Surveillance video shows women abandoning crate of cats at Antioch shelter after hours
Antioch Animal Services is looking for two women who abandoned a crate full of cats in front of the shelter.
They were caught on video leaving the cats and then running away. In the morning, the crate was empty.
Kathey Cabrera, president of K911 Animal Rescue in Antioch, said she was heartbroken to hear about more abandoned animals. They were left at 7 p.m. Wednesday, after everyone had gone home for the day.
"When they're closed, there is no one," explained Cabrera. "There is no one there until the next morning."
K911 gets animals from a number of places, strays, surrenders, and local shelters, including Antioch Animal Services.
That shelter is full, a sign outside says they're only accommodating sick or injured cats, another sign warns that abandonment is against the law. Despite that, the two women still left the cats behind.
Cabrera said surveillance cameras captured just how difficult of a night it was for the animals.
"They had to face raccoons, wildlife, other cats that are feral and were kind of harassing them," said Cabrera. "Then the sprinklers came on. And when the sprinklers came on, they were soaked."
By the time the first staff member arrived, they were gone. They say the video showed an unhoused person letting them out.
The five cats ran into the bushes, four have been found. One hasn't been captured yet.
"They know where the cat is basically hiding, because it's petrified," Cabrera said about the one missing cat. "They just need to catch it.
The two suspects ran away after dropping off the crate, but Cabrera said she feels for those people.
"Not the right thing to do, but maybe they felt that it was the only thing that they could do," Cabrera reasoned. "I understand a lot of people are frustrated. There are so many cats, whether it's their own or having oops litters. Whether they're faced with eviction, or they find a feral cat that maybe has kittens. The struggle with the community is real."
Cabrera asks people to follow the Antioch police's guidelines for surrendering an animal. Police recommend exhausting all other options, like rehoming them yourself, before surrendering. If you do decide to surrender, you need to make an appointment, that way they can create space for the animal. It may take time, but a lot of times people don't want to wait.
"They want the shelter or the rescue to make they're problem go away and we just can't," said Cabrera.
She said the system is overwhelmed. There are more animals than spaces for them. Less people are adopting now that more people have gone back to work following the COVID-19 pandemic.
She also encourages everyone to spay and neuter. She acknowledges that the cost of that has gone up, which may be contributing to the number of animals, but it is still needed. Antioch already has a high number of stray cats that roam the streets.
Cabrera said she's going to continue to do what she can to help.
"I've very passionate about helping the animals that don't really have a voice or a choice of being here," Cabrera said. "There here, what do I do? I have to help them."
Antioch Animal Services is asking for the community's help identifying the women in the video.
If you recognize them, you're asked to call the shelter or email ccottle@antiochca.gov.