An Ohio man has been charged with seven counts of animal cruelty after he allegedly left a mother cat and her kittens to die in a garbage container.
Jerry L. Hardy, 59, of Franklin Township is reported to have placed the mother cat and her eight kittens into a kennel, screwing it shut then placing the cage into a plastic bag and throwing the bag in the garbage. One of the kittens had already died by the time the little family was rescued.
Thankfully, a passerby heard the kittens meowing from inside the trash bag and contacted the Portage County Sheriff’s Office. The Portage Animal Protective League along with deputies responded to the scene last week where the League took the mother and the surviving kittens into their care. All were covered in fleas and had worms.
The Portage Animal Protective League posted an update on their Facebook community page on September 18
“One man’s trash really is another man’s TREASURE! So, we’ve named the mom and 7 babies (dumped in the trash) Treasure (mom), Sapphire, Ruby, Diamond, Opal, Onyx, Topaz, and Emerald. Thank you for all the name suggestions and loving words you sent to these sweet animals.
To be clear, there are 7 kittens. One passed away, not two. They are in a foster home getting lots of food, love and care. The babies are gaining weight, especially now that the fleas are no longer sucking the life from them. They have a ways to go, but things look good so far.
They are not yet available for adoption and will not be for some weeks. For now they are exactly where they need to be.”
If you want to help the APL care for this precious family you can donate by clicking here.
The APL was founded in 1955. Their mission is to shelter and find safe homes for injured, abused and abandoned animals, uphold and enforce all animal cruelty laws, reduce pet overpopulation through spay/neuter programs and to educate the community on the social responsibility associated with pet ownership.
