Kittens sleep in a pile near one of the adult "mama" kitties in Amy Vernarsky's spare bedroom on Sunday, May 27.
SEELEY LAKE – Seeley Lake resident Amy Vernarsky already owned four dogs and five cats. When she rescued 20 abandoned kittens and adult cats she had to clear out a spare bedroom to house them all.
"When my daughter saw the Facebook post [about the abandoned cats in the Morrell area], she wanted us to go get them," Vernarsky said. "And I was like 'Of course!'"
In total, there were three mother cats and 17 kittens of varying ages. The two youngest of the kittens, which Vernarsky estimated to be only one or two weeks old, both passed away. An older kitten of around nine weeks has already been adopted by a new home. This still leaves 16 cats in Vernarsky's spare room.
The cats are relatively healthy. Some have eye infections that simply need to be cleaned and given time in order to heal. The kittens are just beginning to come into their own personalities after almost a week at the Vernarsky's home.
"In a few weeks it will get really fun in here," Vernarsky said. "We won't let them go until they're spayed and neutered and have their first shots."
Animal Control offered to spay and neuter the cats for free, so the GoFundMe account her family set up will be put towards getting the cats their shots or addressing any other medical issues.
Vernarsky, who has rescued all her own animals from the pound or adopted from people who had unexpected litters, said she doesn't understand how someone could dump so many cats without a thought.
"With spay and neuter clinics all over, I just don't understand why people do what they do," she said. "If you don't want your animals, take them to the pound yourself, but don't dump them in prime bear country."
If you see or know of animals that have been abandoned, call Paws Up Animal Shelter 406-244-2552 or Missoula County Animal control at 406-541-7387. If you have animals that need to be spayed or neutered call the Montana Spay Hotline at 1-888-924-2346 for information on clinics in the area.
To donate through the GoFundMe site visit https://www.gofundme.com/5km0fcw
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