AUBURN — Two cats found abandoned and trapped in a dog crate among the trees along Stetson Road on Monday are recuperating at the Great Androscoggin Human Society shelter.

“There’s not much doubt they were left there on purpose,” said Wendell Strout, animal control officer for Lewiston and Auburn. “They were left in a dog crate that had a little bit of food and water in it, when they started. But it doesn’t last for long.”

Strout said the cats were left in the crate for as long as a week. The cats were emaciated and their fur was matted when found and the crate was filled with feces and urine. Strout said the urine was about an inch deep in the crate, covering the cats’ feet.

“I’ve been doing this job for 12 years,” Strout said. “I have no idea why people do things sometimes.”

Strout said a neighbor heard the cats yowling in the woods Monday and discovered them in the crate. She took them to the Lewiston Emergency Veterinary Clinic, where they were treated. They are currently isolated in the Humane Society’s shelter.

Both are not neutered males without any identification. Allyson Collins, operations manager at the shelter, said the cats are about 4 years old. They’ve dubbed a long-haired gray and white cat “Dunn” and a medium-haired black cat “Brooks.”

Despite missing some fur and being thin, Collins said the gray cat is healthy and should be ready for adoption within a week. The black cat has a respiratory infection and a fever and is being treated by Humane Society staff.

Strout said he’s investigating the cat’s abandonment as a case of criminal cruelty to animals.

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Allyson Collins, operations manager at the Greater Androscoggin Humane Society in Lewiston, holds a cat named Dunn on Wednesday. It was one of two found caged and abandoned in woods off Stetson Road in Auburn on Monday.