KALAMAZOO, Mich. — A Kalamazoo charity is caring for a 5-week-old kitten after they say she was thrown out of a vehicle during heavy traffic.
Kalamazoo Animal Rescue says a Good Samaritan brought her in after the incident.
"This lady comes running in saying that this little girl had been tossed from a car on Sprinkle Road," says Shelter Coordinator Kelly Fischer. "And then she hurried up and scooped her up and brought her into us."
Despite what the kitten has been through, the rescue says she is in fairly good shape.
"She didn't have any real injuries from it," says Fischer. "She's just got an upper respiratory and she's a little underweight."
We’re told the rescue is currently at maximum capacity with kittens but is doing what it can to make room for their new arrival while they do what they can to keep her healthy.
"We're gonna give her lots of love and attention, lots of good food, get her on some antibiotics for her upper respiratory," says Fischer, who adds the kitten will be up for adoption in about a month.
Unfortunately, disposal of animals is something that occurs far too frequently.
"Kalamazoo County Animal Control is a very good and nice facility to take them to if it's a last resort, and people don't like to do it," Fischer explains. "So instead they just toss them out."
Part of the problem stems from an overpopulation of cats. Kalamazoo Animal Rescue says spaying and neutering would greatly help reduce incidents of animal cruelty,
"We have three different veterinarians that we work with, to do low-cost spay and neuter with, like, Animals Best Friend, and some of the other local shelters like St. Joe County, and Harbor Humane up in Holland, to help get the population under control," says Fischer. "If we could get more animals spayed and neutered, we could eliminate a lot of this."
The rescue says there are three ways people can help.
"We always need more fosters," says Fischer. "Money is always a big thing. You know, we need cat food, we need cat litter, dog food, that kind of stuff. Just donations and time." She says volunteers are also helpful.
Visit the rescue's website to find out how you can help. Follow their Facebook page for more.