Kittens lit on fire in Prince Albert last month put down

Five kittens abused and lit on fire in May have died.

Manager of Operations for the Prince Albert SPCA Liana Maloney said two kittens died of natural causes while they were being treated for their injuries.
Maloney said two other kittens were diagnosed with feline leukemia.

“We didn’t want them to suffer,” she said, noting they were put down after the diagnosis.

A fifth kitten taken in by another rescue also died, according to Maloney.

The kittens were initially rescued after a group of children between the ages of 6 and 12 were spotted throwing them in the air and tossing them to the ground in May.

Two of the kittens were set on fire with matches and lighters.

“They had burns on their feet, on the neck,” Maloney said. “Their eyebrows were burnt off and their whiskers were burnt off.”

While in SPCA care the kittens were hand-fed because their mom could not be located.

Maloney said a group of professionals including firefighters and social services agents within the city are working with the kids and their family on education related to animal treatment.
“To try to break the cycle and … make sure this type of incident doesn’t happen again,” she said.

The deaths come as the SPCA tries to campaign for animal adoption leading up to Canada Day.

They’re offering a “name your adoption fee” program, with the goal of having 150 animals adopted between May 15 to July 1 in celebration of Canada’s 150 birthday.

As of Wednesday 63 animals had been taken in by families.