MARSHALL COUNTY, W.Va.—

Officials with the Marshall County Animal Shelter said that a cat found at the former Union Junior High School in Benwood led to the discovery of five kittens inside the building. Two were dead; three others were malnourished and weak.

“This was somebody’s cat. Someone was feeding it and it had a litter of kittens,” said animal shelter director Cindy Brautigan.

Crews moved in this morning to capture the three surviving kittens, but were only able to trap two of them. The third is still hiding from them.

“We have him in the basement, but he is hiding behind some old furniture. He will come out eventually, and when he does, we will take in to the shelter to get him treatment,” said Brautigan.

The discovery was first made this weekend when an alumni member of the school stopped by the old building to see her school and that’s when she saw a cat and took it to the shelter.

“We then noticed that she was big and was feeding milk, so we knew there were kittens,” said Brautigan.

Meanwhile, the same day, a black lab was taken to the shelter. Her neck was severely injured after her collar was imbedded into her neck, and someone tore that collar off of her.

“This is as bad as it gets. She is lucky to be alive. We are glad we got her in the time we did, so we could wash her wound and give her antibiotics right away,” said Brautigan.

Officials say that animal control was notified and as soon as an owner is found, a charge of abuse will be brought forth.