Kittens found at INL, raised by workers and adopted

Contractors at an Idaho National Laboratory construction project encountered a strange sound this summer — meowing.

According to a press release from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management, an employee with Western Construction was checking the perimeter of a project expanding a landfill at INL when he heard the felines’ calls.

He informed his supervisor, Rick Johns. They found seven kittens inside a well drilling truck.

The kittens were without their mother, according to the release. They appeared to be seven to 10 days old as their eyes weren’t fully open. They hadn’t been fed in days as the truck was brought to the site two days earlier.

The Western Construction employees gave the kittens milk, the release stated. Johns decided to take the kittens home to care for them. He and his wife, Cheri, and daughter, Liera, fed the kittens every four hours, even at 2 a.m.

The contractors also informed Eric King, a manager for the Idaho Environmental Coalition, who consulted the Environmental Management Program. He was told the kittens could either be taken to an animal shelter or taken home.

By late August, 40 days after the kittens were found at INL, all were reportedly adopted.

“Seeing those helpless little guys, I couldn’t help but feel compassion,” King stated in the release. “One is now part of our family.”

King stated his new kitten Chupi — short for Chupacabra — gets along great with his two dogs, Max and Millie.