STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.-- A Staten Island woman found 13 abandoned kittens on the side of the road Saturday evening in Bloomfield.

Tracy Parisi, who lives in Westerleigh, rushed to the site when she got a call from her friend who was walking his dog near Glen Street and South Avenue when he stumbled on the three boxes with the tiny animals at around 6:30 p.m.

"I'm still stunned," said Ms. Parisi, who works as a volunteer for the Staten Island Council for Animal Welfare. "I know the area is a dumping ground. This happens on a regular basis where people just dump them on the street. This should not happen ever. It's abandonment."

The precious animals, Ms. Parisi said, were left there with a box of leftover pizza for the kittens to eat. She believes the kittens were born in a house because they were very friendly and clean.

She thinks they are about six to seven weeks old and were from at least two litters. It's possible, she said, the mothers escaped into the nearby woods because the biggest box was empty when she got to the area. Ms. Parisi searched the woods, but didn't find the mothers.

"We're in the height of kitten season. There could be two or three mothers, because 13 is a large number all at once," she said. "They're all different colors. They're so beautiful."

Ms. Parisi's friend, Dina Weiss, took in four kittens and she took the other nine home. Some of them will go under the care of the SI Council for Animal Welfare, she said.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) advises people who find abandoned animals to call 311. The city recommends they alert Animal Care and Control (ACC).

Ms. Parisi, however, doesn't believe that's a viable option.

"The ACC is a kill shelter, that's why we find animals on the street," she said. "People get desperate and throw them on the street thinking that's a humane alternative, but it's not."

If anyone's interested in adopting these cute kittens, you can contact Ms. Parisi at tpsiny@yahoo.com.