Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. (May 21, 2025) – Two kittens are currently fighting for their lives at Helen Woodward Animal Center after being found zip tied together beneath a shopping cart in a shopping center. The pair, tentatively named Frodo and Sam, were brought to the Center last night along with two siblings who sadly didn’t survive their injuries. The two survivors are the latest in a year full of animal cruelty cases.
The orange tabbies, who were rushed to the Center by one of Blue Buffalo’s regional managers, still had their umbilical cords attached and were covered in fleas when they came in. The Center’s medical staff concluded they are less than five days old. While one of the two survivors is mostly uninjured, the other has significant damage on their rear left leg from the zip tie. However, hope won out in the Center’s medical facility as the duo took to bottle feeding almost immediately.
“That was our biggest concern at first,” Adoptions Director Kendall Schulz said. “We were worried they hadn’t eaten in hours, and wouldn’t eat.”
The darker moments in animal welfare are those witnessing the results of animal cruelty. We are grateful when we have the opportunity to be a safe haven for the tiny beings who have seen the worst of humankind.
The two are now recovering from their ordeal in foster care.
“Finding fosters qualified to bottle feed is super important, because these little guys need to be fed every two hours,” Schulz said. “Fortunately, we have an extensive network of qualified fosters who can drop everything and help out.”
We also feel a responsibility to remind the community to stay vigilant and to be a voice for the voiceless. This is a developing story, we will provide updates as we get them.
If you want to help support Frodo and Sam, please donate at: https://animalcenter.org/tinysurvivors
LINK TO PHOTOS & BROLL: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1CqO1DLOMns7T-MvEuW7i0ryXXMvFBEkb?usp=sharing
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About Helen Woodward Animal Center
Helen Woodward Animal Center is a private, non-profit organization where “people help animals and animals help people.” Founded in 1972 in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., the Center provides services for more than 90,000 people and more than 10,000 animals annually through adoptions, educational and therapeutic programs both onsite and throughout the community. Helen Woodward Animal Center is also the creator of the International Home 4 the Holidays pet adoption drive, the International Remember Me Thursday® campaign and The Business of Saving Lives Workshops, teaching the business of saving lives to animal welfare leaders from around the world. For more information, go to: https://animalcenter.org.
