Nathan Kehn rescued the cat and kitten from some tough spots - the trash, an abandoned police car, in one case, the cramped space behind the water heater.

Sherman Oaks heard last week that the Los Angeles Department of Animal Services was threatened with a $4.8 million reduction, part of a list of larger cuts on Mayor Karen Bass' latest budget.

Kehn and dozens of animal rescue advocates made a request at two hearings filled with budgets, requiring the city council to refuse layoffs from employees, keep animal shelters open and keep the Spay and-neuter program.

"If you stop fixing cats, this problem will get out of control within a few months," Kehn said.

Bass and her budget team say the concerns stem from misunderstandings.

The mayor's spending plan cuts $4.8 million in cuts to animal services. But that also set aside an additional $5 million for the agency's operations, the company is known as the "unapproved balance" in a lesser-known part of the budget, which is a holding tank of unfinished funds.

The $5 million is enough to open all six animal shelters in the city, half of a budget hearing for the five-hour budget, Bass said in a social media post on Monday, which repeatedly discussed the fate of the facilities.

“We understand the need to continue operating all city shelters and will work with the City Council to ensure that animal health care priorities and their well-being are reflected in the final budget,” she said.

The confusion of the city's troubled animal shelters has plagued the mayor's proposed 2025-26 budget due to overcrowding and rising euthanasia rates.

Bass released last week's $14 billion spending plan proposed in-depth cuts to the city's labor force to end the nearly $100 million shortage. Around 2,700 positions will be eliminated – more than half.

Deputy Mayor Matt Hale said that while preparing the budget documents, the mayor's team initially felt that there was not enough money to prevent layoffs from animal services. He said it was too late to include the money in the budget section that listed the salary and expenses of the department by the time they found the $5 million.

The $5 million was then put on the unapproved balance (also known as UB), which appears on page 1,013 of one of the mayor's budget books, the category "Animal Service Operations" category.

On the day the budget was released, city officials posted a page of interpreters on the proposed layoffs, suggesting that 111 positions will be eliminated in the Department of Animal Services, with 62 of them layoffs. The document does not mention $5 million.

One day later, animal service officials issued their own memorandum warning that a $4.8 million cut would result in three animal shelters closures – the port, West Los Angeles and West Valley. Annette Ramirez, the agency’s interim general manager, wrote that residents living nearby will need to rerout three other animal shelters in the city.

This in turn will lead to overcrowding, with euthanasia for dogs and cats rapidly increasing to free up space, Ramirez said.

Ramirez's memo also acknowledged $5 million was prepared for her agent. Still, the prospect of euthanasia shocked the city’s animal rescue volunteers – one of their champions, city controller Kenneth Mejia, showed his Corgi in 2022 with his campaign literature.

On Sunday, Mejia released information about potential cuts on X without mentioning the $5 million listed in the balance not listed on the budget. The next day, animal rescue activists gathered outside the city hall and then packed up the budget committee’s five-hour public hearing to express their frustration.

Meri Kopushyan said during the hearing that a $4.8 million cut would mean a "death sentence" for animals in the city's shelter.

"The animals have been scared, abandoned, lived in terrible conditions and they have no family loved them," Kopshiyan told the committee, fighting back tears.

Another spokesman vowed to send her fellow militants (as she described) to Petco stores across the city to promote the names of any council members who voted for the cuts to the animal service.

Another spokesman, Midtown resident Devin Bennett, warned council members that they will remember "the blood of thousands of puppies and kittens" unless they stop cutting.

“This will end your political career,” said Bennett, founder of a nonprofit called “Here,” with a kitten!

To prevent layoffs and closures, the city council still has to vote to remove $5 million from the unlisted balance and into animal services.

On Tuesday, Councillors Traci Park and John Lee, including two of the three shelters at risk of closure, sent a letter to the budget committee chairman Katy Yaroslavsky calling for the transfer of the money. On the same day, another budget committee member, Yaroslavsky and Tim McOsker, expressed support for the move.

“I do want to talk to the acting general manager of Animal Services and talk about some of the structural issues in its organization,” Maxke said. “But I definitely want to move to $5 million … to restore those positions.”

Council members must approve the budget by the end of May. Some advocates say they should have over $5 million and inject new funds into sectors they believe are underfunded.

Jennifer Naitaki, vice president of the Michelson Center for Public Policy, is affiliated with the Animal Foundation discovered by Michelson, who admits saving animals' lives is expensive. She said that while reducing the birth of unnecessary animals and reducing the pressure on urban shelters, additional funds will bring dividends.

Netaki said city leaders could provide clear information about the department’s funding from the outset to avoid political headaches. It will also bring relief to worried animal advocates, she said.

"Just not communicating like before," she said. "Obviously, it caused a huge uproar, anger and a lot of advocacy. I also think maybe that's not bad, right? It's always nice to get into our council members and budget committees and let them hear letters from people they care about."