This 7-week-old kitten — who was thrown in the garbage by an unknown person at The Village Kroger store May 11 — was rescued by one shopper and given a loving home by another.
By: K. Michelle Moran | Grosse Pointe Times | Published May 27, 2025
GROSSE POINTE CITY — Public safety officers in Grosse Pointe City are on the hunt for the person who wrapped a kitten in a tightly sealed garbage bag and threw the bag in a trash can in a Village Kroger restroom on Mother’s Day.
Police were called to the store after the kitten — which survived the ordeal — was discovered and rescued by a shopper at around 12:40 p.m. May 11. Grosse Pointe City Detective Michael Narduzzi said a mother had gone into the women’s restroom with her baby and while she was in there, she heard crying. The woman looked for the source of the sound and noticed movement inside a trash can. Narduzzi said she dug through the bin, found the squirming bag and freed the female feline.
“It was a tiny little kitten,” Narduzzi said of the animal, which was later found to be about 7 weeks old.
The shopper who found the kitten wasn’t able to adopt it, but another female shopper, upon hearing the story, immediately volunteered to take the kitten.
Narduzzi praised the actions of the woman who found the kitten as well as the one who gave her a loving new home.
“She did a really good thing,” Narduzzi said. “They both did.”
Elise Ciaravino, of Grosse Pointe Shores, is the woman who adopted the kitten, whom she has named Kiwi because “her eyes are so green.”
Ciaravino, who already had a 2-year-old female cat named Nina, took Kiwi to the veterinarian for a checkup, who determined that Kiwi is healthy. Although Kiwi wasn’t even weaned yet, Ciaravino said she’s eating paté now.
Nina and Kiwi have become fast friends, snuggling up together to sleep.
“She loves the baby,” Ciaravino said of Nina.
While her early life was marked by trauma, Ciaravino said you wouldn’t know it to see Kiwi now.
“She’s so outgoing,” Ciaravino said. “She’s fearless.”
Corinne Martin, executive director of the Grosse Pointe Animal Adoption Society, said people in the Grosse Pointes and Harper Woods can call GPAAS if they find themselves unable to care for a pet.
“Anything animal related, you should always reach out to the shelter in the city where you live,” Martin said.
People can’t bring animals to GPAAS, but GPAAS can assist them in other ways.
“We’re fielding phone calls all day long,” Martin said. “We help them as best we can. Even when we can’t help them, we try to refer them (to someone who can).”
As shocking as they might be, the suspect’s actions are more common than people might think, Martin said. She recalled an incident last year in Harper Woods in which someone put another kitten in a Taco Bell bag and dropped the bag in a garbage can outside the municipal court vestibule.
“There’s no reason rationally why anybody should throw a kitten into a trash can,” Martin said.
The suspect could be facing animal abuse and torture charges.
“We’re going to investigate and find out who did this,” Narduzzi said.
The case remained under investigation at press time.
“There are suspects on our radar,” Narduzzi said.
Anyone with more information about this incident can call (313) 886-3200.