanted kittens and puppies again,” said Ms Ven Dange.

“There’s an easy way to fix this issue by owners getting their pets desexed. Not only will this reduce the number of unwanted animals in our community, it also decreases the risk of future health issues and can help with behavioural problems with their pets too. Our RSPCA ACT vet clinic has payment plans available to suit any budget. So, there really is no good excuse for an owner to allow their pets to have unwanted offspring,” she concluded.

Join the conversation

8
All Comments
  • All Comments
  • Website Comments
LatestOldest
wildturkeycanoe8:29 pm 06 Nov 15

Has this incident caused some sort of issues with regular recycling collection? Friday night and the bins still haven’t been collected. There’s nowhere to put all the rubbish now, I’ve shoved as much as will fit in the big bin with the yellow lid [no kittens].

HiddenDragon6:00 pm 06 Nov 15

Alexandra Craig said :

Grimm said :

Seriously?
There’s absolutely nothing to suggest that these kittens were deliberately put in a box and thrown in a recycling bin.

“It is hard to believe that the two kittens have survived the journey from a kerbside recycling bin all the way to the facility in Hume as all garbage and recycling materials are compressed inside the collection vehicles.”

Very hard to believe indeed. Probably just a couple of feral kittens that were born around the facility and got into a box. A much more likely scenario than surviving being compressed in the truck.

They’re not feral kittens from looking at the photos. Feral kittens would be fearful, hissing, spitting, wide eyed, and overall extremely frightened. These kittens look very relaxed about sitting on someone’s lap in the top photo and the fact that they’re not sleeping together shows they feel safe. If they were scared they’d be bunched up together and probably not sleeping while a human is around. And even if these photos were not taken the day they were rescued, the rehabilitation of feral kittens can take weeks and weeks of intensive socialisation and these little ones only look to be 3-4 weeks old.

Whatever their provenance, let’s hope they grow up to be as suave as Robinson (if that’s possible!).

Alexandra Craig said :

rubaiyat said :

The stupidity and unbounded self centred lack of empathy for fellow creatures never ceases to amaze me.

The worst often are people who describe themselves as “animal lovers” but just treat their pets as toys for their own enjoyment and discard them when they are bored with them.

Unfortunately these were probably from a larger litter and have siblings that are still with whomever did this to them.

They only look a few weeks old too so whoever is caring for them now will likely have to bottle feed them which can be a huge mission in itself as some kittens don’t take to the bottle as well as others do. I’m surprised they were discarded and not flipped off on Facebook for $30 which is a current moneymaking trend in Canberra at the moment.

They look old enough to lap to me, as they appear about five or six weeks old. That was the age in the past I have been given kittens at, and none had any trouble lapping.

Alexandra Craig said :

Grimm said :

Seriously?
There’s absolutely nothing to suggest that these kittens were deliberately put in a box and thrown in a recycling bin.

“It is hard to believe that the two kittens have survived the journey from a kerbside recycling bin all the way to the facility in Hume as all garbage and recycling materials are compressed inside the collection vehicles.”

Very hard to believe indeed. Probably just a couple of feral kittens that were born around the facility and got into a box. A much more likely scenario than surviving being compressed in the truck.

They’re not feral kittens from looking at the photos. Feral kittens would be fearful, hissing, spitting, wide eyed, and overall extremely frightened. These kittens look very relaxed about sitting on someone’s lap in the top photo and the fact that they’re not sleeping together shows they feel safe. If they were scared they’d be bunched up together and probably not sleeping while a human is around. And even if these photos were not taken the day they were rescued, the rehabilitation of feral kittens can take weeks and weeks of intensive socialisation and these little ones only look to be 3-4 weeks old.

That’s what I was thinking, and that there are only 2 and very young. If the mother was using the box as her nest they’d all be in there.

Alexandra Craig2:38 pm 05 Nov 15

Grimm said :

Seriously?
There’s absolutely nothing to suggest that these kittens were deliberately put in a box and thrown in a recycling bin.

“It is hard to believe that the two kittens have survived the journey from a kerbside recycling bin all the way to the facility in Hume as all garbage and recycling materials are compressed inside the collection vehicles.”

Very hard to believe indeed. Probably just a couple of feral kittens that were born around the facility and got into a box. A much more likely scenario than surviving being compressed in the truck.

They’re not feral kittens from looking at the photos. Feral kittens would be fearful, hissing, spitting, wide eyed, and overall extremely frightened. These kittens look very relaxed about sitting on someone’s lap in the top photo and the fact that they’re not sleeping together shows they feel safe. If they were scared they’d be bunched up together and probably not sleeping while a human is around. And even if these photos were not taken the day they were rescued, the rehabilitation of feral kittens can take weeks and weeks of intensive socialisation and these little ones only look to be 3-4 weeks old.

Seriously?
There’s absolutely nothing to suggest that these kittens were deliberately put in a box and thrown in a recycling bin.

“It is hard to believe that the two kittens have survived the journey from a kerbside recycling bin all the way to the facility in Hume as all garbage and recycling materials are compressed inside the collection vehicles.”

Very hard to believe indeed. Probably just a couple of feral kittens that were born around the facility and got into a box. A much more likely scenario than surviving being compressed in the truck.

Alexandra Craig1:51 pm 05 Nov 15

rubaiyat said :

The stupidity and unbounded self centred lack of empathy for fellow creatures never ceases to amaze me.

The worst often are people who describe themselves as “animal lovers” but just treat their pets as toys for their own enjoyment and discard them when they are bored with them.

Unfortunately these were probably from a larger litter and have siblings that are still with whomever did this to them.

They only look a few weeks old too so whoever is caring for them now will likely have to bottle feed them which can be a huge mission in itself as some kittens don’t take to the bottle as well as others do. I’m surprised they were discarded and not flipped off on Facebook for $30 which is a current moneymaking trend in Canberra at the moment.

The stupidity and unbounded self centred lack of empathy for fellow creatures never ceases to amaze me.

The worst often are people who describe themselves as “animal lovers” but just treat their pets as toys for their own enjoyment and discard them when they are bored with them.

Unfortunately these were probably from a larger litter and have siblings that are still with whomever did this to them.

Daily Digest

Want the best Canberra news delivered daily? Every day we package the most popular Riotact stories and send them straight to your inbox. Sign-up now for trusted local news that will never be behind a paywall.

By submitting your email address you are agreeing to Region Group's terms and conditions and privacy policy.