The kittens were discovered by a veterinary nurse as she made her way to work on the morning of Saturday 8 April at Vets4Pets in Dagenham, Essex. The kittens, thought to be aged between three and five weeks old, were crammed inside the suitcase, in which someone had made small air holes.

The kittens are believed to be from three or four separate litters, and are now being cared for by volunteers from Cats Protection’s Hornchurch & District branch.

Alison Gambles, Welfare & Homing Officer for the branch, said: “The 15 kittens were all found crammed inside the suitcase, in which someone had made some small air holes. Although they were all alive and in fairly good condition, they were clearly far too young to be away from their mothers. Six of them had obvious cases of eye infection and although the others seem okay for now, we will need to closely monitor them.”

She added: “Suddenly acquiring 15 new kittens to care for is a huge drain on our resources. Although we have already got owners lined up for them, we will need to care for them until they are old enough to be homed.”

If you would like to support Cats Protection’s Hornchurch & District Branch in their ongoing work to help these kittens and the other cats and kittens in its care simply text KITTEN78 to 70660 to make a one-off £5 donation.

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