A litter of kittens has avoided being crushed to death thanks to a "miracle" rescue.
Workers at a recycling center in the English town of Witney were emptying a dumpster when they spotted the four young cats.
The kittens, who are just a few weeks old, were hidden amongst recycling waste, including cardboard.
Staff removed the kittens and took them to a local veterinary clinic for assessment. They were subsequently collected by representatives of the Oxfordshire RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals).
The cats—three females and one male—are now in the care of the RSPCA, which is trying to find them a new home.
Sharon Chrisp, operations manager at the RSPCA's Oxfordshire branch, told the Oxford Mail that it would have been difficult for staff at the recycling to have found the kittens.
"They would have been so hard to spot curled up in the recycling, so it's really a miracle they were found," Chrisp said.
"I can't even bear to think about the possibility of them being accidentally crushed with the recycling," she said. "This was a very lucky rescue indeed."
Chrisp expressed her gratitude to the recycling workers on behalf of the RSPCA for finding the kittens before it was too late.
"We are immensely grateful to B&E Transport and Recycling Centre staff who made the discovery and took the kittens to safety," she said.
It is not currently clear if the kittens belonged to someone and were left in the dumpster deliberately, or there is another explanation for them being there.
"We aren't sure if they were abandoned or feral—it could be mum found a cozy quiet spot in the cardboard to set up home with her kittens or someone deliberately dumped them there," Chrisp said.
The kittens have been named Felicity, Pepper, Serendipity and Olly. The RSPCA is now trying to find them new homes and their details will be placed on the local branch website once they are ready for adoption.
"They are absolutely adorable and love to be picked up and stroked," Chrisp said. "They will be looking for their forever homes soon, naturally they have already had a lot of interest though."
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Aristos is a Newsweek science reporter with the London, U.K., bureau. He reports on science and health topics, including; animal, ... Read more
