A Leduc woman was shocked when she spotted four kittens beside a busy highway in Nisku on Wednesday night.
Shae Mitchell, 18, was driving home from work when she noticed a couple of kittens in an industrial area near Highway 625 and 4th Street.
“I was completely shocked and my heart completely sank,” Mitchell said. “I was so upset and I pulled over right away.”
Another woman spotted the kittens and tried to help keep them away from the road.
“We had to run across the highway and get this one kitty,” Mitchell said. “I almost got hit. The one girl almost got hit and the kitty almost got hit.”
Mitchell says they were so close to the highway that she suspects they were abandoned, which angers her.
She decided to take them them to her home so she could take care of them.
“I didn’t think it was right to just leave them there,” she said. “I needed to make sure they were safe.”
A screenshot from Google Maps shows the area in Nisku where Shae Mitchell found the four kittens along the Highway 625. (Google Maps)
The kittens have been fed at her home, and she says they’ve started to become less frail.
“They’re getting a little used to people,” Mitchell said. “They’re still fairly scared and shaky, but they’re doing pretty good now.”
Mitchell plans to keep the kittens together for a few weeks and to get them a checkup at the local veterinarian.
In the meantime, she posted about the kittens on a popular Leduc Facebook page in hopes of finding the kittens’ owners.
She’s received a lot of inquiries from people wanting to adopt the small animals but so far, has had no luck in finding the owners.
The Edmonton Humane Society accepts animals found outside the city limits, according to their website.
But they recommend citizens call their local bylaw enforcement agency first.