One chilly January day in New York, a man was cruising down the highway when a brown paper bag by the roadside caught his attention. Something about it didn’t sit right — especially the word scrawled across the outside in bold letters: “Cats.”
“He couldn’t believe someone had actually left cats in a bag,” said Mariya Vlasova, cofounder of AMA Animal Rescue. “But he stopped to check, just in case — and thank goodness he did.”
Curious and unsettled, the man pulled over, not expecting to find anything inside. But when he opened the bag, he was stunned — staring back at him were three tiny, frightened kittens.
The kittens were shaken, but alive. Not knowing how long they’d been there, the man rushed them to AMA Animal Rescue, where staff were equally shocked — and heartbroken — by what had happened.
“When they first arrived, the kittens were scared and hissy,” Vlasova said. “They were clearly traumatized. But if there's one thing our team never backs down from, it’s helping animals heal.”
With gentle care and patient love, the rescue team slowly earned the kittens’ trust. It wasn’t long before the fearful trio transformed into lively balls of energy, tearing around the room with fearless joy.
“They became little parkour champions,” Vlasova laughed. “Zooming, bouncing, climbing — full of mischief and heart.”
They named the kittens Twilight, Midnight, and Eclipse — a nod to their mysterious arrival and the bright futures ahead. It didn’t take long for adopters to fall in love.
Midnight and Eclipse found a forever home together, and Twilight was adopted by a relative of one of the rescue’s volunteers.
For AMA Animal Rescue, it was a transformation worth celebrating.
“To see them go from discarded to deeply loved — it’s everything,” Vlasova said. “And it all started because one person chose to stop and care.”
Want to help animals like Twilight, Midnight, and Eclipse? You can donate to AMA Animal Rescue here.
