Woman Walking Dog Finds Box of Abandoned Kittens Taped Shut

A woman who was walking her dog in Mystic on Tuesday made a shocking discovery when she found two kittens inside of a cardboard box that was taped shut.

Groton police said the dog alerted the woman to the box in the area of Quaker Farm and Lambtown Roads.

“When the dog went closer to it, the box started meowing,” Lt. John Varone, of the Groton Town Police Department, said.

The woman turned the animals over to authorities, who said the approximately three-month-old male and female kittens appear to be healthy despite their circumstances.

Officials from Groton Animal Control said this kind of discovery is upsetting because there are alternatives for pet owners who can’t care for their animals.

“My first reaction is shock. Anybody could’ve called. I would’ve taken these kittens in,” Christine O’Brien, animal control officer for the Town of Groton, said.

Police are now trying to figure out who left the cats and why.

“We don’t know, we don’t like to presume. We just want to find out whose kittens they are and why they were left there,” Varone said.

The kittens will continue to receive medical attention before being can be offered for adoption, but animal control thinks it’ll be easy to find forever homes for the animals because of their lovable demeanor.

“They’re wonderful playful kittens. They were definitely somebody’s pet at some point,” O’Brien said. 

If police identify the animals’ owner and determine they were intentionally abandoned, that person could face animal cruelty charges, which are misdemeanors punishable by jail time and fines.

If you have any information about the kittens, call Groton Police. 

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