Rescue Becomes Even More Urgent

Bleach poisoning, burns discovered on latest rescued kittens and cats.

On April 4, the RAPS rescue team returned to the location of our ongoing rescue operation.

In the time since we last attended the premises, conditions have deteriorated dramatically.

Read the earlier post about the initial discovery and first rescue efforts.

Rescue operations like these take time because we need to ensure that we have the capacity – veterinary services, fostering accommodations, resources – to ensure the animals are cared for after they are rescued. In addition, the magnitude of this rescue, with dozens of cats, many of them hidden and all of them unsocialized and frightened, means it takes a great deal of time to trap them. In addition, during our absence, the resident had interfered with our traps.

When we returned, there was an overpowering smell of bleach mixed with the urine and feces that have permeated the home. One of the bedrooms was so hot and saturated with urine that the team could hardly breathe.

There were no litter boxes on the premises.

The cats had nowhere to hide, scratch, defecate or behave like normal cats.

We realized that the resident had strewn bleach throughout the home, presumably to address the overwhelming stench of urine and feces. Predictably, the bleach interacted with the ammonia in the urine and created a toxic chemical compound that has burned the skin of kittens and cats and endangered their respiratory health.

Many of the cats have temporary and possibly permanent neurological impacts, leading to some of them to having tremors and hind-end weakness. Some of what we thought were cases of Cerebellar Hypoplasia, a congenital condition in which the cerebellum, which controls coordination and balance, is underdeveloped. We now suspect poisoning at the cause of the unsteady gait of some of the animals.

One kitten is suffering from all of these conditions, experiencing bloody diarrhea, has severe burns in her paw pads and legs, has tremors in her back end making it difficult to walk and is drooling.

Kitten with ulcerated eye. The cats were neglected and are unsocialized.

In addition, these cats have had no veterinary medical attention and so many have underlying conditions on top of the urgent poisoning crisis. One kitten has an ulcerated eye. Some of the animals are experiencing bloody diarrhea, one is bleeding from her vulva and another is urinating blood. We continue to assess each animal and deliver the medical attention they require.

Kitten foster homes are needed.

We believe there are three cats remaining in the home and we are returning to rescue these remaining animals.

The situation of these animals was horrendous is countless ways. In addition to the immediate medical emergencies, the broader and longer-range neglect and abuse these cats and kittens have experienced is significant.

Because the home has effectively no furniture, there was nowhere “normal” for these unsocialized animals to hide, which is a natural and necessary response.

These cats were hiding in cupboards, drawers and closets. A half a dozen animals squished themselves under the dishwasher. The rescue team member who captured these animals reports shocking, grotesque conditions in that location.

In addition to being unable to hide or use litter boxes, these cats and kittens lacked opportunities to scratch or engage in other routine behaviours. This will have added significantly to their distress.

Several cats squished themselves under a dishwasher. Many had chemical burns.

This will be an ongoing rehabilitation initiative.

Our team has decades (centuries, all tolled) of responding to emergencies – but we have never witnessed this degree of neglect and trauma.

This level of distress can be tied to the fact that they are unable to express normal behaviors for cats. Hiding, perching, scratching are all stress-relieving behaviours, and none of these natural outlets were available to the animals at this home. The kittens are even scared of toys.

Some of our team members who went into the house are experiencing emotional distress because of the conditions that these cats were living in and because of the anguish that some of these cats are still experiencing.

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Many cats are experiencing respiratory distress from inhaling toxins.

Many of the animals have underlying conditions.

We are grateful for our community for stepping up to help us save these kittens from this horrible situation. This will be an ongoing medical emergency and rehabilitation initiative. Your financial support is urgently needed to continue this work. Experienced kitten foster homes are also needed. Click here to learn more about fostering opportunities.

NOTE: Animal cruelty investigators have been notified. RAPS takes seriously our responsibility to rescuing animals, but we have no investigative authority. We have also notified provincial social services to ensure the humans in this situation have their needs met.