Owners dump pregnant cat at Valley Animal Center while she's in labor

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- After calling for cat care donations, the Valley Animal Center is recognizing community members stepping up during their busiest time of year for the shelter.

Action News met a special mother-daughter duo benefiting from the generosity of the community.

Appropriately named after a dynamic duo, Pie and her 2 week-old kitten Cool Whip are thriving at Valley Animal Center - something their animal care team says is a miracle.

"I can only imagine she (Pie) was terrified. The first few days she was very on edge," says animal care associate Anjanette Mendoza.

Pie was mid-labor with twins - and in distress - when her owners left her at Valley Animal Center.

"We advised them to take her to a vet, that they will assist her - and their solution was to leave her at the door where we potentially weren't going to be able to fix this," says dog care supervisor Ruben Cantu.

Abandoned in triple-digit temperatures at the shelter, Pie wasn't discovered until more than an hour later.

Cool Whip's brother didn't survive.

After emergency surgery and some TLC from animal care associates like Mendoza, the pair are in good health.

"She is super sweet with her baby, she loves to roll around and rub her head on the baby," says Mendoza.

Animal dumping is illegal.

"Leaving an animal at our doorstep, it really takes away from the animals that are currently here," says Cantu.

With kitten season in full force, shelters in general are reaching capacity or over capacity.

Nonprofits like the Valley Animal Center are relying on donations to keep up.

There are plenty of ways you can donate to the Valley Animal Center, but a fun event where you can is called 'Christmas in July'.

It kicks off July 25th. You can mingle with other pet parents, enjoy food trucks, live music, even carolers. The event will have a beach Christmas theme. You can find more information about it here.