Westmoreland shelter seeking donations after cats, dogs rescued from hotel parking lot
A group of frightened cats hid in two kennels Wednesday at the Humane Society of Westmoreland County after they were rescued this week from vehicles parked outside an Allegheny County hotel.
The felines looked much better than they did Tuesday, when they were taken to the Hempfield shelter by Hoffman Kennels in Salem Township, said the Human Society’s executive director, Kathy Burkley.
“The cats were probably in the worst shape I’ve ever seen a cat in,” she said. “They were extremely dehydrated. They were covered with parasites.”
The shelter is seeking donations for the care of 14 cats and two small dogs it took in after the animals were picked up Monday by Hoffman Kennels. Four shelter workers spent six hours Tuesday bathing and vaccinating the frightened cats and treating them for fleas, Burkley said. They were all given fluids.
Sixteen cats and dogs were found Monday inside two vehicles parked at Comfort Inn & Suites on Gamma Drive, O’Hara Township, in below-freezing temperatures, according to Tribune-Review news partner WPXI-TV. Police were alerted by a hotel employee who overheard two women guests talk about the animals, the station reported. O’Hara police said the case was referred to humane investigations with Pittsburgh Animal Friends.
The owner surrendered the animals to the shelter.
“They were totally uncared-for in those kennels,” Burkley said.
One cat was dead in a cage, and a second one was euthanized after the rescue, Burkley said. The dogs appear to be rat terrier mixes. One lay curled up on a bed Wednesday wearing a red and green sweater while the other poked its nose out of a fence, sniffing its new environment.
Both were frightened and riddled with fleas, Burkley said.
All of the animals will eventually be made available for adoption.
Donations can be made through the Facebook post, online at members.petfinder.com/~PA83/donations.html or by mail to Humane Society of Westmoreland County, P.O. Box 1552, Greensburg, PA 15601.
Renatta Signorini is a TribLive reporter covering breaking news, crime, courts and Jeannette. She has been working at the Trib since 2005. She can be reached at rsignorini@triblive.com.
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