“He had no idea how long they had been there.”
Alone at the end of a driveway on a busy road in Washington, a family of animals huddled together inside a taped-up cardboard box, growing hotter by the minute. With no way out, the family began panting, trying to regulate their body temperatures.
Luckily for this wayward group, the driveway where they’d been abandoned belonged to a Good Samaritan, who took one look at the box and knew something was wrong.
HSMC
Opening a small corner of the box, the man spotted a mother cat and her litter of kittens inside. Startled, he rushed them to The Humane Society of Mason County (HSMC).
“He was overwhelmed with concern for them because it was expected to be over 80 degrees [Fahrenheit] that day,” a representative from the humane society told The Dodo. “He had no idea how long they had been there.”
HSMC
Working through the layers of tape, rescuers tried to steady their racing hearts.
“We were nervous to look inside, fearing for the condition of the cats,” the representative said. “It took longer than we would like … Finally, when the box was opened, we found that all of the animals were alive and, though they were dehydrated and hot, they were fairly alert. What a relief!”
Rescuers moved the mama cat and her five kittens into the capable hands of their veterinary team. The tired family quickly relaxed and gratefully accepted the help.
HSMC
“The cats calmed down as they cooled off, and they were happy to have food and water given to them,” the representative said.
Rescuers had no problem finding a suitable name for each member of the family.
“The cats came to us during the Summer Olympics, and after all they endured, they certainly earned the names of champions,” the representative said. “The mom was named after Katie Ledecky, and the babies were named after Simone Biles, Steven Nedroscik, Suni Lee, Noah Lyles and Michael Phelps.”
HSMC
Once cleared, the kittens moved to a local cat cafe, where they were quickly adopted into their new families. Their mom, Katie, lived in a foster home for awhile before connecting with a family of her own.
Caryn Salakpa
Safe and cared for, these cats don’t have to worry about making it on their own ever again.
