When a suitcase was spotted on the side of the road, no one could have predicted what was inside. Luckily, the person who came across the case was a veterinary nurse and knew what to do.
The case was opened and it revealed 15 tiny kittens, all between three-five weeks old. The case had air holes in it so the kittens could breathe, but the were crammed in there tightly.
They believe that the 'Suitcase Kittens' came from four separate litters and have since been taken to the Cats Protection's Hornchurch and District Branch.
They have said that "Six of them had obvious cases of eye infection and although the others seem okay for now, we will need to closely monitor them."
The rescue thinks that the person who did this wanted the kittens to be found. "They seem to have intended the kittens to be found as the suitcase had been left near the home of the veterinary nurse, who is well known locally," they said, "But with kittens this young and vulnerable, the outcome could have been awful."
The kittens have to be hand reared until they are old enough to eat solid food. They all have owners lined up for them, but because they are so young it will still be some time before they can go to their forever families.
This situation has vets pleading to cat owners to have their pets spayed or neutered. "The current situation could so easily have been averted and also could have easily ended up being a tragedy," Said head vet at Vets4Pets, Debra Teo.
Cats Protection is asking that whoever dropped the cats off comes forward so they can prevent this situation from ever happening again.