It wasn’t just another busy day at Fort Wayne Animal Care & Control. Over the weekend, the shelter found itself staring at a crisis—70 cats came through the door, 50 of them helpless kittens. Three were found tied in a plastic bag and thrown out with two adult cats like trash. All five were barely clinging to life.

This isn’t just a blip. It’s a signal. And the shelter’s plea? Clear and urgent: “We need your help.”

A Bag of Kittens Found in the Trash

Sometimes, even animal control officers cry. That was the reality last weekend when someone in Fort Wayne heard faint, panicked mews from a garbage bin. They called it in. What officers discovered was horrifying—three kittens tied in a plastic bag, dumped with two adult cats, as if their lives didn’t matter.

“We are disheartened that this person thought that was the only solution,” the shelter wrote in a raw, emotional Facebook post.

They didn’t sugarcoat the situation. It’s hard. It’s heartbreaking. But the team also chose hope over bitterness. “When things like this happen, it’s easy to get angry and even lose hope,” the post read. “However, we must focus on the positives.”

The kittens were whisked away to a foster home. They’re safe now.

Kitten Season Is No Joke—And It’s Just Starting

There’s a term shelters use that most folks outside the system aren’t familiar with: kitten season. It sounds cute. It’s not. It’s a tidal wave.

Every spring and summer, unspayed female cats—especially strays—give birth in huge numbers. Shelters brace for it. But this past weekend felt like something else entirely.

“This is our new normal,” a staff member told local reporters. “And we’re just at the beginning of it.”

FWACC is what’s known as an open-access shelter. That means they can’t say no. If an animal from Allen County comes in, they have to take it—whether there’s space or not. Whether they’re full or stretched thin. Whether they’re ready or not.

They weren’t ready for 70 cats in one day.

Shelter Runs on Community—And They’re Calling on It Now

For a shelter like FWACC, survival depends on more than staff and space. It leans hard on the people of Fort Wayne—neighbors willing to foster, donate, or even just share a post.

“These kittens received a second chance at life because of the loving person who found them and because of our compassionate, selfless fosters,” FWACC wrote.

They’re asking for more people like that. And fast.

Here’s how folks can help:

• Foster: Even a few days in a loving home gives kittens time to grow and stay out of crowded cages.

• Donate: Money goes to formula, vet care, vaccines, and food.

• Adopt: Giving a forever home clears space for others.

• Volunteer: Extra hands matter more than ever during peak intake.

A Look at the Numbers: One Day, 70 Cats

Let’s break down what happened over just one weekend, based on FWACC’s intake report:

This isn’t unusual for kitten season—but the volume in one day is. Staff described it as one of the most intense 24-hour periods they’ve ever experienced.

Foster Parents Speak Out: “They Just Need Someone to Show Up”

One longtime foster, Tammy H., picked up three of the kittens the night they were rescued. She’s seen her share of rough cases, but this hit different.

“They were freezing, terrified, and still trying to nurse on each other,” she said. “They just need someone to show up.”

Her house isn’t a mansion. She works full-time. But she clears a small space in her laundry room every spring for cats that would otherwise die in cages or worse—never be found at all.

Another foster, Luis R., said he got involved during the pandemic and never stopped. “At first I thought I didn’t have time. But honestly, you figure it out. The shelter walks you through everything.”

Abandonment Cases Are Rising—And There’s No Easy Answer

Staff at FWACC aren’t just overwhelmed by volume—they’re also dealing with the emotional toll of neglect and cruelty. Cases like the bagged kittens aren’t isolated.

In the past month alone, they’ve responded to:

• Two litters left outside a Walmart

• A malnourished mother cat with 7 kittens dumped in a park

• A box of week-old kittens left at the shelter’s front door overnight in the rain

Most of the animals survive—but not all. Some are too sick, too young, or too injured by the time help arrives.

And it keeps happening.

The Fight for Prevention: Spay, Neuter, Repeat

What FWACC really wants—beyond temporary help—is fewer kittens to begin with. Prevention is the long game. Spaying and neutering, they say, are the only tools that can actually shrink the wave over time.

But it’s tough.

Low-cost clinics are often booked solid months in advance. Outreach takes money. And there’s still a stigma, or apathy, or just misinformation about sterilization.

Staff say education efforts will continue. But it’s hard to preach prevention when you’re elbow-deep in cages and formula bottles.

“We’re doing everything we can,” one employee said, wiping tears from her face. “But we just can’t do it alone.”