11 petrified kittens found after being abandoned in ‘squished’ box as temperatures plummeted to -2C
Eleven kittens have been discovered crammed into a small carrier box after being abandoned in freezing conditions at Leicester’s Western Park.
The shocking discovery was made on Wednesday, January 15, when the distressed animals were found tightly packed together in what RSPCA staff described as a “squished” box.
The tiny cats were found nose-to-tail and piled on top of each other in the cramped carrier, which was brought to the RSPCA Woodside team’s base in Leicester.
The kittens, six males and five females, were found to be from at least two different litters, with ages ranging from nine to 16 weeks old.
A health check revealed the animals were “a little bit underweight for their size” but were otherwise in good condition, according to RSPCA staff. The centre spokesman said the kittens had been vaccinated and would be put up for rehoming when ready.
“You could tell they were grateful to be out of the box which they had all been squished in so tightly together,” the spokesman added.
RSPCA staff described their shock as they discovered the extent of the situation.
“We started to remove the kittens from the box – and just couldn’t believe how many were in there. We just kept bringing out more and more – and then the room was just filled with all of these kittens – it was just quite surreal to see,” a spokesman said.
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They continued: “They were clearly quite frightened by their ordeal – but now that we have them in smaller groups in our cattery they have all settled well and their little personalities are shining through.”
Most of the kittens are black and white in colouring, with one ginger and white kitten and an all-black one among the group.
The rescued felines have been named after characters from the children’s TV show Bluey, including Bandit, Bingo, Lucky, Rusty, Stripe, Muffin, Winton, Brandy, Chilli, Indy and Lila.
The kittens have now been separated into smaller groups at the cattery, where they are adjusting well to their new environment.
RSPCA Inspector Herchy Boal described the discovery as “one of the most bizarre things I have ever seen,” noting how they kept finding more kittens in the box.
“It’s really upsetting to think how scared they all were and the box itself smelt so badly of ferrets – it was quite overwhelming,” Inspector Boal said.
The RSPCA is now seeking information about the abandoned kittens, particularly from anyone who knows of someone who recently had multiple kittens that are no longer present.