WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — It's a full house at the Lycoming County SPCA in Williamsport. There are a lot of animals there, especially cats. Earlier this week, some unexpected guests were dropped off at the shelter. Employees noticed a cat carrier by the front door while locking up for the night.
"They had difficulty lifting it," said executive director Alyssa Correll. "It was full of cats. They brought it in; we're guessing maybe ten cats. It was just an average-sized carrying crate, and in fact, there ended up being 18."
Eighteen cats and kittens were stuffed inside the crate.
"If they would have been in there for too long for how crammed they were, there was probably a risk they could have suffocated from compression."
Correll says the cats had upper respiratory infections, fleas and were dirty and hungry. Getting 18 unexpected new residents creates problems for the shelter.
Correll says the no-kill shelter can keep around 100 cats and has a waiting list which it cycles through as the animals are adopted.
"We vet them; we get them fixed up; we get them spayed and neutered. We make sure they're cleared on health. We get them microchipped and ready to go into a home, just like we do everybody else."
Correll says the SPCA is always willing to help. Even though it's usually at capacity, the SPCA can direct people to other resources in the community.
If you would like to help these cats, the Lycoming County SPCA is accepting donations of cat and kitten food and cat litter.
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