"Heartbreaking": Kittens found dumped on side of Alberta road in -40°C

An animal shelter in northern Alberta says it found five kittens dumped on the side of the road earlier this week when it was a bitter -40°C.

The Peace Regional SPCA stated on Tuesday that they received a call that there were two, maybe three, small cats abandoned on the side of a gravel road when it was bitterly cold out.

A staff member went to pick them up, and eventually found a total of five kittens huddled on the side of the road “frosted and not moving,” the shelter stated.

You might also like:
• "A Christmas miracle": Pup in Alberta shelter finds forever home
• Oh Canada: There is a 61°C difference between the hot and cold Canadian spots today
• Deep freeze: Alberta is so cold it just shattered more than 30 records

“We got them back to the shelter and started warming them up. We set them up in condos, and to really shock us, three out of five have visible deformities that would have compromised their survival skills, even for a warm day. They are now warm and fed,” the shelter added.

On Friday, the shelter provided an update on the kittens that were dumped, adding that they “are thriving at the shelter,” and one of the cats with the worst deformities has already found his forever home.

The kittens luckily received no frostbite from their time being abandoned in the bitter cold, and are even up for adoption now.

“They are about four months old and looking for new homes to love them unconditionally,” the shelter stated on its Facebook post.

The Peace Regional SPCA added that the kitten’s birth defects typically “have no negative effects on their health,” and they tend to “thrive with their small differences.”