63 kittens left on doorstep; may have been dog fight bait

MOUNT VERNON, N.Y. (AP) - Some 63 kittens, stuffed in three boxes and beset with fleas, were dropped on a suburban animal shelter's doorstep, officials said.
People training dogs to fight may have used the young cats for bait and then abandoned them out of nervousness about attention to a recent dog fighting case, Mount Vernon Animal Shelter manager Sean D'Aliose said. He said kittens are sometimes used to entice dogs to fight because the small cats are unlikely to hurt strike back and hurt the dogs.
The kittens, which range in age and breed, were found late Tuesday. Shelter Director Paula Young said some were already available for adoption, and the rest would be once they were medically ready, which could take up to a week.
Pet Adoption League of Westchester President Jeannie Johnson said she initially worried that it might be "almost impossible" to find homes for so many kittens. She and her family were keeping a few, and some others were at the shelter, but Young had most of them at her home.
The city is offering a $5,000 reward for information about dog fighting rings, after an abandoned, critically hurt pit bull was found last week. Authorities believe his injuries stemmed from dog fighting.