Dozens of abandoned cats will be sitting pretty this winter, thanks to an $8,000 donation left in their Christmas stockings.
"Oh my God. I guess Christmas miracles do happen," said Dorothy Pratt, financial secretary for Animal Haven.The shelter in North Haven and another, Hope Alliance for Animals in Guilford, have seen a surge in abandoned pets.
In the last month, more than 20 cats or kittens have been left on the doorstep of Hope Alliance.
Their plight, publicized this week in the New Haven Register, inspired the anonymous donation from a concerned cat lover.
At Animal Haven, where almost all 16 cages are filled, more than 30 cats await adoption. Several more felines are housed in the "cat room," where they're free to roam.
The shelters, which do not euthanize their animals, will put the large donation toward food, bedding and veterinary bills. That includes spaying and neutering.