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Rescued kittens got lucky when firefighter came along By Morgan Rothborne Updated: Nov 10, 2022 06:17 PM A A 3 View all photos One of the rescued kittens plays at Sanctuary One Thursday. [Jamie Lusch / Mail Tribune] Colleen Avery, Sanctuary One animal care and adoption coordinator, interacts with the rescued cats that are up for adoption. [Jamie Lusch / Mail Tribune] Alpacas are among the animals housed at Sanctuary One. [Jamie Lusch / Mail Tribune] Eight kittens recently were found abandoned at the McKee Bridge Day Use Area by a U.S. Forest Service wildland firefighter, and with the help of local nonprofit Sanctuary One, all the furballs were rescued. Katie Haugen said she arrived at McKee Bridge to help cut down some trees for the host’s parking spot when she noticed some kittens running around. “I asked about them, and the camp host was like, ‘Yeah they’ve been here.’ The garbage guy came, and ... he said he had seen them for weeks,” Haugen said. Haugen had a breakfast burrito with her, and while she shared bits of her food with the kittens, they climbed into her lap. A women from the neighborhood told Haugen the kittens had been abandoned by a family who recently moved out of the area. No one seemed to care about the kittens, Haugen said. “Why would you just move out and leave your cats? They were such sweet, little babies,” she said. Describing herself as an animal lover but a dog girl, she started making phone calls. She called Josephine County, Jackson County and at least five organizations total. They all told her they don’t take cats, or they were completely full up already. It took her several days to find help for the kittens. One kitten was hurt with what she said appeared to be a prolapsed rectum. She was turned away by animal emergency care centers who said they were too full. Southern Oregon Humane Society finally took that kitten. With seven remaining cats, Haugen called Sanctuary One for help. A nonprofit animal sanctuary on 55 acres in the Applegate Valley, the organization doesn’t usually take animals from the public, but instead helps law enforcement, other rescue organizations and shelters, explained Colleen Avery, Sanctuary One’s animal care and adoption coordinator. They take animals other organizations can’t care for, like some of their current residents — pigs, alpacas, goats and horses. They also take dogs and cats that would otherwise be turned away by overfilled shelters. Sanctuary One didn’t have much room, but they decided this was a case of extreme need. These kittens were approaching reproductive age, only six months for cats. “As we all know, everyone is completely full; we were the only ones who were able to shuffle things around and make room,” said Avery. Every female cat can have three litters per year, she explained. Because there are multiple kittens per litter, that’s hundreds of possible cats born of only one female. “It’s not something you want to see — their lives are not great. They’re hungry; they’re subject to the elements,” she said. Avery drove to the McKee Bridge area, a bag of cat food in hand. Another Forest Service employee, Julie Lombarto, helped in the capture. All of the kittens came running at the sound of the food bag. Sanctuary One staff treated them for fleas and malnutrition, spayed or neutered and microchipped them. As soon as they’ve received their booster shots, they’re ready for adoption. This litter is among the lucky ones, Avery said, describing a rising population of feral cats in Jackson County and across the country. Animal control picks them up, and people like Haugen sometimes rescue them, but it only takes a few cats to create a population boom. “I wish it was something you could say you don’t see every day,” Avery said of the rescue. Sanctuary One has even struggled with people abandoning animals on their property, sometimes sick or dying animals thrown over their fence. To try to prevent abandonment or even surrender of unwanted pets, Sanctuary One has a rigorous adoption process, Avery said. Anyone hoping to take home one of the rescued kittens should submit an application, have references ready and expect an interview and possibly a home visit. To submit an application or to assist as a volunteer in Sanctuary One’s mission, see sanctuaryone.org/ . Reach Mail Tribune reporter Morgan Rothborne at [email protected] or 541-776-4487. Follow her on Twitter @MRothborne.