At 8:11am on September 21, 2017, a young woman driving a blue Ford Focus pulled into our parking lot, retrieved a cat in a partially packaged live trap from her back seat, and attempted to enter our building. When she realized we were not open yet, she stuffed the trapped cat halfway inside of a dog house in front of our shelter, facing the busy road.
A staff member arriving for work less than an hour later noticed the live trap sticking out of the dog house. Within that short amount of time, the terrified cat had bashed her face repeatedly against the wire trap, leaving her face covered in blood and her poor body shaking.
It didn’t take long for our staff member to realize that this was not a feral cat. As soon as she was rescued from the live trap, the cat clung to her savior and soon began purring despite her injuries. We named the blue-eyed beauty “Penelope” and got to work cleaning her up.
Not only is Penelope injured, she is also suffering from a minor upper respiratory infection and heavily pregnant. To make matters worse, Lenawee Humane Society is currently bursting at the seams with cats. We have no room for Penelope.
Penelope spent the night in a tiny holding cage in our intake office last night. However, we have no long term plan for her and the kittens who will be arriving soon.
We are desperately searching for an emergency foster family to take Penelope home as a temporary roommate. She’ll need a foster home for at least two months, until her unborn kittens are born. All medical care and supplies will be provided by LHS, we just need YOU to supply room, board and all the love Penelope can handle.
Many people may think the person who abandoned Penelope did the right thing by dropping her off at a safe place. However, leaving her in a trap near the sound of loud traffic, inside of a dog house on a stifling humid day, at an over-capacity animal shelter was not the right thing to do.
Lenawee Humane Society needs our community to work with us, not against us, in order for our organization to remain a resource for our community. Even when we have no available space at our shelter, we have other options to help you help the animals we know you care about. We will not euthanize another animal to make room for Penelope, but we will beg you to help us save her life because they ALL matter.
Please contact us at 517-263-3463 x112 to learn more about fostering Penelope. If you’re unable to foster, please consider a donation to help us care for Penelope and each of her kittens. You make miracles happen, and right now we need you more than ever.
If you have information or recognize the woman who abandoned Penelope, please contact us at 517-263-3463.
