21 kittens found in minivan in severely cold weather in NYC

21 kittens found in what appeared to be an abandoned van in New York City. Screen grab from video below. Video by NYPD (believed).

This is the tweet accompanying the video. 

NYPD 19th Precinct: Cold cats left in a car overnight rescued! Shortly before 5am, we received a 911 call of kittens locked in an unoccupied van. With freezing temps our cops acted fast and with the help of our Emergency Services Unit, freed the 21 felines and transported them to @NYCACC for care. https://t.co/798PcVtgKU

The story is that 21 kittens were found in a parked minivan in Lenox Hill on a freezing morning over last weekend.

A neighbour spotted the vehicle on East 63rd Street and First Avenue at about 5 a.m. on Saturday and immediately dialled 911, according to police.

There was a code blue weather warning in place at the time. The police received a 911 call regarding kittens locked in the van which was unoccupied.

The police acted with the emergency services unit to rescue the kittens from the van and then transported them to a shelter facility (Animal Care Center) for evaluation.

Vets decided that the kittens were in good health. The owner was located and the cats returned to them.

A spokeswoman for Animal Care Centers, Katy Hansen, said that "The owner insisted she was only away from the car temporarily", as reported by the Daily News.

Comment: Great vigilance by the person who spotted the kittens in the back of the van and they acted promptly. Nice to see this kind of concern for animal welfare. No harm done to call the police even though it appears that the owner had not abandoned them.

It might have looked that way. It has happened in the past. People abandon cats and kittens in the most imaginative of ways!

Also in the past you'll find stories of cat hoarders living with around 20 cats inside their car or van as they have been evicted from their rented accommodation because of their cat hoarding.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.