Pet store staff caring for kittens saved from trash during recent cold snap

Staff at a Toronto pet store are thanking the community for helping them care for a litter of abandoned kittens found in a nearby garbage can.

Katherine Yao, a sales associate at the North York Pet Valu says the kittens came to the staff’s attention after a customer arrived with some unusual questions, eventually telling them of her discovery.

“It just shows that there are good people out there … You get really sad when you hear stories about people throwing out kittens or puppies, or finding small animals outside like that,” says Yao.

She says the five kittens were found in the trash can during the recent cold snap in the area. According to Yao, the customer expressed concern about her ability to afford everything needed to care for the kittens.

Unfortunately, one of the five kittens found died shortly after being rescued.

Staff then decided in a store group chat to foster the litter until they were grown enough to be put up for adoption, in about eight to 10 weeks. A crowdfunding effort quickly raised over $1,300 to help pay for the associated expenses.

“Just doing well in general. Very energetic, super cute. I’m getting attached when I shouldn’t be,” says Mello, one of the employees fostering one of the kittens nicknamed Tabi.

Toronto Police told CityNews Sunday afternoon they were not made aware of the discovery and are not investigating.

Meanwhile, Mello says she encourages anyone overwhelmed by a new litter of kittens or finding animals in distress to seek help.

“You can contact your local animal rescues, Ontario SPCA, local cat rescues,” says Mello.

She adds while pet stores usually can’t facilitate rescues, they can be reached as a starting place to be directed to other resources.