Day After Kittens Left In Scorching Hot Car, PETA Has Safety Tips

RIDGE, NY — A day after two kittens were rescued from a hot car in Ridge, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has issued an urgent warning about the life-threatening dangers.

Since last year, PETA said, there have been at least 90 hot weather–related animal deaths — and those are just the ones that have been reported. Most aren't, PETA said.

On a 78-degree day, the temperature inside a parked car can soar to 100 degrees in just minutes, and on a 90-degree day, the interior temperature can reach as high as 109 degrees in less than 10 minutes, PETA said.

Cats, who can't sweat, and dogs, who don't sweat and can cool themselves only by panting, can rapidly succumb to heatstroke, even if a vehicle is parked in the shade with the windows slightly open, which has little to no effect on lowering the temperature inside, PETA said.

Law-enforcement officials across the country are also warning people of the dangers of hot weather. "Every year, we alert people to the danger of leaving children or pets inside cars in the summer," says Chief of Police James R. Kruger Jr. from Oak Brook, IL. "The temperature inside a vehicle climbs approximately 43 degrees in just an hour. The loss of a defenseless animal in this manner is avoidable and should never happen. There is no reason to take your pet out in extreme heat without adequate air conditioning and water."

If you see a cat or dog left alone in a hot car, call local humane authorities or the police; don't leave the scene until the situation has been resolved, PETA said. If the authorities are unresponsive or too slow and the animal's life appears to be in imminent danger, find a witness, or several, who will back up the assessment, then remove the suffering animal from the car and wait for authorities to arrive, PETA said.

PETA said it even offers an emergency window-breaking hammer for help with intervening in these life-or-death situations.

A Ridge woman was charged with confining two 8-week old kittens in a hot car, the Suffolk County SPCA said.

On Tuesday, Suffolk County SPCA detectives charged a Kimberly McKinley, 23, with confinement of companion animals in a vehicle in extreme temperatures; Ridge was charged with keeping her two kittens in her car, a violation.

The SPCA said they received a call Tuesday morning from MTA Police that kittens had been left in a vehicle at the Ronkonkoma train station.

The temperature outside at the time was 81 degrees at 9 a.m., the SPCA said. The kittens were left unattended in the car from 2 a.m. in the morning until the time the incident was reported at 9 a.m., the SPCA said. The kittens were removed from the vehicle and transported to Brookhaven Animal Shelter, the SPCA said.

McKinley is scheduled to appear in First District Court in Central Islip on September 16, the SPCA said.

"The Suffolk County SPCA has been continuously reminding people that leaving an animal in a car can lead to a tragedy," the SPCA said in a release. "Many animals left in vehicles unattended have died from complications of exposure. Animals have a hard time staying cool, leaving them extremely vulnerable to heatstroke and or death. Avoid this unnecessary tragedy."

SPCA Chief Roy Gross said that animal cruelty will not be tolerated in Suffolk County. Anyone who witnesses any incident of animal cruelty or neglect in Suffolk County, or has any information about any cases, is asked to contact the Suffolk County SPCA at (631) 382-7722. All calls will be kept confidential.