EATON COUNTY, Mich. (WLNS) — If it wasn’t for a Dimondale couple, 12 newborn kittens may not have survived being thrown from a truck.

The kittens were abandoned last week when a couple saw someone throw what they thought was a bag into a ditch on Billwood Highway and Canal Road in Dimondale.

After investigating, the two found the newborns wrapped in a wet blanket and covered in fleas.

The kittens were taken to Saved by Zade, a non-profit that finds care for cats in mid-Michigan.

Though the 12 kittens are safe and being cared for, bills are adding up.

“Dumping some kittens out in a wet blanket on the side of the road, that’s not a fix for this issue,” Jodi Scrader, the director of Saved by Zade said. “It’s extremely disappointing.”

Schrader learned about the abandoned kittens after seeing a Facebook post made by the couple who found them.

The couple, who asked to stay anonymous, saw someone throw what they thought was trash out of a car near their property. After an hour, the two decided to check things out.

Apparently, some of the kittens still had umbilical cords attached to them.

  • Do you know who abandoned these furry felines? If so, the Eaton County sheriff’s office could use your help.
  • Do you know who abandoned these furry felines? If so, the Eaton County sheriff’s office could use your help.
  • Do you know who abandoned these furry felines? If so, the Eaton County sheriff’s office could use your help.
  • Do you know who abandoned these furry felines? If so, the Eaton County sheriff’s office could use your help.
  • Do you know who abandoned these furry felines? If so, the Eaton County sheriff’s office could use your help.

Schrader said that animal dumping is more common than one would expect, but also illegal.

“It could’ve been {that} they never got their animal spayed and neutered and of course, this has happened,” she said. “There’s a lot of animals being dumped though out in the community we hear about it all the time.”

While Saved by Zade rescued more than 1,800 felines in 2022, 12 more can definitely be added to that list.

Holly Thoms, the director of Capitol Area Humane Society Spay Neuter Clinic, said the kittens are lucky, as they probably would have died if they had not been found.

Even in foster care, the newborns still need 24-hour monitoring without their mom.

Since the dumping, no one has contacted police or animal control, leaving the culprit’s identity a mystery.

Anyone who may have information regarding the truck driver who dumped the kittens is asked to contact the Eaton County Sheriff’s Office at 517-543-3512.

If anyone wants to help with the kittens’ vet bills, click here.

Thoms added that anyone who suspects animal abuse or neglect should contact their local animal control office.