5 Kittens Abandoned Behind Woodbridge Liquor Store

Woodbridge, NJ - A woman found a box of five kittens abandoned behind a liquor store Sunday in Woodbridge, said Heather Campione, manager of the Woodbridge Animal Shelter.

The woman found the box behind Downtown Liquors on Rahway Avenue. The store is now working with Woodbridge Police and the Woodbridge Animal Shelter to review security cameras to determine who left them, as abandoning domesticated animals to die in a public place is a crime, Campione said.

At first, the woman who found them brought the kittens home and tried to care for them herself. But all five are so young that they still need to be bottle-fed every two hours, which can quickly become overwhelming, Campione said. She contacted the Woodbridge shelter, which found a foster group to take the kittens in and care for them until they get a bit bigger.

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"If people find kittens that cannot eat on their own, we recommend leaving them with the mother until they are four weeks of age," Campione advised. Leave them be, she said, but keep a careful eye out for the mother cat to return. "Their best chance of survival is always with their mother."

However, if you haven't seen the mother cat in more than 24 hours, or if you find kittens that seem older than four weeks, i.e., are able to walk on their own and eat solid food, at that point it's best to bring them into the animal shelter, she said.

"Call the shelter at (732) 855-0600 because we would also like to be able to TNR (trap, neuter, return) the mom to prevent more kittens from being born," she said. "We work closely with Whiskers Rescue to provide TNR services to Woodbridge Township, so the service would be provided at no cost to the resident."

Photo of the abandoned kittens courtesy Woodbridge Animal Group