HOULTON, Maine — Officials at the Ark Animal Sanctuary are rehabilitating an approximately 5-week-old kitten they believe may have been deliberately thrown into a trash can in Crystal.
The kitten was brought to the facility by a volunteer about three weeks ago after a couple from the rural community said they found it in a trash can that reeked of diesel fuel, according to Lorraine Monfils, director of Ark Animal Sanctuary.
“We were certainly glad they called us,” Monfils said Oct. 12. “I don’t see how that kitten could have gotten in there on its own. The trash can was two and a half to three feet tall, so that is pretty high for a kitten to climb into.”
Monfils said the kitten has been under the care of the facility since it was found and was a “walking skeleton,” weighing only 9 ounces when it arrived at the shelter in Houlton. It also was covered with fleas and was very cold and dehydrated. The diesel oil also has left the kitten bald in some places, said Monfils.
“We have had to watch it very carefully over the past few weeks,” she said. “We’ve been rehydrating it and giving it antibiotics. It was also not eating on its own.”
Now, she said, the kitten is “eating a lot” on its own and should be ready for adoption in a month. Some of its fur has started to grow back.
Monfils said she is confident that the kitten will soon have a full coat, as the skin under the fur was not damaged, she said.
The no-kill shelter in Houlton provides shelter and medical assistance to any animal in need, regardless of age and medical condition, that cannot otherwise be placed with a contracted facility.
