She was not expecting that.
A routine shopping trip to a New Jersey Home Depot turned into an unexpected animal rescue after a customer heard tiny cries coming from above the garden section.
The woman had been looking for mulch when the sound caught her attention.
When she looked up, she noticed a cardboard box sitting on a pallet. Written on the side was a warning:
“Be careful! New kittens.”
Realizing there were animals inside, the shopper quickly alerted a store manager.
Employees eventually determined that another worker had already discovered the kittens and marked the box so no one would accidentally disturb or harm them. The employee had apparently hoped the mother cat would return.
But the pallet was in a busy retail area, surrounded by people, equipment and constant activity.
It was not a safe place for six vulnerable kittens to remain.
Fortunately, the woman who found them already knew about Rebecca’s Rescues and offered to help get the litter somewhere secure.
The kittens were carefully removed from their hiding place one by one.
Rescuers made sure all six babies were accounted for before transporting them away from the store.
They are now staying in Brick Township with a foster caregiver named Kim.
According to Rebecca’s Rescues, store employees have not yet seen the kittens’ mother, but the litter is receiving the round-the-clock care they need.
Kim is an experienced foster who is bottle-feeding the kittens and monitoring them closely as they grow.
For now, their days are focused on eating, sleeping and getting stronger.
Once they are old enough and healthy enough, the kittens will be made available for adoption and matched with permanent families.
What could have easily gone unnoticed instead became a rescue because one shopper stopped to investigate an unusual sound.
Thanks to her quick response, six tiny kittens who had been tucked away inside a store pallet are now safe, cared for and on their way toward much brighter futures.