Crowd Turns Out to Adopt ​‘Box’ Kittens

There was a line waiting when the doors of Branford Compassion Club opened on Saturday morning.

On Thursday, 10 kittens had been found in front of a donation bin at Lowe’s on Foxon Road in New Haven in a carton that previously held a child’s toy. The discovery led to a media blitz, and outrage that someone could have abandoned them.

BCC came to the rescue and took in the kittens, who are approximately 5 to 6 weeks old. A vet-check determined that they were in good health.

Pat Cotton, a foster mom and BCC volunteer said there was an ​“amazing outpouring” of interest in the kittens. She said there are applications and deposits on all 10 kittens, plus another 23 already in foster care.

“The phone was ringing off the hook,” she said, adding that BCC also received about 150 emails.

Amid the Fradiano fever in Guilford, Cotton said a single gray kitten was found in a van. BCC also took him in.

Healthy But Thin

Cotton said the kittens found Thursday were ​“remarkably healthy, but thin.” They appear to have come from two or three litters. Five are slightly larger than their buddies. Among the little rescues are three orange kitties, a black and white, and a couple of calicos and a tabby and white.

On Saturday, people came from all over the state, Cotton said. At one point 40 or 50 people were at BCC’s facility on Foxon Road in North Branford.

Cotton explained that the adoption fee for BCC kittens is $150, but that it cost twice that amount to get a kitten ready for adoption. BCC’s kittens and cats are fully vetted before they’re adopted out and that includes vaccinations, de-worming, treatment for any medical problems, and spay or neutering. Kittens are especially susceptible to upper respiratory illnesses.

Cotton can’t stress enough the need for donation to help care for the kittens (and the other cats cared for by BCC), including Purina One kitten food, poultry pate (turkey or chicken), Fancy Feast turkey for kittens in cans. There’s an ongoing need for clumping and non-clumping litter, bedding and toys, cleaning supplies, and of course, cash.

Cotton said there’s no update on whom the kittens belonged to. ​“At least they were found,” she said. ​“Many of our kittens come from bad places and don’t make the news.”

Sadly, there’s little protection for abandoned felines. Animal control officers are not obligated by law to pick up stray cats and municipals shelters are often overcrowded. As a result, their care falls to volunteer organizations such as the BCC. Cotton said the maximum number of cats cared for by BCC in its facility is about 30. A network of volunteers, including Cotton, care for kittens and nursing moms; young kittens need constant care and supervision along with socialization.

At the end of the day, five kittens went to one foster home and the other five to another for several weeks until the little castaways are deemed ready for their new loving homes. They’ll have no idea how lucky they were to be rescued.

Information on making donations can be found on BCC’s website, www.branfordcompassionclub.org, or you can stop by 2037 Foxon Road, North Branford, on Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

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