Kitten with severe medical needs stolen from central Minnesota animal shelter

The Tri-County Humane Society in central Minnesota is asking for the safe return of a kitten taken from its shelter Wednesday afternoon.

The shelter, located in St. Cloud, says a visitor had been looking at the kitten, a 2-month-old named Marin, for a while before taking him out of his kennel and stuffing him into their bag.

Staff quickly realized the kitten was missing after the visitor left.

"This doesn't happen on the regular, so we're in a bit of shock," Marit Ortega, executive director of Tri-County Humane Society, said. "At this point, we're trying really not to shame the person."

Marin was found on the road last month with a serious eye infection for which the Tri-County Humane Society created a special serum using a blood donation from a dog to treat. While his health has improved greatly, staff say he still needs specific care to ensure a full recovery.

"We're really hoping that they'll do the right thing and bring it back, because this particular kitten has some severe medical needs and we're just afraid that they don't know about them and they won't be addressed," Ortega said.

The organization says police are aware of what happened but will not press charges if the kitten is returned safely.

Anyone who may have information on Marin is asked to email chase.undersander@ci.stcloud.mn.us with the case number 26037967.