The cats were rescued from a “cat colony” in Dickson, Tenn., the Humane Society of Dickson County (HSDC) said

Over 100 cats were found in unsafe living conditions on the same property in Charlotte, Tenn.

Of the 130 cats, 62 were small kittens, all “under five weeks old,” the Humane Society of Dickson County (HSDC) confirmed in a press release shared on April 25. The shelter, along with Animal Control, Last Chance Pet Rescue, and Saving Kittens Sanctuary, rescued 70 of the cats thus far, and confirmed they would be going back to rescue the remaining cats.

Photos from the rescue show the cats living in squalor in semi-exposed structures amid soiled blankets.

“This kind of situation takes a village, and we are so thankful not to be facing it alone,” the HSDC wrote in the press release.

“Today, alongside animal control, we responded to a property to assist with a large cat colony,” the HSDC wrote. “What we walked into is something we won’t soon forget.”

The animal rescue organization recalled encountering “tiny, fragile lives” upon discovering the kittens. “Nearly all of them are sick, struggling with severe respiratory infections,” the HSDC wrote.

“Five exhausted mama cats were doing everything they could, co-parenting and trying to nurse dozens of babies while barely hanging on themselves,” the press release continued. “Every single one of them was depending on one person to survive, and it has simply become too much.”

Saving Kittens Sanctuary took in 26 kittens and one adult female cat who is nursing, the organization confirmed to PEOPLE.

A spokesperson for Saving Kittens Sanctuary also confirmed that Purrfect Paws Rescue took seven kittens.

“We also went back Saturday evening to find many mom cats, pregnant teens, some two week old kittens, and toms still there,” a spokesperson for Saving Kittens Sanctuary tells PEOPLE. “We removed a mom and her babies from a couch outside and brought those into rescue.”

“There is a lot more work to do there and it will take time but no one is stopping until the situation in under control,” the spokesperson for Saving Kittens added. “Every rescue in the area is deeply in need of foster homes and donations to help out.”

The spokesperson for Saving Kittens Sanctuary tells PEOPLE that the organizations were alerted to the high volume of cats in the allegedly abandoned home by Trisha Davids, who posted a video of the cats on social media as a call to action.

Last Chance Pet Rescue confirmed it took in an additional 26 cats in a Facebook post.

“It takes a village,” Last Chance Pet Rescue wrote in the statement. “We were full but we still helped. We always rise to the occasion because these little gaffers deserve a chance!”

Purrfect Paws also shared a post on Facebook asking for emergency foster parents to adopt several of the rescued felines.

The HSDC is seeking donations to support the high volume of cats coming into the facility at this time.

PEOPLE has reached out to the HSDC, Last Chance Pet Rescue, and Purrfect Paws Rescue for comment.

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Lowe’s Employees Discover 2 Litters of Newborn Kittens Bunking Together on a High Shelf at a Pennsylvania Store

The seven kittens were given names meant to honor where they were born. The rescue kittens are Forklift, Herb, Pallet, Planter, Grass Seed, Lowe, and Rose

NEED TO KNOW

• Lowe’s employees found over half a dozen newborn kittens in shelved boxes at the store’s garden center
• The kittens belonged to two stray mother cats who frequent the area
• Lucky Dawg Animal Rescue expects the kittens to be ready for adoption in about a month

Over half a dozen kittens will soon have a new lease on life after being discovered in a Pennsylvania Lowe’s.

Lisa Newton with Lucky Dawg Animal Rescue told WPVI that the nonprofit helped rescue kittens — who will soon be put up for adoption — after employees at a Lowe’s in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, found the newborn felines on a high shelf at the store’s garden center.

Newton told the outlet that the unusual rescue began when she received a call from one of the animal rescue’s volunteers about the felines. When Newton went to Lowe’s to collect the kittens in a small carrier, she discovered more cats than she had anticipated.

“They directed me to the garden center and said they have seven kittens, and I was surprised at that,” Newton recalled to WPVI. “And, they said, ‘Two separate litters.'”

The animal rescuer said that Lowe’s workers believe the kittens belong to two stray female cats who regularly stop by the Lowe’s Garden Center.

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Newton told the outlet that the store’s employees discovered the kittens in a set of boxes after pulling down a pallet from a top shelf in the garden center.

“They had to get the forklift and go up and get them,” she told WPVI. “One of the litters, you could tell that’s where the mom had delivered them.”

Newton said she placed the kittens in the carrier and took them home to care for them, as they were still in the early stages of growth and development and required bottle feedings and around-the-clock attention.

Lucky Dawg Animal Rescue shared several photos of the kittens on Facebook.

To honor the home improvement store setting where the kittens were found, the baby cats have been named Forklift, Herb, Pallet, Planter, Grass Seed, Lowe, and Rose.

Newton told WPVI that it was lucky Lowe’s discovered the kittens shortly after they were born, as the kittens were in a precarious, potentially dangerous position on the high shelf.

 

“I’m just glad we got them early because once they start crawling around, they could fall and die,” said Newton.

The kittens will be put up for adoption in about a month, when they are old enough to live in homes as pets. As for their mother cats, Newton said one has been found, and the search continues for the other. Lucky Dawg’s goal is to capture and neuter both mother cats to help prevent further litters of homeless cats and pet overpopulation.

“Once we know about a situation, we try to quickly take care of the mom and dad so there are no more litters popping up,” Newton explained.

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