NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. — Three newborn kittens in a bag of trash were found tossed in a New Smyrna Beach dumpster. Animal shelters are worried this could become a common occurrence with the spread of the coronavirus.

The kittens were brought to the Southeast Volusia Humane Society and were placed with an experienced foster. The shelter did their best to make space.

“When people are out of work, and they are worried about how they are going to fed themselves and their family, you know little kittens and animals might be a little bit more disposable in their mind,” said Wendy Bentley, who is on the board of the Southeast Volusia Humane Society.

Shelter employees said they are also getting questions about the coronavirus and pets. ​Experts say it is unlikely the pandemic has any effect on pets.

"The likelihood of your pet or any animal getting COVID-19 is extremely small, and there is no evidence of COVID-19 being transmitted from pets to humans," said Dr. Dana Varble, Chief Veterinary Officer of the North American Veterinary Community​, headquartered in Orlando.

"The main source of transmission of this disease is human to human. If you are healthy, my advice is to behave as you normally do -- enjoy your pets, walk your dog, play with your cat, but if you test positive for COVID-19, social distance from your pet or have another member of your family or a friend care for them.  As always practice good hygiene around animals and wash your hands frequently per CDC guidelines,” she added.

For people that are struggling to take care of their pets during this difficult time, the Humane Society offers assistance to help them avoid surrendering their animals. However if that is still not enough, they ask that animals be brought to a shelter rather than just tossed out.

“We are going to get them into a foster home, they’ll be taken care of from newborn until they are ready to be adopted, all their medical will be covered," Wendy Bentley said. "So I don’t want anybody to be scared to bring an animal to a shelter, because we are here to help.”

While most of their animals are currently in foster homes at the moment, the Southeast Volusia Humane Society is always looking for more fosters should more situations like this one arise. They are currently running a Crisis Companion Emergency Foster program, which you can sign up for here.​

As for the three abandoned kittens, they are expected to be just fine. They will go up for adoptions once they are old enough to be vaccinated and fixed.