Bomb Squad Discovers Suspicious Package Is Furry, Not Explosive

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When the Bomb Unit team in Butler County in Ohio arrives at work, they never know what to expect from the day. While some days are quiet, there are other days that have surprises in store from the team, so some days are more memorable than others. One example of a memorable day was when the team was called out to a ticking package, only to discover it was purring and not ticking. The Bomb Squad received a call reporting an abandoned package outside a church in New Miami, Ohio. The mysterious package had been dumped on the church’s doorstep, and the Bomb Unit did not know what to expect when they arrived on the scene. When they arrived, the team saw a rather indistinct Adidas duffle bag. From experience, they expected to hear the bag ticking, which is a sign of a bomb. However, there was an unexpected noise coming from the bag. The bomb disposal team could hear purring.

The Accompanying Note

Although the threat of a bomb had now gone, the team were still unsure of what they would find when they unzipped the bag. According to Cole and Marmalade, there was a clue to the contents as the bag as it was accompanied by a note saying that the mother cat was called Sprinkles and that she had begun to give birth to a litter of kittens at 2 pm on Wednesday, February 17, 2021. It gave them some idea of what they were about to discover in the bag, but the only way they could find out how many kittens were in there and whether the kittens had all survived was to unzip the bag and take a look.

Opening the Bag

Despite knowing when Sprinkles had started to deliver her litter, the Bomb Squad did not know how long she and the kittens had been inside the bag. When they opened up the bag, they saw Sprinkles and her newborn litter of six kittens. Thankfully, the previous owner had put Sprinkles and her litter inside an insulated pocket within the bag. It was a good thing they had the foresight to do so because the temperature outside was below 20 degrees. The Bomb Unit is experienced at dealing with unexpected situations and coping with a crisis. However, a mother cat and her newborn litter were outside the team’s usual remit. Therefore, they knew they needed to hand over the situation to the experts.

Receiving Care at the Animal Friends Humane Society

The Bomb Unit took Sprinkles and her kittens to the Animal Friends Humane Society. As soon as they arrived on Thursday afternoon, each of the kittens was given a thorough examination to check that they were in good health. Although the kittens appeared healthy, they had been soaked in Sprinkles’ urine, so they need a bath to clean them. Sprinkles was also given a thorough examination and appeared to be in good health, despite having given birth to six kittens and going through the ordeal of being zipped in a bag. The veterinarian staff at the humane society also gave her blood tests and vaccines. The staff at the shelter were delighted with the cute kittens. Soon after they had their baths, the kittens were wriggling around on a blanket. Seeing the kittens happy, warm, and active was a wonderful sight.

While the kittens were attracting plenty of attention, Sprinkles was also getting the care and attention she deserved after her ordeal. She must have gone through a terrible time being left outside in the cold and dark, not knowing what was happening. Despite what the cat had been through, she was surprisingly trusting of the staff at the shelter. It was as though she knew they had the best interests of her and her kittens at heart.

Moving to Foster Care

After checking over Sprinkles and the kittens, they found the family of cats a foster home, says The Independent. It is a much better environment for a cat with a litter than the shelter could offer. A homely environment is just what they need right now while Sprinkles is nursing the kittens. The feline family will continue to live in the foster home until the kittens are all weaned. Once the kittens are no longer nursing, the shelter will begin to look for adoptive homes for each of the kittens and for Sprinkles. However, it is unlikely that the family will remain together. The shelter intends to post regular updates about their progress to their Facebook page to let people known about their progress.

It is unlikely that they will have any problems finding new homes for the kittens, as kittens are always popular amongst those who want to adopt a pet from a shelter. Even Sprinkles is unlikely to have any issues finding a new family. Although she is an adult cat, she has a lovely nature and is happy to spend time with humans. Therefore, it is expected that she will soon find a new home. As for Sprinkles’ previous owner, their identity remains unknown. They did not leave any contact details with the note or explain why they had abandoned their cat. It is reasonable to speculate that they chose to leave Sprinkles because she was having kittens. It is possible that they could not afford to care for six more cats or were incapable of doing so. Although it is terrible that they abandoned Sprinkles during her time of need, things could have been much worse. At least they took the time to write a note giving details of when the birth had started and made sure Sprinkles, and the kittens were warm inside the bag. If the owner had not taken the last step, it is possible that all seven cats could have died.