(Photo's courtesy of Happy Home Animal Sanctuary)  6 kittens were sealed into a block wall at an apartment complex using urethane foam.  The foam is a type of insulation that hardens around anything it touches.

  (Photo courtesy of Happy Home Animal Sanctuary)  This is a post-bath photo of some of the soggy kittens.  From the top left, are Grace, Victoria and Ranger.  In the middle center is Twitch and at the bottom is Floyd.

Grace & Floyd                            Victoria and Twitch                     Ranger

(Photo courtesy of Happy Home Animal Sanctuary)

Volunteers from Happy Home Animal Sanctuary rescued the kittens, however 1 had to be euthanized.  The remaining kittens are in foster care as they carefully work to remove the thick coating of foam on their fur.  It took more than a week to get the hardened foam of the kittens fur.

  (Photo courtesy of KVBC News)  Carter, a maintenance worker at the apartment complex, was arrested on 6/5/08.  Upon completion of the investigation Carter will be charged with misdemeanor violations.  Animal cruelty in the state of Nevada can net little more than 6 months in jail and/or $1000 fine.

With all these kittens to feed and get medical treatment, the bills are adding up.  Anyone wishing to donate to the care of these kittens can make a donation online by going to http://happyhomeanimalsanctuary.org.

Update 6/13/08:

  (Photo courtesy of Happy Home Animal Sanctuary)   Sierra was the first kitten rescued.  Only her paws were covered in foam.  Sierra started out as a bit of a shy gal, but now that she has settled back into the litter she is beginning to show her true personality.

  (Photo courtesy of Happy Home Animal Sanctuary)  As soon as the first can of cat food is opened, the meowing begins.  As soon as the food dish hits the floor, the food begins to fly, the kittens are covered in food, the caretakers are covered in food.

       (Photo's courtesy of Happy Home Animal Sanctuary)  Butterfly was fortunate enough to avoid the foam and has also been reunited with her littermates.   Lucky was very lucky to be able to keep his tail as the foam had reduced the circulation.  After removing the foam and some dead skin, the vet determined the area was infected and Lucky was put on antibiotics.

There was one more kitten at the apartment complex and she was caught and reunited with her littermates.

All the kittens were deemed healthy enough to get their first set of shots and they tested negative for FELV.

Reference:

Happy Home Animal Sanctuary

KVBC News