Kittens tied up and left to die
The Scottish SPCA is appealing for information after two tiny kittens were found tied up inside plastic bags in separate incidents in Bellshill last week.
Thankfully, two passers-by spotted the bags moving and saved the kittens before they starved or suffocated to death.
Both kittens are now recovering at our Lanarkshire Animal Rescue and Rehoming Centre in Hamilton. They have been named Dora and Diego and they are already proving to be good friends. A member of staff is currently fostering them to ensure they get the extra care and attention they need.
It is not known whether the abandonments are linked, but the kittens were dumped in the same type of bag and the locations were only half a mile apart, so the charity suspects that this may be a possibility.
The first kitten, a three-week-old black and white female, was found on Tuesday evening (18 October). She had been tied up inside a blue plastic bag which had been placed inside an Aldi carrier bag and dumped near a footpath on Clydesdale Road.
Inspector Sam McDonald was called to rescue the terrified kitten. He said, "This wee girl was really stressed out, which is no wonder because we think she had been trapped inside that bag for at least eight hours, maybe more.
"The man who discovered her saw the carrier bag in the morning and didn't think anything of it, but when he returned home in the evening he saw the bag moving and realised there was something inside.
"He took Dora out and kept her warm next to a radiator in his home until I arrived.
"The kitten must have scratched some holes in the bag, otherwise she would have suffocated to death in that time. It's a terrible shame because she is perfectly healthy otherwise. No animal deserves to be left to die like that."
On Sunday (23 October) a six-week-old male tabby kitten was found, again inside an Aldi carrier bag, at McCourt Gardens.
Ambulance Driver Kerry McGuire rescued the kitten after a lady found him.
AD McGuire said, "We think Diego was left overnight as the lady said a neighbour had been walking their dog on Saturday evening and it was pulling towards the area where the kitten was later found.
"It had been pouring with rain and the poor little guy was soaking wet so there must have been some holes in the bag where rain and air could get in. When I picked him up he just snuggled in to me. He was no doubt traumatised by his ordeal. Thank goodness he was found when he was, he wouldn't have survived otherwise."
Anyone with information relating to the kittens or interested in rehoming them should call our Animal Helpline on 03000 999 999.