The Animal Humane Society says the cats owners were worried about having to leave the animals behind.
GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. — Like many in Minnesota, Liv Hagen has been keeping an eye on the wildfires up north.
“We understood that the situation was pretty unknown, right?” Hagen, the shelter behavior and humane investigation manager for Animal Humane Society, said. “We didn't know what was going to happen with the fires.”
That worry is on the minds of all who live near the fires or have any connection to the region. Evacuation orders and orders to prepare to evacuate have become common since the fires started last week.
Many of those living nearby have been preparing to evacuate, ready to bring their most important belongings out at a moment's notice.
“At any time, the evacuation zones could have been a get up and go area, and so we knew that time was of the essence, and we had to get up there and help before those fires moved in,” Hagen said.
That includes one pet owner living near the Jenkins Creek fire, who wanted to evacuate with her cats – simply unable to do so because of the number of them.
“60 plus cats,” Hagen said. “That's a lot of animals to try and make accommodations for.”
The caretaker of the 61 total cats reached out to Animal Humane Society, asking for help.
“The owners were doing a great job, they were doing what they could, but ultimately, over 60 cats? That's really tough,” Hagen said.
“This was not a situation that we could consider neglect,” Hagen added. “The owners were seeking vet care. They were caring for their animals, and really recognized that the situation could really quickly become an emergency.”
Those 61 cats were given to AHS to take care of. Hagen says they're being treated for illnesses they came in with, with the hope being to get them ready for adoption.
“We're still doing exams, and we're working on treating those minor illnesses that they came in with,” she said. “But certainly our goal for these cats is adoption.”
