24 Cats Rescued From A Locked Car Where The Temperature Inside Was 118 Degrees

Animals are not supposed to be left inside cars under any circumstances – ever! The cars get way too hot, way too quickly, and it always leads to disastrous consequences. And with rising temperatures hitting 91 degrees in Southern California, it was quickly becoming a scary situation when two dozen cats were left inside a Honda Civic – desperately meowing in distress.

According to a press release by the Inland Empire Humane Society & SPCA, “The cats had no water or fresh food in the Honda Civic in which they were trapped.”

The SPCA was alerted to the cats’ anguish by an employee working at the Quality Inn Ontario Convention Center in Ontario. After police were called out to the scene to aid the trapped feline occupants, the animal welfare agency was brought in by authorities.

Those with the SPCA showed up and quickly observed at least 8 cats inside the vehicle, and according to their news release, they also noted “a potent smell escaping from the car.” The agency went on to share with Facebook that the inside of the car was “excrement infested.”

In the news statement, they added, “Temperature readings identified that the inside of the vehicle was 118 degrees and climbing with only one window cracked a total of three centimeters for air circulation. Humane Officers were able to get the vehicle’s passenger door open and immediately identified several more cats and only urine-saturated food available to them with no signs of drinking water.”

After all the cats and kittens were rescued and counted, it was revealed that there were 24 of them in the car! All the animals were then transported to the humane society’s veterinary hospital for treatment. There, they were administered fluids and received their health assessments.

The SPCA wrote in a Facebook post, “Our veterinarians are committed to helping every one of these kitties regain health and strength!”

The owner of the vehicle was later identified to be a guest of the hotel. They surrendered the cats but were issued with 24 citations of animal cruelty – those being crimes against animals and animals in a vehicle.

Currently, the SPCA is hoping for donations to help put towards their care. As the Social Media Manager, Mansha Kaur, reported, many of the cats were put up for both fostering and adoption as reported by the Daily Bulletin.

Additionally, it urged the public to not leave animals in cars, saying, “Please DO NOT leave animals alone in a vehicle. It is illegal and they can experience severe trauma and irreparable damage when temperatures reach certain levels (85 degrees outside is 119 degrees in a vehicle). Please keep the pets of our community safe and report any animals under dangerous conditions.”