Kittens arrive after fleeing Hurricane Ian zone; donations needed
By Stephanie Santostasi
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ARDEN, North Carolina (WLOS) — Nearly a dozen kittens from Florida arrived early Thursday morning in the mountains, the latest refugees to the area from Hurricane Ian.
A van rolled up carrying the animals to the Esther Neonatal Kitten Alliance in Arden around 7:30 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 6.
Right now, many shelters in Florida need to make room for animals found after Hurricane Ian so those animals can be reunited with their owners.
“All rescuers are always very concerned about the animals in situations like that every time there’s a hurricane, a large fire — anything— we’re always very concerned about the animals that are affected,” said Andee Bingham, executive director of the Esther Neonatal Kitten Alliance.
The Esther Neonatal Kitten Alliance was formed in Arden three years ago.
Bingham said the staff is used to caring for young, newborn kittens, like the ones received from Florida, but these ones are fairly sick.
“We are dealing with some parasites. There’s some hair loss that might be ringworm. Some of them are underweight. Very dehydrated [and] have respiratory infections,” she told News 13.
Bingham said it could take several weeks for them to recover and for them to be ready for people to come and adopt them.
“We’re probably about a month away from these kittens being old enough and whether they’re gonna be ready at that time will depend on how quickly we can get them healthy. So, might end up being another month and a half,” she added.
All 11 of the kittens are from Manatee County in Florida.
If you’re interested in volunteering, fostering or donating money to help out the kittens, visit the link below:
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