47 Cats Found in Car During Extreme Heat

This is National Adopt a Cat Month, and the Animal Humane Society in Minnesota has 47 new arrivals that will need new homes. The AHS says the felines were rescued from a vehicle during extreme heat last week, WCCO reports.The society says it was contacted by the Chisago County Sheriff's Office and Minnesota State Patrol after somebody saw the car parked at a rest stop in Harris and contacted authorities. The AHS says the cats' owner, who had been living with them in the vehicle for "some time," released them to the organization and was treated by paramedics. Temperatures approached 100 degrees in the area that day.

Fourteen other cats from the same vehicle had earlier been released to a local rescue group. "Despite the extreme heat and unsanitary conditions inside the vehicle, most of the cats seem to have only minor medical issues," the AHS said. "They are currently being cared for, examined, and evaluated by AHS veterinary and animal behavior staff." The society says its agents and investigators work "to provide non-judgmental aid and support whenever possible," Patch reports. (Last year, 47 rabbits were rescued from a Chicago-area hotel room.)