RSPCA searching for Salisbury Downs Salvos kitten dumper

A kitten was left in locked cage out the front of a Salvos store on Monday – sadly it’s just one of hundreds of animals abandoned this year. Here’s how to help.

A search is on for a person believed to have callously dumped a kitten out the front of a northern suburbs shop in a cage with the door zip-locked closed.

The RSPCA SA says the dumping of the one-year-old cat, which comes amid a spike in discarded animals, could have been worse if not for the keen eyes of a witness.

RSPCA SA Chief Inspector Andrea Lewis said the witness noticed what looked like a box covered in a sheet “rattling” out the front of the Salisbury Downs Salvation Army store about 11pm on Monday.

“An eyewitness who was walking her dog nearby at the time has reported seeing a gold-coloured car pull up next to the Salvos store on Winzor Street and a woman climb out of the driver’s seat and place two bags in front of the store,” she said.

“The woman then went to the vehicle’s rear passenger seat, removed a large box covered in a sheet and placed it beside the bags before quickly driving off.”

The ginger and white cat dumped outside a Salvos at Salisbury Downs, zip tied in its cage and with food tied to the outside. Pictures: Supplied/RSPCA

Packets of food zip tied to the dumped cat’s cage. Pictures: Supplied/RSPCA

The Salvation Army charity shop at Salisbury Downs. Picture: Google Maps

“The witness approached the box because it was rattling, and when she was closer she saw that there was a ginger and white cat inside a wire cage that also contained a small, dirty bowl of water and had three small packets of cat food attached to the outside.”

The cage was tied shut, had no bedding and it was about 10 degrees Celsius when it was left.

Now the society is appealing for any assistance in identifying who the person who left the cat.

Abandoning an animal can lead to a criminal offence and, if found guilty, perpetrators can face up to two years behind bars of a $20,000 fine.

A worker from the store, who remained anonymous, said it was unusual for an animal to be dumped, and not something they had known to have happen at the store before.

Ms Lewis said the callous incident was just one example of a string of similar events that had surged so far this year.

She said five per cent more animals were abandoned in 2022 between January and September as compared to the previous year.

In total 484 animals were dumped as compared with 460 the year prior.

“Anyone who is unable to care for an animal for whatever reason is urged to surrender them to a reputable animal welfare organisation such as RSPCA during opening hours,” Ms Lewis said.

It comes just months after Elizabeth Park residents reported three cats left behind in cages, and under tarpaulins, after a house was vacated.

Prolonged “meows”, ongoing for four days, alerted those residents to the cats who were able to save and rehome them.