Finn Lambouris, from Michigan in the US, was behind a small shopping centre doing what he calls “dumpster diving”: searching through dumpsters for discarded but still usable items. He was hoping to find a few DVDs or video games thrown out by a local shop.
But when he opened one of the cardboard boxes at the bottom of the dumpster, he froze. Five pairs of eyes were staring at him in silence. The kittens hadn't made a single sound before the box was opened. Finn immediately realised they had been left there on purpose, near the clothing donation bins. It was a makeshift solution, but above all, a near-certain death sentence.
An impromptu midnight rescue
Outside, the temperature was freezing and it was already past 8 p.m. The little ones had no food or water. “They could have easily died in there if I hadn’t stumbled upon them,” explains Finn. He first tried to calm the terrified kittens, then called his partner, Olivia, who was waiting in the car.
The couple searched for an emergency shelter, but had no luck. Leaving them there was not an option. They brought the box into their warm car, rushed to a nearby Walmart to buy food, and then set the kittens up at their home for the night. At first, the little ones were wary and aggressive, but they began to relax after eating. Without a pet carrier, Finn and Olivia turned their bathtub into a small, safe “habitat” with blankets, a litter tray, food, and water.
Two days of care before finding a rescue
The next day, Finn even took the kittens to his workplace, where his colleagues showered them with attention. He continued to care for them for two days, until a family contact helped him get in touch with a rescue centre that could take them in.
The five kittens were eventually taken in by Los Gatos Foster Animals, an organisation based in Michigan. Three of them are now in a foster home with a friend of his mother, while the other two are with another volunteer. Once they have been treated and are back on their paws, they will be put up for adoption.
Finn hasn't ruled out keeping one of the little ones himself. For now, he says he's just happy he was “in the right place at the right time,” even if the discovery was nothing like what he had hoped to find in that dumpster that night.
