Brooke Seguin and Arwyn, the kitten she found in the backyard of her home on Craig Henry Drive. (Waubgeshig Rice/CBC)
OTTAWA, CANADA – Residents of a west Ottawa neighborhood are taking in kittens they claim were thrown out with the garbage.
Neighbours believe as many as eight kittens, including this one, were abandoned in a garbage collection area on Craig Henry Drive. (Waubgeshig Rice/CBC)
On Thursday, Brooke Seguin discovered a tiny white kitten in her backyard in the city’s Craig Henry Drive neighbourhood near Woodroffe Avenue and Knoxdale Road.
“I originally posted lost kitten posters,” she stated. “Somebody else had also found a kitten in the area, and we got together, we talked around. We originally thought they had been abandoned.”
Word spread throughout the entire neighborhood, and another Craig Henry resident reported taking in two more kittens, for a total of four. But it didn’t end there.
“Somebody who was talking to the garbage man confirmed that they had found five to eight kittens in a bag,” Seguin went on to say. “When the garbage man came, they all ran in different directions, scared as heck. So far I know that four of them had been found. But that still leaves one to four that are missing.”
Seguin claims she notified the city’s bylaw department and the Ottawa Humane Society. A spokesperson for the Humane Society said that while she can’t comment on any specific investigations, staff will look into cases of animal abandonment, and if someone has information to provide, they’re certainly urged to call 613-725-3166 ext. 224.
‘It’s outrageous and it’s maddening’
The garbage collection area where neighbours believe the kittens were abandoned. (Waubgeshig Rice/CBC)
Despite messages posted to Facebook and Reddit, no one has come forward to claim the kittens, according to Seguin, bolstering residents’ theory that someone was attempting to dispose of the animals like garbage.
“Because it’s a populated area, and multiple different homes leave their garbage in the same location, so we have different garbage stations around the courts… generally when people do abandon kittens, it’s not in their own area,” she stated.
The story has also upset other neighbors. “It’s outrageous, and it’s maddening,” states Linda Renaud. “How could they? They’re just babies. There are so many websites for free cats, and that’s all they had to do.”
And Seguin agrees. “It’s unfortunate that somebody felt the need to leave them in a garbage,” she stated.
Neighbors hope that by spreading the word, any other kittens remaining will be found. In the meantime, Seguin has decided to keep the kitten that just “showed up” in her backyard, which she has named “Arwyn.”
“She’s clearly affectionate. She follows me around the house,” Seguin stated.
Neighbour Linda Renaud (left) calls the incident “outrageous” and “maddening.” (Waubgeshig Rice/CBC)
